The industrialisation of the world ocean

The nature of sea uses, the development process and industrialisation are reviewed on the long time scales of industrialisation of the global economy. Five main sectors of sea use are identified in which the industrial form of organisation is characteristic, namely, transport and communications, mineral and energy resources, biological resources, leisure and coastal engineering. Key features of each sector are highlighted and an overall assessment of the industrialisation process is set in the temporal context of the millenium.