Shipping is the transport of goods or cargoes from one seaport to another. International shipping is the service of delivering goods (and/ or people) from one country to another by ships. The shipment of goods or cargoes is served by such merchant ships as general cargo, container, tanker, bulk ships. Shipping plays a very important role in the world. Shipping companies compete one another to provide the most efficient service for shippers. The creation of containers has revolutionized the transport of cargoes from a slow high cost and labor intensive delivery system into a highly efficient, clean, and fast way shipping system that triggers economic growth in various parts of the world. Further improvements in freight management is now made possible through the application of computer software that is powerful in accelerating the flow process of logistics both at container terminals in seaports around the world and inside the holds of ships.

Now the transport of containers has been integrated into one shipping network that involves various stakeholders of the industry from ship owners, shipping companies, intermodal service providers, seaport authority and container terminal operators as well as shipbuilders. This kind of integration can be seen, for instance, through the cooperation between liner shipping companies and train or railway operators to provide just in time or scheduled inland transport service to consignors and consignees. When shippers want to send the goods, they know that after the containers have been unloaded at the designated port, they will be transported to railway station by lorries or trucks and then by container train to its final destination at a city in the interior region of a country without delay.

To ensure that the whole operation of this business is safe and environmentally friendly, international shipping needs to be regulated. Shipping regulators and operators represent their respective countries in a UN body called the International Maritime Organization (IMO). They attend meetings regularly to discuss matters related to prevention of accidents at sea, the preservation of marine environment, the formulation of standards in international shipping such as freight rates, size of containers and navigational signs.

International shipping will continue to play very important role in the activities of global economy by providing safe, efficient services.