FERRIES THE CONTINUED VOYAGE TOWARDS A PROMISING FUTURE

摘要

The points raised during the lectures in support of the " Improving Ferry Safety and Profitability in South-east Asia" conference, held on the second day of Asian Work Hoat 2013 in Singapore, were indicators of how far passenger and cargo ferries have come in a figurative sense. But these topics were also indicators of how far these invaluable ships still have to go. Although ferries transport tar more people and goods every year than the worldwide commercial airline industry, it is nonetheless the latter that is the more celebrated means of travel in the minds of most people. Such is the importance of ferries to the worldwide maritime industry (and to tin-development of the glohal economy) that an entire day of presentations was allocated to ferry-oriented issues such as regional developments in both South-east Asia and beyond, vessel design innovations, safety and training.