Forms of Sea Transport

Goods shipped in containers:

• The use of containers dominates commercial international shipping. 

Goods shipped in form of break-bulk:

• Break-bulk refers to any non-bulk cargo that isn’t containerized (such as goods on pallets, or in crates or drums or sacks), which is loaded directly into a ship’s hold. 

Liner shipments (Conventional or Container services):

• Liner vessels operate on fixed routes, to fixed schedules and usually with a standard tariff. Liner trades are dominated by container ships, roll-on/roll-off carriers and general cargo ships.

Charter shipments (e.g. time charter, trip charter)

• Charter (‘tramp’) vessels operate entirely according to the demands of the person chartering them. Their ports of loading and discharge are set by the charter, as is their cost, which depends on immediate supply and demand conditions. Most tankers and bulk carriers operate in the charter markets.     

Ro-Ro Traffic (roll on/roll off)

• For vehicles and trucks and heavy packages (unpacked) Roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) vessels carry both road haulage and passenger vehicles.