In the 19th century, most ocean shipping was powered by coal/steam and wind. There was a well distributed system of coaling stations and ports worldwide. This was gradually switched over to oil. Today, there may be a strong rationale for going back to coal. Many ports are set up to load up ships with coal for export anyway, and material handling systems for coal have become very automated and advanced. Ease of handling was one of the big reasons for switching from coal to oil, but the advantage of oil in this regard is not as great as it was when coal had to be shoveled by hand. The price of oil has gone up dramatically lately, and shows no sign of going down much soon. Coal prices are lower and more stable by comparison. For energy security, coal has the advantage hands down for western nations. Comments?-Jitney
- posted
18 years ago