By analysing the current flow of commodities worldwide, the course will provide insights into various aspects of the shipping business, in particular geography, economics, and geopolitics.
The goal is to fill any gaps in economic geography, a teaching often neglected in previous study courses. We will therefore touch in particular on geography for the part relating to maritime navigation and international exchanges. We will examine the geopolitical aspects, countries having access to the sea and landlocked countries, geopolitical tensions, territorial disputes, privileges, conflicts, trade chokepoints, the flow of main bulk goods, in particular those in the oil & gas sector, trade, origins and destinations; the geopolitics of energy, deglobalization.
The educational objective is to enable students to understand the flow of main commodities by sea and raise their awareness of geopolitical events as catalysts and inhibitors of volumes.
To achieve this objective, the course will present an overview of the main commodities transported by sea, the areas of origin and destination and the routes along which they are moved globally. This will allow the students to identify and understand which are and where are the hotspots of the global trade as well as to allow the students to familiarize themselves with business, technical, shipping industry specific terms.
The course will focus on tramp shipping analysing the main drivers of demand, seasonality and how traffic is changing due to geopolitical events, i.e. following trade agreements, wars, boycotts and sanction regimes.
By analysing maritime traffic, the student will also familiarize themselves with the various types of ships and their size. We will also talk about the roles of shipowners, charterers and shipbrokers highlighting their functions and types.
Once the above is clear the course will terminate with an overview of those demand drivers that surely will contribute and shape the future of trades.
Good understanding of the English language is recommended.
Lectures in English with supporting slides, insights and discussions of current issues. Attendance is highly recommended.
Part 1: Geography - Elements of physical and political geography, geographical regions, OECD countries, developing countries and BRICS. The climate and seasons, tides, navigation on lakes, rivers and canals.
Part 2: Commodities trading - Main commodities: oil, refined products, natural gas, grains, coal and iron ore. Volumes, major exporting and importing countries, routes, channels. Concrete examples of the effects of geopolitical events. Focus on energy: OPEC, Russia, USA, European Union, India and China. Roles of major players: shipowner, charterer and maritime broker.
Part 3: decarbonization, the future of globalization and Chinese decoupling
The slides used during lectures will be regularly updated on Aulaweb with articles and insights.
For attending students, the aforementioned content and the notes taken during the lessons will be sufficient for exam preparation.
For not attending students, the teacher will indicate the materials at the beginning of the lessons on Aulaweb.
ENRICO PAGLIA (President)
CLAUDIO FERRARI
HILDA GHIARA
ENRICO MUSSO
Written test
Multiple choice test in addition to one question to be briefly explained.
Passing the test defines the student “qualified”.
