The container and the advantages of containerised sea transport

The container, and with it containerised transport, is one of the inventions that revolutionised sea transport.

General points

The first official voyage of a container took place in 1956.

A large, standardised, sturdy rectangular box, the container is designed for carrying cargo. Its robust, easy-to-load design provides shelter for goods, from seller to buyer.

Since the invention of the original sea freight container, variations in size and function have been developed to suit oversized, heavy and temperature-sensitive cargo and other specific cargo needs.

The use of containers demonstrates the complementarity between freight transport modes by offering greater fluidity of movement and standardised loads. The container contributed substantially to the adoption and spread of intermodal transport. This led to profound shifts in the transport sector.

By reducing handling time, labour costs and packaging costs, containers allow a
considerable improvement in transport efficiency. The relevance of containers is therefore not what they are – simple boxes – but what they make possible, namely intermodalism.

Globalisation could not have taken its present form without containerisation.

The advantages of containerisation

Flexibility

Containers can carry a very wide variety of goods, from cereals or foodstuffs to machinery. Out-of-Gauge (OOG) cargo can easily be carried on platforms or platform containers.

OOG – goods with abnormal dimensions and shapes that do not fit into normal containers. Specially built containers called Reefers (Refrigerated Containers) can carry items that are sensitive to temperature variations, such as pharmaceutical medicines and perishable foods.

Ease of management

Shipping containers are indivisible units and every registered container has a unique identification number. This makes it easy to track during its journey. This unique number is given to it under the specifications of the BIC – Bureau International des Containers. The BIC is an organisation based in Paris which “oversees standards for intermodal containers”. The container number is used in checking the cargo by various parties, such as the sender, the consignee, the ports, the customs authorities, etc.

Speed of transport

With larger and more powerful cargo ships and modern container handling equipment, transhipment times have fallen drastically. Loading and unloading are faster nowadays, both in ports and in modern warehouses.

Standardised MHE (Material Handling Equipment) makes it easier to handle the sea freight containers that come from and leave for different parts of the world.

Standardisation

Because ISO-certified containers have standard dimensions, they can be handled universally by any transport and standard MHE. This makes containers easier to use, transport and store.

Economy

The cost of carrying goods in containers is 20 to 25 times lower than the cost of carrying the same goods as bulk or LCL. Containerisation has drastically reduced the transport cost element in the pricing of goods.

Durability

Depending on use, the life of a shipping container can be between 10 and 25 years. Once they are no longer usable, containers are often used for storage or converted into housing.

Safety and security

Containers are safe and secure. These sturdy boxes have walls on all five sides, except for one end where the double doors are located. Each of these double doors has double locking rods, which are used to lock and seal the container, making it secure and tamper-proof.

Honexpres offers complete sea freight services. From the shipper’s door to your door, including inland transport and customs procedures.

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