For World Maritime Day, a ship docked at night in the Port of Cape Town, South Africa

High seas commerce
Unless you work in shipping, you may not think about how much global shipping affects our daily lives. Most of the consumer goods we buy traveled across oceans on massive container ships. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) estimates that as much as 90 percent of global trade relies on ships. The IMO created World Maritime Day to call attention to the hard work mariners do finding the most efficient and safest shipping routes around the globe.

The Port of Cape Town is the port of the city of Cape Town, South Africa. It is situated in Table Bay.

Because of its position along one of the world's busiest trade routes it is one of the busiest ports in South Africa, handling the largest amount of fresh fruit and second only to Durban as a container port. The port also has significant repair and maintenance facilities that are used by several large fishing fleets and parts of the West African oil industry. Because of the many tourist attractions offered by Cape Town and its surrounding region, many cruise ships also berth in the port.