Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 January 1969
Although the merchant navy is one of the earliest users of navigation, it is today by no means the most spectacular user, especially in comparison with present-day hovercraft and the coming supersonic civil aircraft. This absence of the spectacular is, however, not due to lack of imagination or progressiveness, but stems from very natural circumstances. These circumstances are the relatively low-if not the lowest-transportation speed, the application of the laws of Archimedes to obtain the required carrying capacity, and the laws of economics which dictate a delicate balance between investments and net revenue.