Basic characteristics of maritime cargo transportation

1, the ocean freight volume is large. International cargo transportation is a worldwide commodity exchange, and the geographical location and conditions determine that maritime cargo transportation is the main mode of international cargo transportation. More than 75% of the total international trade is completed by sea, and some countries' foreign trade by sea accounts for more than 90%. The main reason is the large-scale development of ships, such as 500,000-700,000-ton giant oil tankers, 654.38+0.6-654.38+0.7 million-ton bulk carriers and container ships. The carrying capacity of a ship is far greater than that of trains, cars and planes, and it is the largest means of transportation.

2. The ocean freight capacity is large. Ocean transportation uses natural waterways to extend in all directions, unlike trains and cars, which are limited by tracks and roads, so its passing capacity exceeds other modes of transportation. If political, economic, military and other conditions change, you can also change the route at any time and sail to the destination port that is conducive to loading and unloading.

3. The ocean freight is very low. The ship's waterway is naturally formed, and the ship's transportation volume is large. The port equipment is generally built by the government, and the ship is durable and fuel-efficient, so the unit transportation cost of goods is relatively low. According to statistics, the sea freight is generally about 1/5 of the railway freight,110 of the road freight and 1/30 of the freight charged by weight, which provides favorable competitive conditions for the transportation of low-value bulk goods.

4. Sea transportation is very adaptable to goods. Due to the above characteristics, the transportation of goods by sea is basically suitable for the transportation of all kinds of goods. Such as oil rigs, trains, locomotives and other overweight goods, which cannot be shipped by other modes of transportation, can generally be shipped by ship.

5. The speed of ocean freight is slow. Due to the large volume of merchant ships, large water resistance and long loading and unloading time, the freight transportation speed is slower than other modes of transportation. The speed of the faster liner is only about 30 knots.

6. Shipping is risky. Because ships sailing at sea are greatly influenced by natural climate and seasonality, the marine environment is complex and the weather is changeable, and they may encounter marine natural disasters such as strong winds, huge waves, storms, lightning and tsunamis at any time, and the possibility of distress is greater than that on land and coastal areas. At the same time, there are also social risks in maritime transportation, such as war, strike, trade embargo and other factors. In order to transfer losses, special attention should be paid to marine cargo and ship insurance.