The Merchant Marine of Switzerland is the largest merchant navy of a

landlocked country A landlocked country is a country that does not have territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie on endorheic basins. There are currently 44 landlocked countries and 4 landlocked de facto states. Kazakhstan is the world's largest ...

. Somewhat unusual for a landlocked country, Switzerland has a long tradition of civilian navigation, both on its lakes and rivers, and on the high seas.

History

The Swiss merchant navy was founded in 1941, with the purpose of supplying Switzerland with basic goods during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. As of 2016, its essential mission remains supplying the country with goods in times of crisis.

Swiss inland navigation

The

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

port of

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

connects Switzerland to the

Port of Rotterdam The Port of Rotterdam is the largest seaport in Europe, and the world's largest seaport outside of East Asia, located in and near the city of Rotterdam, in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. From 1962 until 2004, it was the worl ...

and thus to the sea trade network. Swiss industry and commerce rely on this connection, exploited for centuries by Swiss Rhine barges, for a substantial part of their imports and exports. Swiss lakes, most notably Lake Constance,

Lake Maggiore Lake Maggiore (, ; it, Lago Maggiore ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh Maggior; pms, Lagh Magior; literally 'Greater Lake') or Verbano (; la, Lacus Verbanus) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest l ...

and

Lake Geneva , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial la ...

, are among the most intensively navigated

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s in the world, mostly for recreational and tourist purposes.

Swiss high seas fleet

Switzerland has a civilian high seas fleet of

merchant vessels A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as industry ...

, whose home port is

, in Switzerland. The first ships were purchased and operated by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

in order to ensure the supply of critical resources during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. After the war, a privately owned merchant fleet emerged, spurred in part by government subsidies that paid for the fleet's operation up until 1953, among them on behalf of the Migros Genossenschaftsbund the cargo ship ''Adele'' which was christened by

Adele Duttweiler Adele Duttweiler (29 December 1892 – 27 May 1990) was a Swiss philanthropist and the wife of Gottlieb Duttweiler, founder of both the Migros group and the LdU political party. Early life Adele Bertschi was born on 29 December 1892 in Hor ...

, the wife of

Gottlieb Duttweiler Gottlieb Duttweiler (15 August 1888 – 8 June 1962) was a Swiss businessman and politician, founder of both the Migros chain of grocery stores and the Alliance of Independents (''Landesring der Unabhängigen'') party. Life and work Duttweile ...

, in Hamburg on 15 July 1952; her sister ship Sunamelia was commissioned some months later. In 2010, a fleet of 37 ships flew the Swiss flag, which was made up of bulk carriers,

container ships A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermoda ...

, multi-purpose freighters and tankers, totalling one million

tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton (United States c ...

and operated by six shipping companies. By 2022, the fleet had declined to 14 ships, down from 49 in 2016.

Shipping companies

*ABC Maritime AG *Enzian Shipping AG *Massoel Gestion SA *Mega Chemicals Schiffahrt AG * Reederei Zürich AG *Suisse-Atlantique Société de Navigation Maritime SA *

Mediterranean Shipping Company Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. (MSC) is an international shipping line founded by Gianluigi Aponte in Italy in 1970, with headquarters in Switzerland since 1978. The privately held company is owned by the Aponte family. It has been the lar ...

Notes and references

External links

Swiss flags at seaSchweizer See- & Rheinschifffahrt
(German)

Accessed 15 February 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Merchant Marine Of Switzerland Transport in Switzerland Economy of Switzerland Switz