Add to ORKGISBN 978 0 7494 6369 4After a brief background about the development of containerization in recent decades, this chapter reviews the current characteristics of liner shipping networks under three main themes. First, it provides an overview of the different service types of shipping lines and dynamics in liner service configuration and design. Second, a global snapshot of the worldwide liner shipping network is proposed by means of vessel movement data. The changing geographic distribution of main inter-port links is explored in the light of recent reconfigurations of liner shipping networks (e.g. multiplication versus rationalisation of port calls). We also discuss the position of seaports in liner shipping networks referring to concepts of...