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. A landlocked country is commonly defined as one enclosed or nearly enclosed by land Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation
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Swiss inland navigation
The Rhine port of Basel connects Switzerland to the port of Rotterdam and thus to the sea trade network. The Rhine (Rhein Rijn Rhin Reno Rain Rhenus is one of the longest and most important Rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 mi with an average discharge "Basilia" redirects here For the Fly Genus, see Basilia (fly. Rotterdam (pronounced) is the 2nd-largest City by population in the Netherlands, located in the province of Swiss industry and commerce rely on this connection, exploited for centuries by Swiss Rhine barges, for a substantial part of their imports and exports. History As an effect of the industrial revolution which began in England at the beginning of the 19th century
The Swiss lakes, most notably Lake Constance, Lake Maggiore and Lake Geneva, are among the most intensively navigated lakes in the world, mostly for recreational and tourist purposes. Largest lakes in Switzerland There are 16 Lakes in Switzerland with a surface area larger than 10 km² Lake Geneva (Lac Léman Lac de Under the designation Lake Constance or Lake of Constance ( German Bodensee) one summarizes the three independent bodies of water Obersee Lake Maggiore (in Italian: Lago Maggiore or Verbano) is the most westerly of the three large prealpine lakes of Italy and the second Lake Geneva or Lake Léman (Lac Léman Léman Lac de Genève is the second largest freshwater Lake in Central Europe in terms of surface area (after A lake (from Latin lacus) is a Terrain feature (or Physical feature) a body of Liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the
Swiss high seas fleet
Switzerland has a civilian high seas fleet of merchant vessels, whose home port is Basel, in Switzerland. "Basilia" redirects here For the Fly Genus, see Basilia (fly. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation
The first ships were purchased and operated by the government in order to ensure the supply of critical resources during World War II. The Swiss Federal Council (Schweizerischer Bundesrat Conseil fédéral suisse Consiglio federale svizzero Cussegl federal World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including 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.
As of 2006, 26 ships (mostly container carriers) totalling 479,624 tons, operated by five shipping companies, fly the Swiss flag. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Containerization (or containerisation) is a system of Intermodal freight transport Cargo Transport using standard ISO containers Tonnage is a measure of the size or Cargo capacity of a Ship. The Flag of Switzerland consists of a red square with a bold equilateral white cross in the center
Shipping companies
- ABC Maritime AG
- Enzian Shipping AG
- Massoel Gestion SA
- Reederei Zürich AG
- Suisse-Atlantique Société de Navigation Maritime SA
Swiss maritime trivia
- While Switzerland has no navy, it does have some military patrol boats; see Swiss_Army#Naval_Patrol. The military of Switzerland, officially known as the Swiss Armed Forces, is a unique institution somewhere between a Militia and a regular army.
- In 2003, the Swiss syndicate Alinghi was the first team from a landlocked country to win the America's Cup, the world's most prestigious sailing regatta. Alinghi is a Coined name of the syndicate set up by Ernesto Bertarelli to challenge for the America's Cup. The America’s Cup is the most prestigious Regatta and Match race in the sport of Sailing, and the oldest active Trophy in international
See also
- The Swiss Family Robinson, another example of Switzerland's unusual connection to the sea. For the 1960 film produced by Disney see Swiss Family Robinson (film The Swiss Family Robinson (German Der Schweizerische
External links
- Swiss flags at sea
- Extensive information on the Swiss high seas fleet, in German
- History of the Swiss merchant navy and its importance to the nation, on the website of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Last accessed 2 March 2006.
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