(a) Explain four ways in which water transport is important in international trade (b) Outline four limitations of water transportation (c) Suggest solution...

Answer Details

(a) Four ways water transport is important in international trade:

• Carriage of bulky and heavy goods: ships can carry large quantities of bulky, low-value goods (crude oil, grains, ores, timber) cheaply over long distances between countries.
• Cheapest means over long distances: the low cost per tonne-kilometre reduces freight charges and makes internationally traded goods cheaper.
• Links continents and distant markets: oceans connect nations separated by seas, allowing trade between continents that land transport cannot reach.
• Large carrying capacity: a single vessel moves far more than road or rail, so huge volumes of imports and exports can be handled at ports.

(b) Four limitations of water transportation:

• It is slow compared with air transport, so perishable and urgent goods are delayed.
• It is restricted to coasts, navigable rivers and lakes and cannot serve inland areas directly.
• Navigation can be hindered by natural hazards such as storms, fog, ice, shallow water, rapids, waterfalls and silting.
• It requires heavy capital for building ships, ports, harbours, canals and dredging, and delays occur during loading and unloading.

(c) Solutions to any two of the problems above:

• Restriction to waterways / reaching inland areas: construct canals and dredge rivers to extend navigable routes and link water transport with road and rail (multimodal transport).
• Natural hazards / shallow water and silting: carry out regular dredging, install modern navigation aids (lighthouses, buoys, radar, GPS) and weather forecasting to guide ships safely.