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What are the characteristics of import and export sea transportation?
Mar 06, 2024|
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Ocean transportation, also known as "international ocean cargo transportation", is the most important mode of transportation in international logistics. It refers to the use of ships to transport goods between ports in different countries and regions through sea lanes, and is the most widely used in international cargo transportation. At present, more than two-thirds of the total international trade volume and about 90% of China's total import and export freight volume are transported by sea.
Characteristics
1. Sea transport is the main mode of international trade transportation. Due to the unique geographical conditions in the world and the rise of containers, sea transport has become the focus of international trade.
2. Sea transportation can save the foreign exchange expenditure of the country and increase the foreign exchange income. General shipping developed countries, will be very active to build their own fleet, pay attention to overseas cargo transport. And foreign exchange earnings have become an important pillar for these countries.
3. Shipping is conducive to improving the country's industrial structure. Maritime transportation is mainly realized by maritime activities, which cannot be separated from the shipbuilding industry, navigation technology and the training of seafarers, etc., which can help promote the development of industry, manufacturing, electronic technology and waiters, and improve the industrial structure of a country.
Advantages:
1. Strong carrying capacity, the carrying capacity of sea transport can reach hundreds of thousands of tons, its loading capacity far exceeds road and air transport, is the strongest mode of transport capacity.
2. The freight is cheap, because the port equipment is generally built by the government, so the ship can be durable, so the transportation cost of goods is relatively affordable, especially for large goods.
3. Strong adaptability, and the adaptability here refers to the adaptation to goods. Sea transport can basically adapt to the transport of all kinds of goods, some other modes of transport are not convenient, sea transport can basically meet.
Disadvantages:
1. Slow transportation speed. Due to the large area of the hull, the long time spent on loading and unloading, and the strong resistance on the water, the transportation by sea is much slower than other modes of transportation.
2. High risk. Due to the influence of natural environment and seasonal winds, there may be many unexpected situations during transportation, and the possibility of distress is also great.
Types of Marine transportation
Marine transport is divided into coastal transport and ocean transport.
Coastal transport: Coastal transport is the transport of goods and passengers by ships as a means of transport along the coast.
Ocean transportation: Ocean transportation refers to the transport of goods and passengers across oceans by ships as means of transport. From the perspective of the relationship of transport business, ocean transport refers to the ship as a tool, engaged in the transport of goods and passengers between domestic ports and foreign ports or completely engaged in foreign ports, that is, the ocean transport between countries, or international shipping.
The main type of ship for the transportation of ocean goods
1. general cargo ship transport: the main feature is the type of goods and terminal conditions have a strong adaptability. The disadvantage is that the loading and unloading efficiency is not high, the batch of groceries is not large, resulting in a low deadweight tonnage of this kind of wear, generally about 20.000 tons.
2. bulk carrier transport: mainly divided into general bulk carrier, mainly loading grain, coal and other general bulk cargo; Ore carrier, a bulk carrier that mainly carries ore; Dump type bulk carrier is a kind of bulk carrier with dump system. Bulk carriers are larger in size and are usually measured in deadweight tons (DWT). There are Panamax, Capesize and other classifications, which are suitable for the needs of ports and routes of different sizes.
3. Container ship transportation: container refers to the ship that mainly ships container goods and is used to specially ship standard containers of the same specifications. Container ships are usually classified by the number of Twenty-foot Equivalent units (TEUs), or TEUs, with common sizes of 20 feet, 40 feet, 45 feet, etc. Large container ships can even hold tens of thousands of standard containers.
4. Ro-ro ship transportation: the semi-trailer with containers and other "general goods" or the pallet with wheels with goods as the freight unit, and the ship is loaded and unloaded by tractor or forklift directly through the opening springboard on the side, fore or stern of the ship. The ship's design allows cargo to roll up and down the ship's gangways or ramps.
5. tanker transport: tanker is specialized in the transport of crude oil or refined oil ships, tanker tonnage is large, generally known as tankers. Oil tankers are mostly single deck, tail type ships. There are also different tanker sizes, including VLCC(Very Large Crude Carrier), Suezmax, Aframax, etc.
Timeliness of Marine transportation
1. East Asia: domestic to South Korea, Japan, China Hong Kong, China Taiwan, generally 1-3 days;
2. Southeast Asia: domestic to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, the approximate time period is 7-10 days;
3. South Asia: It takes about 15 days to travel to India, Pakistan and other South Asian countries;
4. Europe: the international shipping to Britain, France, Germany, Italy and other European countries is basically more than one month, about 30-40 days;
5. North America: it is generally 12-14 days for western ports in North America, and about 25-30 days for eastern ports;
6. Central America: the international shipping time to Mexico is 20 days, and other ports are generally 28-35 days;
7. South America: it usually takes about 25-30 days in the west of South America, and about 30-35 days in the east of South America.
8. Australia: It takes about 15 working days to get to Sydney, Australia, and about 20 working days to get to New Zealand.
9. Middle East: It takes about 15-25 days to get to Dubai, Iran and other Middle East countries;
10. East Africa: such as Sudan, Kenny, South Africa and other countries are about 25 working days;
11. West Africa: It takes longer than the port in East Africa, usually about 35 days;
12. North Africa Mediterranean region: it takes about 25 working days for ports in the eastern Mediterranean region, while 30 days for ports in Spain and Portugal in the western Mediterranean region;
It should be noted that the above time is for reference only, and the actual transportation time may be affected by various factors. Cargo owners and shipping companies usually provide estimated transit times, but the actual situation may vary due to weather, sea conditions, port operations, changes in shipping schedules, etc. Therefore, when planning sea transportation, it is better to fully consider these factors and make transportation plans and arrangements in advance.
Ocean transportation cost
Shipping costs by sea are usually relatively low, which makes it the preferred mode of transportation for bulk goods and long distances. Compared with air and rail transportation, the transportation cost advantage of sea transportation is mainly reflected in the following aspects:
Transportation distance: Sea freight usually has advantages in long and ultra-long distance transportation. Due to the long transport distances over the ocean, the transport costs of ships are relatively dispersed and the transport costs per unit distance are low.
Cargo volume: Sea transport can carry a lot of cargo, especially container ships. The loading capacity of container ships is high, which reduces the transportation cost per unit of cargo.
Fuel costs: Fuel costs are relatively low for sea transport compared to air and rail transport. Ships can often save fuel during navigation because water has much less drag than air and track.
However, it is also important to note that sea transport times are relatively long and suitable for non-urgent goods and long planned supply chains. If goods need to be moved quickly, air freight is usually the fastest option, despite its higher cost. Rail transport has advantages in certain areas, especially in land transport and cross-country transport, but sea transport is still the most economical option for long-distance transport across continents.
Transport costs are not only affected by the mode of transport, but also by a number of factors, such as the type of goods, size, transport distance, cargo handling requirements and market demand. Therefore, when choosing a transportation mode, cargo owners usually consider multiple factors and conduct cost-benefit analysis.
Influence of external factors of Marine transportation
Weather conditions: Bad weather, such as storms, large waves, and typhoons, may cause flight delays, damage to ships, or damage to cargo.
Temperature and humidity: Certain goods are sensitive to temperature and humidity and require special facilities for fresh-keeping and temperature control. Some special goods are usually transported by cold chain. Marine cold chain transportation refers to the special insulation and cold preservation measures for refrigerated, frozen or temperator-controlled goods during sea transportation to ensure that the goods maintain the desired temperature range throughout the transportation process. This mode of transport is commonly used to transport perishable or temperature-sensitive goods such as food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and biological products, among others.
Sea state: the depth of the sea, wave height, channel conditions will affect the safety of the ship and cargo.
Transportation by sea
Transportation insurance: Shippers can purchase transportation insurance to protect their goods against loss or damage during sea transportation. Marine insurance is generally purchased by the carrier, but also by the entrusting party according to the need to buy separately. Marine insurance is divided into basic risks and additional risks, of which the basic risks include FPA, with particular average and all risks. All risks cover the total or partial loss of the insured goods due to external causes during transit in addition to the FPA and WPA coverage. Therefore, the trading company should carefully inquire about the insurance of the forwarder.
