China to Europe Project Cargo: What to Prepare Before Asking for Freight

A request for freight from China to Europe can be answered much faster when the cargo information is complete from the beginning.

For project and oversized cargo, the first requirement is not simply the total weight.

Owners need to understand the individual units.

The enquiry should include:

• cargo description;
• number of units;
• length, width and height of each unit;
• individual weights;
• heaviest single lift;
• photographs or drawings;
• lifting points;
• loading port;
• discharging port;
• required shipment period.

For wheeled machinery, it is also useful to state whether the units are self-propelled and whether they can move on board without additional equipment.

For electric buses or battery-powered machinery, battery type, state of charge and relevant safety documentation may be required.

Once this information is available, different transport alternatives can be compared.

Depending on the cargo and route, the solution may involve Ro-Ro, Lo-Lo, multipurpose or conventional project cargo tonnage.

There is no single method that is automatically cheapest.

The result depends on vessel availability, dimensional restrictions, port rotation and handling requirements.

Kiev Shipping searches the international freight market for suitable project and multipurpose tonnage and assists cargo owners with freight negotiations from China to Europe and other destinations.

For current vessel options, see our project cargo chartering from Asia.