Shipping and port systems are vital to societies and lifestyles around the world. In the late twentieth-century, howver, assumptions concerning the robustness of these systems were severely shaken by economic shocks triggered by oil crises. This volume explores how many of the consequesnt unvertainties have been resolved, and how adapted systems have been shaped to meet the challenges of the new millenium. To explore these issues, contributers focus on issues such as: economic integration of emerginf economies, in particular China sectors as diverse as the high-speed ferry and offshore oil industries pollution problems generated by shipping Contributors' investigations, such as those in to the homogenisation of the container industry and the port cluster concept and 'model' vessels for the offshore oil industry, make for a rewarding book that will be of interest to academics working in many fields including transport studies, marine and coastal studies and economic geography. Professional Organizations and policy-makers will also appreciate the book