Coal profoundly shaped the later-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century maritime world. As a fuel it was the basis of the transition from wind to steam power on the oceans; as a seaborne cargo it contributed to Britain's maritime dominance. In the interwar years, although coal remained the world's main source of energy, economic depression, together with the adoption of oil for marine propulsion, reduced international demand for coal shipment and had a severe impact on tramp shipping. After the Second World War, oil and gas captured most of coal's markets and by the early 1960s large-scale oceanic coal shipment appeared to be a thing of the past. The situation then changed remarkably. In the later 20th century oil-supply crises and Asian industrialisation not only gave coal renewed importance as an energy source, but also created a new global market dependent on sea transport. The link between coal and shipping was re-established and, along with this, the connection between coal supplies and the spread of industrialisation which had been a key feature of the world economy as it had existed a century earlier.

COAL AND THE MARITIME WORLD OF THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20THCENTURIES

Transport of coal by sea, at least within Northern Europe, has a long history, but as long as the main use of coal was as a domestic fuel, trade was limited, as was also the incentive to find new coal deposits.