Navigate® - Sea Freight Solution

Navigate is the option for a comprehensive personal sea freight solution that combines both a global network with unrivalled expertise for you to get your products in the right place and on time.

Sea Freight is a method of transporting large quantities of goods using cargo/carrier ships. Sea Freight can be very cost effective, so it is a popular means of transport for businesses when they have to move large amounts of items.

Read more about our sea freight solution here.

Our vast-reaching network, coupled with the knowledge of our experienced team, offers a wide variety of solutions for sea freight movements, with multimodal sea and rail options, warehousing solutions, worldwide agents on the ground, UK merchant haulage partners and more.

We have a comprehensive network of suppliers that can cover all of your sea freight requirements. Dry containers, Flat rack containers, Open top, Flat High cube and many more.

Get in touch with one of our account managers so they can understand a little bit more about your sea requirements and help!

LCL (Less Than Container Load): Shipments are best suited for goods that are too small to fill a whole container. Goods are more often than not, loaded into a container with lots of other companies’ goods.

FCL (Full Container Load): Very suitable for large goods that are big enough to fill one whole container. If the FCL is suitable for your company, you will receive a dedicated container to move your goods.

Some of the more common ships/transportations are listed below:

Containers: Container ships are designed to carry cargo packed into standard I.S.O. containers.

Bulk Carriers: They are ships that are made to move unpacked bulk cargo, such as sand, crushed stone, coal and other goods to this effect.

Tankers: Tankers are also very common on the sea. They are used to move liquid foods, oils, petroleum products etc. As is, they account for almost half of all sea freight.

Reefer Ships: Despite the fact that sea freight transportations are very time-consuming, they are suitable for transportation of perishable goods.

Roro Ships (Roll-on Roll-off Ships): RORO ships are cargo vessels which have horizontal loading of wheelbase vehicles through stern ramps – trucks and passenger car, r/r wagons, etc.

Timber Carriers: Timber carriers are used for transporting timber (round and sawn wood), as a rule, with a single deck.

Cost effective: Sea freight can be a lot less expensive than air freight since tax duty & VAT for sea freight is considerably cheaper than air.

Best for heavier goods: Heavy/Bulky cargo, such as vehicles, machinery, construction materials etc, can be shipped & handled much easier when sea freight is used.

Safety: Hazardous items can be moved more easily via sea freight. The ships crew is very well trained & regulations are in place to protect such cargo.

Inter-Modal/Multi-modal: Containers can also be used for further transportation by road or rail.

Time consuming: Very time consuming mode of transport – much slower than other freight options.

More chances of damage: Since the transportation of goods does take so long, the risks are slightly higher when shipping via sea. Delays & severe weather can cause damage or loss to the cargo.

Port convenience: Further transportation overland will be needed to reach the final destination.

Tracking: Keeping track of your goods’ progress is difficult.

Inflexible: Routes and timetables are usually set in stone & difficult to be flexible with.

Automation is one to keep an eye on for the Shipping industry. Unmanned vessels are slowly being tested and launched. With a lot more testing we can hope to increase safety standards and eliminate human error to create a better shipping industry for all those involved.

The other one to keep an eye on is alternative fuels. Many shipping companies are looking to use liquified natural gas, which does lead to a reduction in pollutants, as it does contain the lowest CO2 emissions per unit of energy.