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Sea Freight Solutions
What is sea freight or ocean transport?
Ocean shipping or ocean transport is the transport of persons or goods by boat, ship, sailboat, or inland vessel, over all distances that vessels can travel over water, such as oceans, lakes, canals, or rivers. Sea freight refers to freight/freight carried by a cargo shipper overseas, such as FCL and LCL transport.
While more and more people nowadays opt for transport by air, forwarding goods by sea remains popular. This makes the world’s most important waterways an essential and integral part of the global economy.
Despite fluctuating exchange rates and surcharges on carriers’ freight charges, ocean freight is still a cheap and popular means of long-haul freight transport, accounting for about 80% of international cargo export.
The reason international cargo by sea is often cost-effective has to do with regularly scheduled loads, the sizable and heavy payload, the minimal limitations on the payload of ships, such as in trans-oceanic shipments of consumer products – and heavy and bulk loads.
In order to get a clear picture of the total costs of a sea cargo export, you must consider the following matters;
- Desired type of freight transport
- Container size
- Transit time
- Load type
- Cargo weight
- Load Dimension
- Incoterm (terms used to facilitate international trade)
In addition to the competitive freight rates, there are other advantages such as efficiency, safety, and environmental friendliness (compared to different modes of freight transportation).
The various types of cargo transported by sea
Theoretically, any type of goods can be transported by water; they are often divided into the following categories:
- Container Cargo
Items transported through FCL or LCL include computers, meat, clothing/textiles, toys, televisions, etc. The advantage of container transport is that the metal walls offer protection against extreme temperatures, moisture, and weather conditions. The containers transported by sea also fit on barges, rail cars, and trucks, which is helpful for subsequent transport.
- Liquid Bulk
Dangerous goods fall into the liquid bulk category, such as; fuel oil, gasoline, and crude oil. These goods are shipped on large tankers, with a difference between tankers transporting petroleum products and tankers for chemical products and products from the food industry. This industry specializes in fast and intermodal transport, where ships and storage facilities must meet specific environmental and safety requirements.
- Dry cargo
Dry bulk cargo covers sand, salt, sugar, cement, iron ore, coal, and grain. This can be divided into two subcategories: small bulk products such as fertilizers, minerals, and cement, and large bulk products such as iron ore and coal. Some goods like zinc and nickel concentrate, coal, and nickel ore can liquefy in transit and pose a safety hazard, requiring extraordinary visual and moisture control measures.
- Breakbulk
Breakbulk refers to the individual or general cargo goods such as household items, vehicle parts, and agricultural machinery. Items from this category are loaded into crates, barrels, and weatherproof and military material boxes.
For Roll on/Roll off, we use the term RoRo-shipping, which refers to cargo driven on and off a shipping vessel, independently, without being lifted on board, such as vehicles with large dimensions and heavyweights, trucks, buses, passenger cars, etc.
- Reefer cargo
Items of this category need to stay fresh and cool, from the moment of loading to the moment it is delivered, all over the world. Think of refrigerated and frozen goods, from food to flowers to pharmaceutics.
In the shipping process of container transport, goods are packed in full container loads or less than container load. From the standard 20-ft, 40-ft, and 40-ft high cube shipping containers to open tops and flat racks, there are many sizes of ocean freight containers to fit the desired ocean freight shipment.
Since not all cargo fits into a standard container, CSI offers smart, safe, and secure solutions for oversized freight. We can book the space or container for your goods and take care of them being loaded onto the ship at the port of origin, forwarding them overseas to the importer at the destination port. We can adapt the itinerary to multiple models; port to port, door to port, port to door, or door to door, including inland haulage solutions for pickup and delivery by truck.
Contact us for your ocean shipment & transportation
CSI specializes in containerized freight transport and cargo export, considering the individual wishes of our customers. We consider each breakbulk and out-of-gauge shipment on a case-by-case basis, tailoring our solutions around your unique requirements to deliver your cargo to any address in the world.
For a reliable and efficient way to transport your freight, especially in long-haul and multimodal solutions.
LOGISTIC SOLUTIONS ARE OFTEN THOUGHT TO BE COSTLY—BUT THEY DON’T HAVE TO BE.
EXCEPTIONAL SERVICES
Having been in the industry for nearly three decades, we are equipped with the network and resources to ensure your cargo reaches its destination safely and on time.
FLEXIBLE PRICING
From collecting the cargo to delivering it, our flexible fees suit our clients’ needs.
PREMIUM SUPPORT
We take conventional cargo shipping to the next level by offering our clients complete support—from customs documentation to clearance, commercial invoicing, and export licenses—we assist our clients throughout the process.