Additionally, in many instances, it offers the advantage of greater bandwidth and connection speed. APL is preparing to develop collaborative marketing programs with manufacturers of wireless devices, on either a global or regional basis. We are confident that customers will like having the information available in any time zone, even while travelling, without having to worry about such issues as whether their modem plugs will fit the hotel sockets. By keying in a container or bill of lading number, customers are able to review the date a shipment left its origin port, arrived at its destination port, or achieved other steps along the way. The information appears on a small screen on the user's mobile phone, eliminating the need to phone a customer-support representative for the information.
Russian designers plant to convert disused military submarines into cargo carriers.
Their vision is to build a vessel that can pass under ice for the majority otits journey or,when neccessary, travel partly submerged without ice-braking assistance through compact ice up to 2m thick. The submarine, which would provide propulsion, would be integrated intothe outer hull either as a complete unit, or with its bow section, oncluding weapons removed. They outline in the report how they believe the economics stack up in favour of thier plan when compared with conventional suface ships. This high initial cost is offset by the ability to operate year round, without ice breaking assistance. The designers say the expertise existing to build such a vessel in Russian.