What is Sea Freight

and Why Use It?

Supply Chain Digital takes a detailed look at what is

Sea Freight as well as the benefits and
disadvantages compared to other shipping
methods...

What is Sea Freight?

Sea Freight is a method of transporting large amounts of goods
using carrier ships. Goods are packed into containers and then
loaded onto a vessel. A typical cargo ship can carry around 18,000
containers, which means that sea freight is a cost-efficient way to
transport high quantities over large distances.
There are a number of ways in which sea freight can be
transported.

 FCL or Full container load, which you purchase one or more

full containers to send on a ship.
  LCL or Less than container load, where your products share a
container as you may not have a full container’s worth. Once
they reach their destination, the container’s contents are
divided once more.
 RORO or roll on roll off, where your products do not leave the
vehicle they are in to go onto the cargo ship. The vehicle
simply drives onto the ship, and then drives off the other
end.
 Dry bulk shipping, used for some specific items, which are
deposited into the hold of the ship instead of travelling in a
container.

How does it work?

Sea freight is just one cog within the machine that forms a supply
chain network. Some companies opt to use a specific 3PL to have
their goods shipped safely and legally. As mentioned in our Top 5
benefits of 3PL, one of the major benefits of these providers is that
they already know all the requirements and you will not have to
engage with a shipping company for each item.
Once you have engaged with a shipping company, they will collect
the goods from your supplier and move them through the port in
one of the previously mentioned forms. It is worth noting that
delivery times should include a delay moving through the port each
side as they have to pass through customs.
Even with LCL as an option, you may still not have enough
products, in which case it may be more cost-effective for you to
send your products via Air Freight or Courier instead. These are
both utilized for sending smaller quantities of products, they are
more expensive as the vehicles themselves are smaller.
HULL CLEANING

Diver performing underwater hull cleaning.

The purpose of underwater hull cleaning is to remove biological

roughness or fouling. A build-up of marine fouling can lead to
increased drag, resulting in a detrimental impact on a vessel’s
hydrodynamic performance and hence the relationship between
speed, power performance and fuel consumption. Fouling,
particularly in the case of a prolific build-up of hard or shell fouling
like barnacles or tubeworm, can cause turbulence, cavitation, and
noise, frequently affecting the performance of sonars, speed logs
and other hull mounted sensors.
Proper cleaning removes all traces of fouling and does not remove
or damage the coating or cause any increased surface roughness.
Underwater cleaning is performed either by a diver with brushers or
by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) controlled from land.

Applicability and assumptions

Hull cleaning is applicable for all vessel types and ages. Depending
on the degree and type of fouling to be removed a diver can
typically clean 200 to 400 m2 per hour of flat surfaces (less on the
bow and stern areas). The operation will be performed during
normal ship stops (bunkering, anchorage, waiting for canal
passage, etc.). The fuel reductions depend on the extent to which
the hull is fouled.

Cost of implementation
The price of hull cleaning will depend on the selection between a
diver and a ROV, in addition to the vessel size. Total cost will be in
the range of $5,000 to $50,000 (USD).
Reduction potential
Depending on the degree of marine fouling, vessel size, vessel
segment, operation profile and trading areas a reduction in the
range of 1% to 5 % on main engine fuel consumption can be
expected.
A state-of-the-art underwater hull cleaning system, designed by
divers for divers, with outstanding resulting in efficient and safe
biofouling removal.
ROBOTS HELP CLEANING SHIP
HULLS.

 Robots for cleaning and maintaining the ship's hull.

It is also a task that can be dangerous, challenging, and tedious.
Traditionally, divers perform their work while the ship is moored in
port or docked. The HullBUG is an example of an underwater hull
cleaning robot. This 30–40-kilogram robot attaches to the bottom of
the boat for surface cleaning and creates a negative pressure
vortex and moves across the boat's surface using a combination of
rotating brushes and water jets to clean the build-up.

Thus, it is possible to carry out preventive cleaning to maintain the

working capacity of ships without long-term work hazardous to
humans.

The problem of fouling of the ship's hull was also discussed by us

earlier. A brief conclusion: The overgrown hull has a key effect on
fuel consumption, and therefore on the number of harmful
emissions. Timely cleaning of the body can reduce fuel costs by up
to 12%!