Cargo shipping routes reflect international trade flows. Sailings are most numerous and most frequent on routes where trade volumes are largest and demand is therefore greatest.
In liner trades to and from South Africa, the busiest routes are to the Far East (especially China and Japan), and there are well-established routes to the Middle East, India, Australia and New Zealand, Central and South America, as well as to East and West Africa.
There are direct liner services from the South Africa to most other countries, and certainly to all the main trading economies. However, if your cargo is destined for a smaller port in one of these countries or for a port in a country with little trade with South Africa, there may not be a direct sailing available - in which case, your cargo will need to be transhipped to another local sailing at the end of the ocean voyage.
How Cargo is Carried on Ships
There are three main ways in which cargo is shipped. These affect how different ships are built.
1. Shipping cargo in containers
The use of containers now dominates commercial international shipping. The advantages of packing goods into containers include:
- The ease of inter-modal transit, i.e. containers can be unloaded from the ship and transferred directly to a road or rail vehicle
- Opportunity to offer consumers a door-to-door service
- Speed and efficiency of loading and unloading
- Security of goods during transit
London Logistics caters for more than 20 internationally recognised types of container, including refrigerated units and open-topped containers, but there are two basic sizes. Their dimensions in metric terms are:
- 20ft: 589cm (l) x 235cm (w) x 239cm (h) - volume 33.2 cubic metres
- 40ft: 1,203cm (l) x 235cm (w) x 239cm (h) - volume 67.7 cubic metres
The largest container ships can accommodate more than 9,000 20ft containers.
2. Shipping cargo as break-bulk
Break-bulk refers to any non-bulk cargo that isn't containerised (such as goods on pallets, or in crates or drums or sacks), which is loaded directly into a ship's hold.
Break-bulk tends to be used for specialised trades (such as fresh fruit), or for trade to small ports that do not have the necessary infrastructure to handle containerised traffic.
Goods carried as break-bulk can be more susceptible to damage than containerised goods because they are stowed loose in a ship's hold. Strong packaging is therefore essential, as is dunnage - loose packing material which is placed around the cargo to protect it from damage during transit.
2. Cargo shipped in bulk
Large shipments of certain commodities - such as coal, ore, wheat or oil - are typically carried in bulk, unpackaged in the ship's hold.
London Logistics offers international cargo shipping services. Contact us today for more information.