经济学人46:失去海岸线并未使埃塞俄比亚停止其海运的发展

 　　Business

　　商业

　　Shipping¹ in east Africa

　　东非海运

　　Ocean ahoy!

　　喂！大海

　　Losing its coast has not stopped Ethiopia developing its shipping

　　失去海岸綫并未使埃塞俄比亚停止其海运的发展

　　ETHIOPIA became landlocked in 1992, when its Red Sea coast was lost to the new state of Eritrea. It lost access to its former ports soon afterwards. Since the outbreak of a vicious two-year war between the two countries in 1998, the Red Sea ports of Massawa and Assab have been off-limits to Ethiopian freight (see map). Instead, Ethiopia has to rely on Djibouti for imports and exports. That comes at a heavy price: it costs more to truck a container from Djibouti to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, than to ship the same container from China to Djibouti.

　　1992年，厄立特里亚国新成立，从埃塞俄比亚手中取得红海海岸，使埃塞俄比亚变成了内陆国家。随后埃塞俄比亚失去了进入那些曾经属于它的港口的权力。后两国又爆发了一场持续两年的恶战，马萨瓦和阿萨布在红海岸的港口均已禁止埃塞俄比亚进行货运（详看地图）。相反的，埃塞俄比亚开始依赖吉布提国进行进出口的贸易。然而这一举措带来了高昂的价格：同一个货物，从吉布提运输一个集装箱到亚的斯亚贝巴（埃塞俄比亚首都）的成本，远比其从中国运到吉布提要高。

　　But losing the coastline has not scuppered Ethiopia's merchant fleet. The state-owned Ethiopian Shipping Lines (ESL) has eight ships afloat and nine under construction in China. That is modest compared with the armadas of the biggest shipping firms. But having any sort of ocean-going capability² is good for national pride. At ESL's Addis headquarters, complete with portholes and model ships, the outgoing boss, Ambachew Abraha, remembers proudly his days as an engineer aboard the freighter Queen of Sheba. "She was a real beauty," he says. "With her I sailed to Rotterdam, Hull³, Middlesborough."

　　失去海岸线并未使埃塞俄比亚的商船队遭到重创。埃塞俄比亚本身拥有的运输线（ESL）有8条货船处于运输状态，同时还有9条尚在中国建造中。这一规模堪比世界上最大的海运线——西班牙无敌舰队。只要拥有任何程度上远航能力都可以提升民族自豪感。在ESL艾缔思的总部，装饰有舷窗和模型船，ESL的总裁埃姆拜初 阿布拉哈（Ambachew Abraha）自豪地回忆其在示巴女王货轮上作为一名工程师的日子。"她是真正的美，"他回忆道，"我随她出航到鹿特丹港市，赫尔，米德尔斯堡。"

　　Mr Abraha was recently replaced as part of a shake-up of the company, which has seen a portfolio⁴ of state-owned transit⁵ and warehousing facilities added to it. The aim is to offset⁶ the high freight costs Ethiopian businesses pay by streamlining the entire transport process. A new railway is planned from Djibouti to Addis, and dry ports inside Ethiopia will allow goods to pass more quickly out of Djibouti, cutting the price of storage and customs.

　　阿布拉哈以国有运输和仓储设备等组合投资取代了部分公司的重大结构。目的是消除埃塞俄比亚商业中整个流水线运输过程支付所支付的高昂的运输成本。一条新的铁路运线将在吉布提到艾缔思，以及埃塞俄比亚境内的各陆港之间建立，以便货物更快运离吉布提，从而减少减少仓储和海关费用。

　　Last year ESL made a profit of $40m. The new umbrella company looks likely to do even better. But a lot depends on Ethiopia getting more access to blue water. Its trade officials plan to do more business via the port of Berbera in Somaliland, a mostly unrecognised breakaway from Somalia, and with Port Sudan in Sudan. They are also cheered by a Kenyan plan to build a "super-port" at Lamu, a Swahili fishing-town near Kenya's border with Somalia. A new road and railway would connect Lamu with Ethiopia and head on to South Sudan and possibly Uganda.

　　上一年度ESL创造了4000万美金的利润。这个新的伞型运线公司看起来似乎做得更好。但是更多地依靠于埃塞俄比亚取得了更多通往海洋的道路。ESL的贸易官员计划通过在索马里兰的柏培拉港口进行更多的贸易，一条来源索马里的未知道路，以及苏丹的苏丹港。他们计划在拉姆建造超级港口，一个斯瓦西里渔镇，在肯尼亚靠索马里方向的边境附近，因此得到了肯尼亚人的热烈支持。一条崭新的马路和铁路将连接拉姆和埃塞俄比亚，直通南苏丹，甚至乌干达。

　　It might also reduce the risk of Ethiopian vessels⁷ being captured by Somali pirates. They have so far escaped that fate, perhaps because the pirates fear that the Ethiopians would launch a swift and bloody⁸ reprisal⁹. But for all shippers, the threat of Somali piracy¹⁰ has nonetheless pushed up insurance costs and forced vessels to make expensive detours¹¹.

　　这也许将减少埃塞俄比亚遭到索马里海盗打劫的风险。他们一直以来都不曾遭到这样的厄运，大概海盗们担心埃塞俄比亚会发起一场迅速血腥的报复。但是对于所有的运货商来说，索马里海盗的威胁依旧增加了保险成本，并且船只被迫地进行昂贵的绕道航行。

　　ESL handles 45% of Ethiopia's shipping. Most of this is on the company's own vessels, but some space is bought from other shipping lines. China is financing ESL's new vessels, which will have improved cranes and holds for handling more complex cargoes¹², such as the colossal¹³ turbines needed to build Ethiopia's new hydroelectric dams. Many of ESL's ships leave Africa emptier than when they arrived, but that is changing. The shipping company hopes to increase its exports of coffee, grain, minerals, leather and textiles.

　　ESL占有了埃塞俄比亚45%的海运。大部分来自于公司自有的船只，仅一部分是从其他航线购买的。中国提供了ESL的新货轮建造经费，这些货轮拥有先进的起重设备，并且可用于处理更加复杂的货物，比如建造埃塞俄比亚新的水电站所需要的巨型涡轮。许多ESL的船只离开非洲时比他们刚到达时要空许多，但是这在改变。航运公司希望增加其咖啡，粮食，矿产，皮革及防治的出口。

　　Ethiopia's maritime¹⁴ ambitions are not limited to ESL. A school for sailors has been set up at a university in the lakeside town of Bahir Dar. It has ambitions to train 5,000 ship's engineers and other officers for the world's fleets within the next decade-providing low-cost competition for Sri Lankan and Filipino sailors. The government reckons these sailors could send home $250m a year in salaries. They would also return, as Mr Abraha has, with valuable skills and a hankering for the briny¹⁵ unusual in a landlocked country.

　　埃塞俄比亚的海事雄心并不只局限于ESL公司。在巴希尔达镇的湖边，一所大学设立了培养水手的学院。它立志于在未来十年为全世界的船只培养5000艘船只的工程师及其他方面的海事官员——与斯里兰卡和菲律宾的水手形成低成本的竞争。改过政府预计这些水手将每年从薪水中抽2500万美金寄回家。他们将来也会回归，正如阿布拉哈一样，带着宝贵的技术，以及异于陆路国家的对于大海的追求。

1 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

2 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

3 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

4 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。

5 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

6 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

7 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

9 reprisal   

n.报复，报仇，报复性劫掠

参考例句：

• There is no political alternative but a big reprisal.政治上没有旁的选择只能是大规模报复。
• They bombed civilian targets in reprisal.他们炮轰平民目标作为报复。

10 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

11 detours   

绕行的路( detour的名词复数 )； 绕道，兜圈子

参考例句：

• Local wars and bandits often blocked their travel, making countless detours necessary. 内战和盗匪也常阻挡他们前进，迫使他们绕了无数弯路。
• Could it be that all these detours had brought them to Moshi Pass? 难道绕来绕去，绕到磨石口来了吗？ 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

12 cargoes   

n.（船或飞机装载的）货物( cargo的名词复数 )；大量，重负

参考例句：

• This ship embarked cargoes. 这艘船装载货物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The crew lashed cargoes of timber down. 全体船员将木材绑牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 colossal   

adj.异常的，庞大的

参考例句：

• There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。
• Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。

14 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

15 briny   

adj.盐水的；很咸的；n.海洋

参考例句：

• The briny water is not good for the growth of the trees.海水不利于这种树木的生长。
• The briny air gave a foretaste of the nearby sea.咸空气是快近海的前兆。