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Sea freight: Connecting the world on the high seas

Ship your goods cost-effectively and sustainably with sea freight. With our dense network of port locations, our own fleet and proven expertise in customized solutions, we deliver your cargo reliably and safely by sea.

Explore our sea freight solutions

With sea freight, you can ship your cargo worldwide. Rely on our long-standing partnerships with key port operators and shipping lines, along with our own fleet of vessels. We offer a wide range of solutions tailored to your sea freight requirements, including LCL, FCL and buyer’s and seller’s consolidation. From river-sea transport and chartering services to tanker supply and disposalas well as customs clearance support, we handle all your sea freight logistics

Sea transportation at a glance

Ship your sea freight cost-effectively with LCL, even for smaller shipments. By sharing container space, you significantly cut shipping costs. Flexible and reliable, LCL offers an economical solution without compromise. Ideal for smaller importers and exporters, LCL allows you to ship smaller volumes and adapt to market demand. Expand your business with sea transportation and save, since LCL is particularly cost-effective compared to air or rail.

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FCL sea freight is the ideal choice when shipment volumes between fixed origins and destinations allow for full container utilization. Benefit from customized container shipping adapted to your needs. This includes continuous tracking and paperless booking and shipping instructions that ensure seamless coordination with sea shipping companies.

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Combine LCL shipments into a single full-container load (FCL) through buyer’s and seller’s consolidation. This approach lowers costs, enhances supply chain transparency and improves cargo management, making it an efficient and cost-effective solution for global logistics.

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Short sea transport provides an efficient connection between industrial regions and markets. Regular liner services between key ports offer both time and cost savings while supporting environmentally friendly transportation options. With door-to-door sea freight solutions, we deliver goods quickly and reliably. Our just-in-time deliveries also ensure materials arrive on time for your production.

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We provide comprehensive transport services for offshore projects. From the safe transfer of your crew by ship or helicopter to reliable supply deliveries for offshore platforms, we’ve got you covered. Our expertise in groupage services allow us to consolidate shipments for multiple platforms, reducing costs and minimizing the environmental impact. We also offer customized solutions to support complete wind farm campaigns.

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Your benefits

Sea transport is particularly environmentally friendly and efficient.

With regular departures and binding transit times, sea freight offers an especially reliable solution. Benefit from optimized supply chains and consistent availability.

Rely on our intercontinental transport services to connect your business with global trade routes and markets in the deep-sea sector.

We handle the full coordination of your shipments, including pre- and on-carriage. This helps us ensure full compliance with all applicable regulations at every stage.

Why choose Rhenus for sea freight services

  • Our strong global network supports you worldwide, with gateway services designed to combine global reach with a local Focus
  • Trusted partnerships with all major shipping companies, ensuring reliable service worldwide.
  • Complete services along the supply chain with solutions from a single source
  • Flexibility with our customized industry Solutions
  • Enhanced security thanks to real-time shipment tracking during the entire process
  • 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 sea freight requirements, including smart storage, repackaging, neutralization, sorting, monitoring, labeling, shipment checks and palletizing.

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Document solutions for sea freight shipments

Benefit from paper-based proof of delivery and invoices instead of sending them electronically. These essential documents confirm that your shipment has been properly delivered. For sensitive materials, our courier services ensure fast and reliable delivery of confidential documents worldwide. If you need digital insights to make your operations as efficient as possible, we offer customized reporting for managing your data.

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Customs clearance

We ensure your sea freight shipments clear customs without delays, always in full compliance with the latest regulations. Whether importing or exporting, we are at your side. Customs clearance is either directly managed by our own experts or through trusted partners, giving you the confidence that your shipments are handled with care and reliability.

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Marine cargo insurance

Our customized transport insurance solutions safeguard the value of your freight, covering risks of physical loss or damage during transportation by land, sea or air. This protection helps you effectively manage potential financial impacts. We understand that routes vary in risk and goods differ in sensitivity, which is why our insurance services keep your shipments secure at all times.

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E-solutions for your sea freight

We seamlessly integrate your IT systems with ours to automate the exchange of important business data, from shipping orders to status updates. This means you can rely on efficient processes. Our solution enables structured data transfer directly between systems according to agreed standards, eliminating manual intervention. This leads to improved data quality, fewer errors and faster processing of your transactions.

Our certificates for quality management

DIN EN ISO 9001:2015

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

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Preview of DIN EN ISO 9001:2015 certification for quality management standards

As a GMP-certified provider, Rhenus guarantees quality and safety throughout the entire logistics process and ensures the safe and compliant transport of animal feed by inland waterway.

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review of GMP 021403 certification for good manufacturing practices
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Are you looking for a reliable and well-connected partner in sea freight logistics?

Connect with our experts for comprehensive guidance and dedicated support tailored to your needs.

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 sea freight to transport large volumes of goods over long distances as it is usually more cost-effective compared to other means of transportation such as airfreight or land transport.

In general, air freight is more expensive than sea freight because of higher operating cost and the limited capacity of planes compared to cargo ships. Airfreight is often used for urgent shipments or for goods that require fast delivery, while sea freight is preferred for larger volumes over longer distances thanks to cost efficiency. 

You can choose between full charter services and general cargo shipments. We can handle any type of cargo, including containers, bulk shipments, general cargo, dangerous materials, liquid goods, heavy loads and oversized project cargo. For deep sea transportation, we leverage long-standing partnerships with reputable sea shipping companies to charter vessels and deliver your goods on time worldwide. Smaller deep-sea shipments can be consolidated on one vessel for transport to your chosen destination. Sea freight consolidation can lead to cost savings for you.

With our consolidation services, buyers can combine LCL shipments with orders from multiple suppliers to reduce costs. All shipments are consolidated at one center and sent in a single FCL container delivered to the destination. For sellers, we can load multiple consignments from the same point of origin into one FCL container and send it directly to the port of destination, where the goods are unloaded and distributed to recipients. This process saves time and effort while giving you greater transparency and control across your entire transport chain.