Maritime Transport

What is Maritime Transport?

Head of content

The movement of people, goods and products by boats, ships and other vessels on the bed of seas, oceans, lakes, canals and rivers is called maritime transport. Today, due to the increase in global trade and the growth and development of the shipbuilding industry, sea transportation is used more than in the past, so that more than 85% of the world’s transportation is done in this way. Among the most important reasons for using sea transportation are the low cost of transportation, high security, and the ability to transport cargo with a very high volume.

Goods transported by sea usually have a large volume and weight. Various products such as food, medicine and medical equipment, fuel raw materials, industrial products, automobiles and spare parts and even live animals are transported through cargo ships. Refrigerated containers are used to transport medicine and food by ship, which provides the required temperature and prevents them from spoiling. There are also other types of containers, which are called ventilated containers and are suitable for moving food, beans and coffee.

In the following article, stay with Qoqnous Trading to examine the history of sea transportation, important terms in this field, types of sea transportation methods, and examine the advantages and disadvantages of this type of transportation.

History of maritime transport

Maritime transport using boats dates back to six thousand years BC. Lands such as ancient Egypt, Vikings, Phoenicians and Greeks were among the first peoples who used this method for trade.

In the beginning, boats and ships did not go beyond the river banks. Because the small wooden ships were moved by the force of the wind and were special for rivers. Later, ships with low-powered engines were built that worked using wood and coal, but because they could not carry large amounts of wood and coal, they could not travel across oceans and large seas.

As time went on, iron and steel ships were built that were powered by steam, and then the shipping industry entered a new era of development. Today, there are ships that use nuclear fuel instead of fossil fuels, and they have reduced the transportation time by about 80%.

Important terms in maritime transport

Before explaining the types of sea transportation methods, we must first have a brief introduction to the important terms of this field so that the concepts can be understood. In the following, we describe the most important terms in sea transportation:

career:

It is an institution or a company that owns a ship and is responsible for sea transportation of cargo. One of the duties of a carrier company is to conclude a contract of carriage and issue a bill of lading.

forward:

There is an institution or a company that rents a ship from a carrier. Also, the arrangements made by the buyer and the seller for the transfer of goods are called forward activities. For example, coordinating to receive the bill of lading, signing a contract between the parties and…

Download:

The transfer of goods into the ship for transfer from the customs office of origin to the customs office of destination is called loading.

bill of lading:

It is a document that is issued by the shipping company after receiving the shipping fee and shows that the cargo has been loaded and is on its way to the destination. Seller and buyer are the customs details of origin and destination.

Incoterms rules of maritime transport

FAS-FOB-CFR-CIF (these Incoterms rules are applicable in sea)

Types of international sea transportation methods

In this section, we want to review the types of sea transportation methods and provide you with explanations about each of these methods.

Sea transportation by cross stuffing method – Cross Stuffing

The meaning of cross-staffing is the transfer of goods from one ship to another ship, this method is used to bypass sanctions and when a ship is not allowed to enter the water borders of a country, another case of using this method is when As it is not possible to dock large ships in small ports, the cargo is transferred to a smaller ship and moves to the destination. The important thing is that in this method, one of the ships must be equipped with a crane to transfer the cargo. The cross-staffing method is not only used in the import of goods, but the same operation is also done in reverse in the export.

Sea transportation by the method of transshipment – Transshipment

Transshipment means transporting goods to an intermediate port. If it is not possible to directly load the goods from the port of origin to the destination port, the transshipment method is used in such a way that the ship first goes to an intermediate port and unloads the cargo, then the cargo is transported by another ship to the destination and the final customs. will be

Sea transportation by chartering method – Chartering

Another method of sea transportation is cargo transportation by chartering method. This type of transportation is used when the volume of goods is very large or the cargo is sent without packaging and in bulk, and the ship is fully rented. Usually, products such as: flour, sugar, wheat, cotton, etc. are transported by chartering method.

Sea transportation of goods with refrigerated containers

Ships equipped with refrigerated containers should be used to transport food, pharmaceuticals and health products, chicken and meat, aquatic products, and perishable materials in general.

Groupage sea transportation

Sea transport companies are allowed to pack the same goods that have different sellers but are sent to the same destination in a group and transfer them as one cargo, in such cases the ship owner issues a bill of lading. group, this type of transportation is called groupage.

Bulk Sea Shipping

Sea freight in bulk or bulk is one of the other sea transportation methods, in which bulk goods such as sugar, flour, grains, mineral salts, phosphates, iron ore, cotton, etc. are transported inside without packaging. The ship is loaded.

Types of movement of cargo ships

International sea transport ships are divided into two categories based on some things such as the route they travel:

Liner ships: These ships travel according to pre-determined schedules, only on pre-specified sea lines.
Irregular Line Ships: These types of ships are not scheduled and do not move on specific sea lines. Ships move to any direction based on the request of the owner of the goods.

Necessary information for international sea transportation

Address of the place of loading (exact address of origin for EXW shipments and name of the port of origin for FOB shipments)
Name and details of destination port and customs
Type of shipment (full FCL – retail LCL)
Product type and tariff code
Number of Containers
Number of cartons or pallets (stackable or non-stackable)
Dimensions and weight of each carton or pallet (must be based on centimeters)

Sea freight cost

The cost of sea transportation depends on various parameters such as the type of cargo, the volume of cargo, the distance traveled between the customs office of origin and destination, etc.:

Load type:

The type of cargo has a direct impact on the cost of transportation, refinery raw materials, raw fuel, food, etc., each has a different rate.

Load weight and volume:

The weight and volume of the cargo also have a direct impact on the cost of transportation, bulk cargo and cargo with medium weight have a different price than packaged cargo with high volume.

Distance traveled and type of unloading:

Naturally, the longer the distance between the origin and the destination, the higher the costs of sea transportation. Also, the type of unloading, whether it is delivered on the quay, next to the ship or on the deck, has a direct impact on the transportation costs.

Advantages and disadvantages of sea transportation

Sea transportation, like other transportation methods, including air transportation, rail transportation, and land transportation, has advantages and disadvantages, the most important of which are mentioned below.

Advantages of sea transportation

Since most of the shipments are carried out by sea, this industry has many advantages and therefore it is growing and developing day by day. Here are some of the features and benefits of ocean shipping.

High safety
Having an affordable shipping price
Equipped with refrigerated containers for perishable materials
Equipped with ventilated containers
Equipped with continuous containers to prevent impact and moisture
The possibility of moving a large volume of cargo, from 200 to 500 thousand tons
Easy loading and unloading
Fixed cost of transportation

Disadvantages of sea transportation

Above we mentioned the advantages of sea transportation and in this section we want to examine the disadvantages of this type of transportation; Of course, it should be noted that the advantages of this method of transportation are more than its disadvantages.

Long time to transfer goods compared to other transportation methods
The difficulty of cargo tracking in sea transportation
Low flexibility in terms of route and timing
The need to move cargo by land, after the goods arrive at the desired destination

final word

Since ancient times, sea transportation has been one of the most common ways to move cargo, the largest amount of goods transported around the world is related to sea transportation. This method of transportation is known as the best and cheapest way to move goods internationally and is widely used by businessmen and traders.

Qoqnous Trading Company has an official license from the Ports and Shipping Organization and provides its customers with services such as bulk cargo transportation, retail cargo transportation, closed container transportation, and sea imports from China. You can contact Qoqnous commercial experts to import goods by sea.