Benefits of Using Sea Freight for International Shipping

The most common means used for transporting goods are ships. The sea transport routes for shipping goods and services are developing day by day. This demonstrates the popularity of this mode of transporting cargo from origin to destination. 

In this blog, we will try to explain what sea freight is and the benefits of using sea freight for international shipping needs.

What are Sea Freight Services?

Sea freight is a shipping or transporting method used to transport goods from one place to another using water as the mode of transport. Ships designated for carrying both commercial and noncommercial goods and services are known as cargo ships. It is a popular method, particularly when it is necessary to transport significant quantities of goods and services. The goods are loaded into cargo ships in large metal containers, and sea transportation has fewer constraints than other modes of transportation. 

If you are a business that needs to send large quantities of goods and you are choosing ships as your mode of transportation, then the first step will be to contact a shipping company and inform them of the size, quantity, and type of product or goods you are planning to transport. You have the option of dropping the goods near the dock or picking them up from your warehouse. The necessary charges are calculated based on the weight and size of the goods being shipped.  

Sometimes, it might be necessary to switch to other modes of transportation, like road or air transportation, when the weight is comparatively smaller. The breakeven point should be considered while selecting the right shipping mode.

Benefits of using Sea Freight for International shipping

The popularity of this mode of shipping has a lot to do with the wide array of advantages it offers, which are as follows:

Lower Costs

Sea freight is indeed a cost-effective option, and this is one of the main reasons why it is so widely preferred by businesses far and wide. The economy of scale generated by shipping is a good advantage for businesses who have regular transport of goods. When the consignment has a higher quality of goods to be transported, opting for air or road transport can increase the per-unit cost, but shipping by sea will effectively lower the cost of shipping. 

Better Capacity

A shipping vessel can clearly carry a much better quantity of goods than road or air freight options. The restrictions on freight size are not a cause for concern when it comes to sea freight services. A 20-foot shipping container has an available capacity of around 25–28 cubic meters, and the shipping containers can go as big as 40ft container sizes. The size of the vessel can also vary according to what it is assigned in the origin port. Also, there are two modes of volume in shipping containers; FCL and LCL. According to the quantity, the freight forwarder can help the business with it. 

Easier Processing 

When compared to other forms of freight transport, Sea freight comes with the least amount of documentation. The security measures connected with the onboarding of goods are also comparatively fewer and quicker. This does not mean that there are no restrictions, but the red tape is relatively easier to resolve in sea transportation.

Lesser restrictions

In terms of air freight, the transportation of cargo is dependent on passenger flights. As there is a lot of risk involved because of the human passengers, the authorities place many restrictions on the weight and kind of goods that can be transported through air freight. Therefore, if your goods are on the rejection list, you cannot transport them by air.

Digital Platforms

The shipping providers are now becoming more technically competent and much more advanced than air freight carriers. They have digital platforms, which make the entire shipping process much more assertive and also involve the customers to make them more assured of the transportation process.

More transit points

When we consider the transit route for air freight carriers, the transit points in the entire journey are either none or hardly two stops. This becomes a task as it will require additional support from road transport systems to make the consignment reach its final destination, which can increase the costs. But in the case of sea freight, there are a lot more transit points when compared to air freight. Sea carriers cover a larger geographical area than other modes of transportation.

Sohar Shipping Services has more than 38 years of experience in freight forwarding services in Oman and has more than 500 partners and agents around the world. They proudly take accountability for around 1 million successful deliveries. They have been streamlining shipping operations to all parts of the world from Oman. The employees are professionally trained to deal with exports and imports, documentation, transportation, receipt, warehousing, and all the associated activities meticulously.