Highlights

The Review of Maritime Transport, an annual publication prepared by the UNCTAD secretariat, identifies major developments in world maritime transport and provides worldwide statistical data. Emphasis is given to the development of merchant marines in developing countries as compared with other groups of countries, and to the correlation between development of global trade and overall maritime transport activities.

The 1997 edition includes a chapter on trade facilitation and efficiency and a review of regional developments in small island developing countries. The report examines ways in which high transportation costs are impeding the development of these states and concludes that these countries´ development and their integration into the world economy are nearly exclusively dependent on access to inter-island and international shipping services.