Joanna James
When it comes to sending cargo, there are many available options such as air, rail, and road, but ocean transport has always been the preferred and cheaper way. What could the reason be? Yes, it’s one of the oldest options for freight transportation, but what else? Read on to find out.
Yes, air transportation is also a great option when it comes to sending cargo across borders. But, did you know that ocean freight shipping costs (overall costs under average conditions) are about 5 times lower than that of air transportation in general? It’s more economical when the shipping has to happen over longer distances.
Do you know why many hazardous and dangerous cargo (the legal ones) are only sent by ships, without opting for air transportation? That’s because many regulations guide the safety of the cargo and thanks to all the maritime safety procedures, accidents during transportation have significantly dropped during the past years. As you must be knowing, every container that’s transported follows sealing and locking processes and this means extra security.
Even if you are still a small exporter (who doesn’t have enough cargo to fill one whole container), sea freights won’t do any injustice for you. This is because smaller shipments are generally put together in one container so that the costs also get divided among the sharers. For the bulk exporters, there’s nothing as beneficial as sea freight because of the massive bulk offers they get.
Some very large cargo (often referred to as Not in Trailer- NIT cargo) cannot be transported over the road or by air due to the excess weight issues. But, transporting these cargoes on many shipping vessels is a possibility, and this is also what most of them do. Large vehicles, construction materials, and machinery are transported like this with utmost safety.
The world is now focusing more on reducing carbon consumption to save the atmosphere, and the shipping industry also smartly has taken many smart moves with regards to this. The concept of Liquefied Natural Gasses (LNG) has now come in to being and many technology advances also have been done to create a carbon-efficient mode in ships.
Even in Sri Lanka which is an island nation surrounded by the In Indian Ocean, sea transportation is the most popular method of cargo transportation, especially in commercial aspects. Even 2500 years ago, Sri Lanka, particularly due to its strategic location, has done its job smartly in maritime expeditions and this is also the reason why many foreign invaders had their eyes on this small island quite frequently. Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port attracts shipping lines from every country in the world, and key players here such as the South Asia Gateway Terminals work their best to offer world-class services involving high-end technologies.
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