Equipment can be shipped by air, sea or land. What is ideal for you depends on your budget, desired results and available time. Air freight is the fastest way to ship used equipment overseas, but it’s also the most expensive. On the other hand, although sea transport is less expensive, it is slower. Sea freight is not recommended for fragile items, but is excellent for transporting bulky products such as construction machinery. However, ocean freight is the most common for international transportation that takes place overseas.
There are four options when it comes to international sea freight. The shape and size of the equipment you are carrying will determine the best approach. The four modes are container shipping, roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro), flatbed shipping, and lift/lift shipping.
Container shipping works great for many machines, and is especially useful if your machine can be safely disassembled. It may take longer to load and unload cargo when using this method of transport, as a crane is required to lift the containers onto the ship’s deck.
Roll-on/roll-off shipping, also known as Ro-Ro shipping, is the best option if the equipment you want to transport is self-propelled (that is, it moves on wheels or steps and can be driven onto the ship or another means of transport). mode and then turns off once it reaches its destination).
Flatbed shipping is an alternative when it is not possible to drive heavy equipment on and off a ship using the ro-ro shipping method. The machine is loaded onto a rack and then packed onto the ship for shipment. Flat rack shipping containers have no roof or side walls, allowing heavy equipment to be mounted on a stacking surface. The downside to this method is that the package is exposed to the elements in transit, which could damage it. Consider waxing your shipment or packing it in a way that protects it from the elements to reduce the chance of damage.
In lift/lift transportation, a crane is used to lift and move heavy machinery into and out of the shipping vehicle. Because a specialized crane operator is needed, shipping machinery fees must be paid that would otherwise be avoided with heavy machinery on wheels.
