Basic Knowledge of International Ocean Freight Logistics: Containers

Containers are widely used in the ocean freight process, and compared with other modes of transportation, containers can carry more goods, require fewer items, and are very versatile. Next, this article will introduce the basic knowledge of the ocean freight logistics containers in detail.

1. The dimension of the ocean freight container 

(1) External dimensions

Length, width and height dimensions of the outside of the container, including container attachments. It is the main parameter to determine whether the container can be exchanged between ships, chassis cars, wagons, railway vehicles. It is an important technical information that all transportation departments must master.

(2) Inner dimensions

Length, width and height dimensions inside the container. The height is the distance from the bottom surface of the box to the bottom of the box top plate, the width is the distance between the two inner lining plates, and the length is the distance between the inner plate of the box door and the inner lining plate of the end wall. It determines the inner volume of the container and the large size of the goods in the box.

2. The inner volume of the ocean freight container

The loading volume calculated according to the internal dimensions of the container. Containers of the same specification have slightly different internal volumes due to different structures and manufacturing materials. The internal volume of an ocean freight container is an important technical information that the material department or other packers must master.

3. The unit of calculation of the ocean freight container

Also known as the 20-foot conversion unit, it is the conversion unit for calculating the number of containers. At present, most of the container transportation in various countries uses two types of containers, 20 feet and 40 feet long. In order to unify the container calculation, the 20-foot container is used as one calculation unit, and the 40-foot container is used as two calculation units to facilitate the unified calculation of the operating volume of the container.

4. The leasing of the ocean freight container

That is, a business in which the owner rents empty boxes to users. The owner of the container is the leasing party of the container, and the user, usually the shipping company or the owner, is the leasing party, and both parties sign a lease contract. Qualified containers are provided by the lessor and handed over to the lessee for use within the agreed scope. There are many different ways of container leasing in the world, which can be summed up as: voyage charter, time charter, current charter and navigation area charter, etc.

5. The terminal of the ocean freight container

The container terminal is the specific handling department for the exchange and storage of containers or cargo during the transportation of the ocean freight containers. It is entrusted by the carrier or its agent to carry out the following businesses:

(1) Exchange and storage of FCL shipments.

(2) Set up a container freight station to handle the handover of LCL cargo.

(3) Arrange the berthing of container ships, load and unload containers, and prepare stowage charts for each voyage.

(4) Compile and sign relevant shipping documents.

(5) Prepare and sign the relevant documents for the entry, exit and circulation of the container using the means of delivery.

(6) Handle the inspection and maintenance of containers, vehicles, loading and unloading tools, as well as cleaning and fumigation of empty containers.

(7) Receiving, storing and keeping of empty containers.

(8) Arrange the stacking of empty and heavy containers in the yard, and prepare a site allocation plan.

(9) Other business related work.

6. The front yard of the ocean freight container

The front container yard refers to the yard in front of the container terminal where containers are temporarily stacked in order to speed up the loading and unloading of ships. Its function is: before the container ship arrives at the port, the export containers are neatly stacked in a planned and orderly manner according to the stowage requirements, and the imported containers are temporarily stacked in front of the wharf during unloading to speed up the loading and unloading operations of the ship.

7. The rear yard of the ocean freight container

It is a place where heavy or empty containers are handed over, kept and stacked. In some countries, container yards are not divided into front yards or rear yards, which are collectively referred to as yards. The rear yard of the ocean freight logistics containers is an integral part of the container handling area. It is the place where the FCL of the container transportation "on-site" handover is handled (actually it is handed over at the "gateway" of the container unloading area).