The packaging of goods in the maritime transport that is how to carry bulbs

The packaging of goods in the maritime transport that is how to carry bulbs

After publishing my article about a packing list I have received a lot of correspondence (so, probably somebody reads it??) about a packaging itself, more specifically, in relation to an issue of how a good should be packed in the international carriages.

If it is a sea FCL consignment so a manner of a packaging is basically optional and should be based on a product, not a carriage characteristics. It is known that liquids are carried in the barrels or other containers, e.g. made form plastics and loose materials in the bags, etc. A problem? None…

But things make complicated when you want to use a LCL transport service… It is commonly known that in one bulk container are carried goods for a few/several customers. The goods are on the route from China to Poland can be transhipped a few times. I do not know if you are aware – but I am – how such a transhipment looks like. An operator of the forklift goes to the warehouse and in order according to the stowage plan puts a load inside a container. In the shipping point, one have to unload one container and place a cargo in the next one – and so seven times. If you think that a forklift operator handles it carefully – you are wrong.

A risk of damage of the consignment is ALWAYS and at each stage of its travel from the shipping place to its final discharge. A proper packaging enables it to survive hard times not only during a travel, but also different kinds of manipulations.

I will use here an example – one of my (that is seaoo.com) customers wants to carry bulbs from China to Poland. Bulbs are packed in the unit cardboards and those cardboards in collective ones. I do not probably say that such a way of packaging not only does not protect a load, but rather asks for make it a damage.
The “fragile” goods MUST be packed in a such manner as to withstand difficulties of the maritime transport and transhipments. In the case of the bulbs it asks to make “a case” from the processed wood or at least pack collective cardboards to a pallet and wrap with a foil.

The next thing is a fact that all basic prices in the maritime LCL freight are related to the stowage cargo, what means, that on our proverbial bulbs can put something else – as long as a height of the container allows for it. What do you think – Do wrapped with a foil collective cardboards withstand a press of, e.g. additional 100Kg/m2? I can give you nearly a 100% guarantee that they WILL NOT. And at least a part of our cargo will be irrecoverably lost because of this DAMAGE!!!

However, if we do not want to be pun on our valuable cargo unfortunately we must take into account that a carrier will charge as extra for unused cargo space up to the container height…
I seems to me that making a proper packaging is rather cheaper than potential losses as well as a dead freight… Someone to discuss it??

P.S. One should only make sure that materials used to packing meet the EU requirements in terms of the phyto-sanitary issues… See my post about a packing list and a note on the correct labelling…