One of the most economical methods of shipping any quantity of goods, both large and small from country to country, is by using sea freight.
You might be attempting to decide on whether to ship something by air or by sea, and there are a few items that you will need to keep in mind first. You will need to locate a freight forwarder who will be able to get you information as far as the route that is the most economical. Second, you will need to measure the size and shape of the item, and then weigh it to obtain the accurate weight, and then total the volume of the items.
The Method Of Calculation For Sea Freight
The cost of the shipment by sea freight is primarily determined by the volume of goods being shipped. You will need to know the size of the items overall in order to calculate the cubic meters of space that the goods will occupy.
If a shipment consists of several individual packages, it is more cost effective overall to pack them all together on one pallet. Strap the goods onto a wooden pallet that is strong, and then wrap them tightly to form a single unit. The dimensions of the pallet will be measured at that time in order to determine the cost.
It is important to pack your items tightly, rather than leaving them in a loose configuration simply to avoid them moving around. Freight forwarders can provide boxes that are designed to be packed together on pallets. You will be charged for the space that you use, so it is best to make your entire shipment as compact as possible.
The Speed Is Less, But The Reliability Is More
Sending items by sea freight obviously not as fast as other methods, but it still is one of the most reliable methods of transporting goods from country to country. Sea routes avoid all of the congestion that is more than likely to be encountered by road freight. The rates cannot be beaten either.
Another benefit of using shipment by sea is that the ports are not as stringent as the customs at the airports. This simply means that your shipment is not as likely to be involved with administrative bureaucratic hold-ups.
Sea freight is many times used to transport goods into countries where it might be dangerous to ship in other ways. Sometimes travel by road may be unsuitable in those situations, and shipping by sea is a more reliable way to get goods to that country.
The Safe Transport Of Dangerous Goods
If you are transporting items that are hazardous, hazardous items or sensitive to a particular temperature, it is easier to move such items by sea rather than by air, or other means. A container or an area can be assigned that will remain at a constant temperature, and moisture and humidity levels can be maintained at a constant level.
Also, containers can be deemed to remain sealed until they arrive at their destination, and only opened at that time. The advantage of enjoying continuous shipping without having to open the container numerous times ensures the quality of the goods will remain the same throughout the shipping period. For some chemicals that can be dangerous, shipping by ocean freight provides a smoother, and a more undisturbed transit.
The Shipping Of Larger Goods
Shipping by sea is obviously a lot slower that shipping by air, but it has the advantage of allowing for a much larger volume of goods. Ocean delivery will accommodate virtually any kind of material or goods, which would include dangerous cargos, refrigerated goods, and heavy items. Sea freight is especially efficient at the shipment of automobiles. Oversized vehicles such as trucks, coaches, and construction equipment and vehicles lend themselves well to being shipped by water.
Personal and commercial shipment of autos can be accomplished as a roll-on/roll off type of service, or they can be shipped in containers. As the name implies, roll-on/roll-off is when the car is driven onto the shipping vessel, and secured tightly by straps for transit, and then driven off the vessel when the port is reached. A containerized shipment is just that, in that the automobile is placed into a container, shipped that way to the next port.
The regulations and all of the details should be able to be provided by a good freight forwarder. They also assist in the proper types of needed documentation based upon the routes of shipment and the types of materials that are being shipped. They very often offer tracking service by GPS in order for you to see the location of the shipment as it is in transit.
For the transport of large quantities of goods for any distance, the most economical choice is to ship by sea freight. There is less taxation, and the rates are much cheaper than any other form of transportation.
Citations:
- Life at sea!
Featured images:
License: Creative Commons image source
Amy Rice writes about sea freight, when not writing she enjoys visting the cinema and playing adventure golf.
