What are the modes of transportation by sea?
01 Jan

What are the modes of transportation by sea?

Ocean Freight is broadly defined as all sea-related business activities. But up to now, when we talk about sea transportation, it generally means sea transportation, such as bulk cargo transportation, container transportation and other port-to-port sea transportation.

mode of transport

According to the operating mode of ships, ocean transportation can be divided into liner transportation and charter transportation; according to the classification of regions, container transportation can be divided into domestic trade shipping and foreign trade shipping.

1. Liner shipping

1. Features of liner shipping

(l) Liner shipping has fixed schedules, routes, ports of call and relatively fixed freight rates.

(2) Liner freight includes loading and unloading charges, so the port loading and unloading of the liner is the responsibility of the ship.

(3) The quantity of cargo carried by the liner is relatively flexible, and the owner of the cargo can book space on demand, which is especially suitable for the transportation of general cargo and container cargo.


2. Chartered transportation

Chartering means chartering a whole ship. The cost of chartering a ship is lower than that of a liner, and you can choose a direct route, so bulk cargo is generally transported by chartering a ship. There are two main ways of chartering: voyage chartering and time chartering.

1. Scheduled charter

Voyage chartering is a chartering method based on voyage, also known as voyage chartering. The ship party must complete the cargo transportation task according to the voyage stipulated in the charter contract, and is responsible for the operation and management of the ship and various expenses during the voyage. The freight of a voyage charter is generally calculated according to the quantity of goods shipped, and sometimes calculated according to the charter amount of the voyage.

The rights and obligations of the chartering parties shall be stipulated in the chartering contract. In the way of voyage chartering, the contract should specify whether the ship will bear the loading and unloading costs of the goods at the port. If the ship does not undertake loading and unloading, the loading and unloading period or loading and unloading rate should be stipulated in the contract, as well as the corresponding demurrage and dispatch charges. If the lessor fails to complete the loading and unloading operations within the time limit. In order to compensate the loss caused by the ship's delayed sailing, a certain penalty should be paid to the ship, that is, demurrage. If the charterer completes the loading and unloading operations in advance, the ship will pay a certain bonus to the charterer, which is called dispatch. Usually dispatch is half of demurrage.

2. Time Charter

Time chartering is a method of renting ships for a certain period of time, also known as time chartering. The ship owner should provide seaworthy ships within the lease period stipulated in the contract, and bear the relevant costs for maintaining seaworthiness. During this period, the charterer can still dispatch and control the ships in the specified navigation area, but should be responsible for various expenses in the operation process such as fuel charges, port charges, and loading and unloading charges.