Still by sea: marine transport still plays a significant role in international trade

Marine transport still plays a significant role in international trade in the European Union. In 2015 more than half of EU Member States transport goods, for trade, by sea, with 53% of EU imports entering the EU by sea and 48% of exports leaving the EU to third countries by sea.

Sea trade in the EU has slightly increased over the last 10 years. In 2006 less than half (47%) of the EU trade in goods with third countries was conducted by sea. In 2015 it was 51%.

Rotterdam, Antwerp, and Hamburg – all of them North Sea coastal cities – were the top three EU cargo ports in 2014. The ten largest EU cargo ports accounted for nearly a third of the total tonnage of goods handled across all EU ports. Rotterdam in the Netherlands was the busiest cargo port in 2014 (422 million tonnes or 11% of the EU total), followed by Antwerp in Belgium (180 million tonnes at 5%), Hamburg in Germany (126 million tonnes at 3%), Amsterdam in the Netherlands (97 million tonnes at 3%), Algeciras in Spain (76 million tonnes at 2%) and Marseilles in France (74 million tonnes at 2%).

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...

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