Our planet is covered in two thirds by water and for that reason navigation has been since antiquity the main method of mobilizing people and cargo between the different countries.
Shipping uses boats with large storage capacity, which allows you to mobilize a lot of cargo at the same time.
In addition, the operating costs in relation to each tonne of cargo are much lower than those of air, rail or land transport.
Shipping is widely used in the developed countries of the West, as well as China, Japan and the emerging economies of Southeast Asia.
To this are added the oil countries of the Persian Gulf, which export millions of barrels of oil per year by sea.
It is considered key in the functioning of the world economy as evidenced by studies done by the International Monetary Fund and specialized agencies.
These studies indicate that each year more than 5.18 billion tons of cargo are transported by sea, that is, more than 80 percent of the total global market cargo.
Make sure you hire experienced logistics operators!
In the world of international logistics there is no room for mistakes and that is why it is important that you ensure that you have the best logistic operator.
To import or export in Paraguay you can count on the support of Alfa Trading S.A.
We are a company with 28 years of experience in the field of national and international logistics.
We can guide you and accompany you in the handling of maritime and fluvial cargo, air cargo and land transportation, as well as all the procedures required inside and outside Paraguay.
With Alfa Trading S.A. you guarantee the success of your export or import process, in the shortest time and at the lowest cost!
Types of cargo that mobilizes maritime transport
The maritime transport allows to carry large amount of passengers, as well as liquid, solid or gas cargo from one port to another, with practically no distance limit.
The loads can be moved in traditional containers, as well as in gaseous or liquid form using special tankers.
It can also carry large amount of cargo in bulk.
What are the characteristics of shipping?
This mode of transport has several characteristics that differentiate it from air, rail and land transport.
High load capacity
Since the mid-twentieth century and to the present, it has become increasingly frequent to build high-capacity ships for the transport of containers and oil.
There are ULCC (Ultra Large Crude Carrier) type tankers with a maximum capacity of 500,000 deadweight tons (TPM).
The maximum capacity of TPM is the greater amount of cargo a ship can carry without jeopardizing its buoyancy or maneuverability.
As for container loading, there are container ships with a capacity of up to 165,000 deadweight tons.
International reach
Maritime transport offers the highest profitability by carrying large volumes of cargo between different points of the planet. The more distance and load, the more profitable it is.
It is also very convenient to use in combination with air or land to cover short sea routes, especially in tourism or trade within a country.
Versatility
In the world of the maritime transport a great variety of ships adapted to all type of loads is available.
Ships can be used from as little as 100 tonnes of deadweight capacity up to several thousand dwt.
In addition there are innumerable specialized designs for difficult or risky loads, such as oil tankers, gas and toxic chemicals.
To this are joined special ships to carry rolling stock, refrigerated products and solids in bulk.
The despatch of petroleum, chemicals and substances for industrial use is much easier by ship than by other means.
Competitive costs
Maritime freight rates are very competitive and economical compared to air transport, especially when talking about large cargo volumes.
In addition the ships can operate under meteorological conditions that other means could not surpass, mainly the airplanes.
What should you consider before hiring shipping services?
Although there are many types of moving products, most shipping is done in containers or in bulk, which you should consider when making a contract.
Containers
Containers are generally constructed following the standards of the International Standarization Organization (ISO), which regulates their size, weight and shape, among other characteristics.
Thanks to ISO standards, the external measures of
s containers are standardized, facilitating multimodal transport processes.
The most used containers are 20 feet in length (33 cubic meters capacity) 40 feet (66 cubic meters capacity).
The size of the 20-foot container is used as the basis of the capacity of container ships. A 20-foot container is equivalent to 1 TEU (Tweenty-foot Equivalent Unit).
Therefore, when saying that a ship has 18,000 TEU capacity we mean that it can carry 18,000 20-foot containers.
Some shipping companies mobilize between 7 and 10 million TEUs a year, which demonstrates the magnitude of the maritime transport market.
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