Sea Freight, in this context, refers to marine cargo which is processed at seaport terminals like the Port of Felixstowe in Suffolk - which is the busiest container port in the UK.
Marine cargo is a very broad category and shipping and forwarding have slightly different meanings. Marine cargo, or sea freight, consists of various types of cargo including automobiles, containers, project cargo, bulk cargo and break bulk cargo. Secondly, shipping literally means transporting by ship, whereas forwarding is a little esoteric. It refers to a host of processing and documentation services necessary to get something from one party to another party, which in our case includes shipping. How can we put these terms for sea freight shipping/forwarding into a working definition?
We can say now that sea freight shipping/forwarding is the transportation of marine cargo on a seagoing vessel, often thanks to the good offices of an agent who performs the processing services required. That's not overly complicated; it's almost elegant in describing the scope of what a huge industry it is worldwide.
Automobiles as sea freight are carried on roll-on/roll-off ships. Another very specialised ship is that which handles containers. The world of sea freight shipping/forwarding is dominated by this cargo.
The Port of Felixstowe handles 35% of the container shipments to/from the UK. That makes it the 6th busiest in Europe and the 35th in the world. In many cases, a container used in sea freight shipping/forwarding is dedicated to one type of goods such as auto-parts, machinery, shoes, toys and even frozen food. That said, less than full container loads (LCL) from various shippers can be combined to fill a container. This makes it more economical for all parties and makes it more beneficial for the cargo ships since they have to make less trips across the Atlantic (or through any other body of water) when all of the containers are full.
Bulk cargo and break bulk cargo are similarly related as are full or less than full container loads. Commodities such as salt, oil and scrap metal as well as alumina, logs, gypsum or grain are handled as bulk. Break bulk, as the name implies, is material that lends itself to be loaded on pallets which can be hauled up, down and sideways by cranes. While still in use, a lot of break bulk cargo is now being containerised for sea freight shipping/forwarding.
There's one last category of cargo that is alternately called project or heavy-lift cargo. Typically, machinery for manufacturing itself, large wind turbines and components for factories all fall into this category; they don't fit into containers or on pallets. Sea freight shipping encompasses all of it.
Just for fun, here's a little fact you may find interesting: Cargo and freight are not actually synonyms. Cargo is the goods we ship, while freight, in the strictest sense, means the compensation paid to the ship for transporting the cargo. If you know anyone gainfully employed in the world of sea freight shipping/forwarding, making that distinction may earn you a tip of the hat.
Marine cargo is a very broad category and shipping and forwarding have slightly different meanings. Marine cargo, or sea freight, consists of various types of cargo including automobiles, containers, project cargo, bulk cargo and break bulk cargo. Secondly, shipping literally means transporting by ship, whereas forwarding is a little esoteric. It refers to a host of processing and documentation services necessary to get something from one party to another party, which in our case includes shipping. How can we put these terms for sea freight shipping/forwarding into a working definition?
We can say now that sea freight shipping/forwarding is the transportation of marine cargo on a seagoing vessel, often thanks to the good offices of an agent who performs the processing services required. That's not overly complicated; it's almost elegant in describing the scope of what a huge industry it is worldwide.
Automobiles as sea freight are carried on roll-on/roll-off ships. Another very specialised ship is that which handles containers. The world of sea freight shipping/forwarding is dominated by this cargo.
The Port of Felixstowe handles 35% of the container shipments to/from the UK. That makes it the 6th busiest in Europe and the 35th in the world. In many cases, a container used in sea freight shipping/forwarding is dedicated to one type of goods such as auto-parts, machinery, shoes, toys and even frozen food. That said, less than full container loads (LCL) from various shippers can be combined to fill a container. This makes it more economical for all parties and makes it more beneficial for the cargo ships since they have to make less trips across the Atlantic (or through any other body of water) when all of the containers are full.
Bulk cargo and break bulk cargo are similarly related as are full or less than full container loads. Commodities such as salt, oil and scrap metal as well as alumina, logs, gypsum or grain are handled as bulk. Break bulk, as the name implies, is material that lends itself to be loaded on pallets which can be hauled up, down and sideways by cranes. While still in use, a lot of break bulk cargo is now being containerised for sea freight shipping/forwarding.
There's one last category of cargo that is alternately called project or heavy-lift cargo. Typically, machinery for manufacturing itself, large wind turbines and components for factories all fall into this category; they don't fit into containers or on pallets. Sea freight shipping encompasses all of it.
Just for fun, here's a little fact you may find interesting: Cargo and freight are not actually synonyms. Cargo is the goods we ship, while freight, in the strictest sense, means the compensation paid to the ship for transporting the cargo. If you know anyone gainfully employed in the world of sea freight shipping/forwarding, making that distinction may earn you a tip of the hat.
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