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

Swiss high seas fleet

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