Merchant Marine of Switzerland

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

Swiss inland navigation

View of Lake Thun from the Niederhorn

The Rhine port of Basel connects Switzerland to the port of Rotterdam 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.

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 touristic purposes.

Swiss high seas fleet

Switzerland has a civilian high seas fleet of merchant vessels, whose home port is Genoa, in Italy.

The first ships were purchased and operated by the government in order to ensure the supply of critical resources during World War II. 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.

The flag of Switzerland at sea.

Shipping companies

• ABC Maritime AG
• Enzian Shipping AG
• Massoel Gestion SA
• Reederei Zürich AG
• Suisse-Atlantique Société de Navigation Maritime SA

Swiss naval trivia

• While Switzerland has no navy, it does have some military motor boats; see Swiss Army. However, there has been at least one "Swiss" warship: the American Civil War steamer USS Switzerland.

See also

• The Swiss Family Robinson, another example of Switzerland's unusual connection to the sea.

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.