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Sea freight: Connecting the world on the high seas

Transport your goods from A to B by sea freight for a cost-effective and sustainable option. Our dense network of port locations and extensive experience with customized solutions ensure your goods reach their destination reliably and safely by sea.

Explore our sea freight solutions

With ocean freight, you can ship your cargo worldwide with the support of our long-standing partnerships with relevant port operators and shipping lines. We offer a wide range of solutions tailored to your ocean freight requirements, including LCL, FCL and buyer’s and seller’s consolidation. From -sea transport and chartering services to supply and disposal for tankers, as well as customs clearance support, we cover all your ocean freight logistics needs.

What we offer

Ship your ocean freight cost-effectively with LCL, even for smaller shipments. By sharing container space, you significantly reduce shipping costs. Perfect for flexible transportation needs, LCL offers an economical solution without sacrificing reliability. Ideal for smaller importers and exporters, LCL allows you to ship smaller volumes and adapt to market demand. This means you can expand your business by using sea transportation and save costs in the process, as LCL is particularly cost-effective compared to air or rail transport.

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Shipping ocean freight as FCL is the best choice when the volume between fixed origins and destinations ensures optimal utilization. Benefit from customized container shipping that is adapted to your needs, continuous shipment tracking and paperless booking and shipping instructions for distribution to sea shipping companies.

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Combine LCL shipments into a single full-container load (FCL) with buyer’s and seller’s consolidation. This method for the transport of sea freight reduces costs, enhances supply chain transparency and improves cargo management, making it ideal for streamlined, cost-effective global logistics.

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Short sea transportation is an effective link between industrial regions and markets. Regular liner services between major port locations offer you time and cost savings as well as environmentally friendly transportation options. With door-to-door services for sea freight, we deliver goods directly to you quickly and reliably. Our just-in-time deliveries also ensure that the desired goods or materials arrive on time for your production.

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We deliver tailored project logistics solutions for complex transports. From heavy lift and out-of-gauge cargo to multimodal coordination, we manage every step – planning, route surveys, customs clearance and on-site delivery. With our global network and local expertise, we ensure safe, efficient and on-time execution of your projects.

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Your benefits

Sea transport is a particularly environmentally friendly transport option.

With regular departures and binding transit times, sea freight is an extremely reliable choice. Benefit from optimized, stable supply chains and constant availability.

Use our intercontinental transport services for trade routes and markets in the deep-sea transport sector.

We take over the complete coordination of your shipments, including pre- and on-carriage, and ensure that all applicable regulations are always complied with.

Why choose Rhenus for sea freight services

  • Strong network to support you around the globe; benefit from our gateway services, which are globally oriented yet locally focused
  • Strong relationships with all major shipping companies as reliable partners
  • Complete services and solutions along the supply chain
  • Flexibility with our customized industry solutions
  • Digital efficiency with our paperless booking system and digital platforms enhancing transparency and control

Value-added services for ocean freight

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Sea freight handling

We take care of all your requirements when it comes to handling ocean freight, be it intelligent storage, repackaging, neutralization, sorting, intelligent monitoring, labeling, checking shipments or palletizing.

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Document solutions for sea freight shipments

We ensure that all essential documents for your sea freight shipments are handled with maximum efficiency and reliability. While original documents such as bills of lading are sent by secure courier services when required, invoices and standard documentation are always provided electronically. This approach not only speeds up processes and improves transparency, but also supports our commitment to sustainability. For advanced needs, we offer customized digital reporting solutions to give you full visibility and control over your shipment data.

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Customs clearance

We make sure that your sea freight shipments get through customs smoothly. We always comply with the latest customs regulations. Whether you want to import or export goods, we are at your side. We handle customs clearance either directly through our own experts or in cooperation with trusted partners. You can rest assured that your shipments are in good hands.

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Marine cargo insurance

Our customized transport insurance solutions protect the value of your freight. We protect your sea freight against all risks of physical loss or damage during transportation by land, sea or air. This allows you to effectively manage the financial consequences of damage. We know that not all transportation routes are equally safe and not all goods are equally sensitive to damage. However, with our insurance services, you are always on the safe side.

Our certificates for quality management

UNI EN ISO 9001:2015

Certified under DIN EN ISO 9001:2015, Rhenus ensures high-quality sea and river navigation, inland waterway transport and related services with full compliance that meet your highest expectations.

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UNI EN ISO 9001:2015

As an Authorized Economic Operator (AEO C), Rhenus is recognized as a trusted partner in international trade, benefiting from simplified customs procedures, faster clearance, and enhanced security.

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AEO C
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Are you looking for a reliable and well connected partner in sea freight logistics?

Reach out to our experts, who will be happy to offer you extensive guidance and support.

Frequently asked questions

Sea freight refers to the transportation of goods by sea, i.e. by ship. It is used for various types of goods, from raw materials such as coal and oil to finished products such as cars and electronics. Companies often use ocean freight to transport large quantities of goods over long distances as it is usually more cost-effective compared to other means of transportation such as airfreight or land transport, especially for long distances.

In general, airfreight is more expensive than sea freight, mainly due to the higher cost of operating planes compared to ships, as well as the limited capacity of planes compared to cargo ships. Airfreight is often used for urgent shipments or for goods that require fast delivery, while ocean freight is often used for larger quantities of goods over longer distances as it is generally more cost-effective.

You can choose between full charter services and general cargo shipments. We can handle any type of cargo, from containers to bulk and general cargo, from dangerous or liquid goods to heavy and oversized project cargo. For deep sea transportation, we use our long-standing relationships with reputable sea shipping companies to charter vessels and ensure that your goods arrive at their destination on time, anywhere in the world. For smaller deep sea shipments, we consolidate your freight on one ship and transport it to your chosen destination. Sea freight consolidation leads to cost savings for you.

With our consolidation services, you as the buyer can group your LCL shipments together with other orders from different suppliers to save costs. Your individual shipments are consolidated in one center and sent in a common container as an FCL shipment, which is then delivered to the destination. If you are acting as a seller, we can load your various shipments from the same point of origin into an FCL container and send them directly to the port of destination. There, the consignments are unloaded and distributed to the appropriate recipients. This saves you time and effort when shipping your sea freight and, at the same time, you benefit from greater transparency and control over your transport chain.