The ''Handy Shipping Guide'' is an

online magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer magaz ...

that in its current format provides news and an information directory catering to the international

freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including transp ...

and

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

industry.

History

The ''Handy Shipping Guide'' initially started in 1887 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

as a printed weekly source of information on vessels that were loading / unloading or else preparing to sail globally, the location of British registered ships as well as information on vessels that had cleared UK

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

for departure and those that were about to enter

bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...

. The publication also contained lists of vessels overdue. The printed guide, which closed in December 1988, now provides

historians A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

with a critical research resource that provides economic and maritime data from an important period of history - from the height of the European Empires through to the rise of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and the towards the end of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. The

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United ...

in England holds a large collection of the original printed format which is accessible to researchers, though the collection is incomplete.

Resurrection

On 22 May 2009 the ''Handy Shipping Guide'' resumed publishing in an online format. Now combining a service directory as well as its primary news page which aimed at a wider audience across the global logistics industry, the new Guide's first story reported the winning of "Mariner of the Year, 2009" by Captain Richard Phillips. The new online magazine – or e-zine – started at an opportune time when the traditional freight press, still largely based around "hard-copy" publications, was struggling due to the effects of the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

and the change in readers habits to web-based sources of information. As a result, it established itself well in the new market for digital information and has been consulted by the global mainstream press on stories and the News Archive has proved invaluable as a reference source to many journalists tracking the history of a particular story.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
1887 establishments in the United Kingdom 1988 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Business magazines published in the United Kingdom Online magazines published in the United Kingdom Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines published in London Magazines established in 1887 Magazines disestablished in 1988 Maritime magazines Online magazines with defunct print editions Professional and trade magazines Shipping in the United Kingdom