Over time, the volume of goods being transported on European roads has steadily increased, leading to congested roads, delays, and unnecessary costs. As shippers look to avoid these issues, many are considering short sea shipping as a viable solution.

What is short sea shipping?

Short sea shipping is essentially container movement within Europe, but with a short time on the sea. Short sea shipping is an excellent alternative to road freight. However, it is not a matter of dismantling road transport. It is about environmentally smart alternatives that improve existing supply chains.

What are the advantages of short sea shipping?

• Increased Reliability: One significant benefit of short sea shipping is that shippers receive goods in a reliable, consistent, and timely manner. Unlike road transport, which is prone to delays and irregular logistics flow due to congestion, short sea shipping allows for scheduled departures and arrivals.
• A Sustainable Choice: Short sea shipping provides great environmental, social, and economic advantages and plays a vital role in sustainable shipping. Moving a significant volume of goods from road freight to short sea will positively impact road congestion, road safety, and noise levels. One feeder vessel carries the equivalent of 500 truckloads. Compared to using trucks only, this solution provides increased both in terms of cost and CO2 emissions.
• Buy What You Need: The size of a container often determines the quantity purchased, but it is important to buy and transport only what is needed. A short sea solution enables shippers to avoid producing excess merchandise with no demand and risks being destroyed. Short sea shipping affords the opportunity to book smaller quantities resulting in fewer containers being utilized.
• Cost-Efficient Alternative: Sea freight rates are considerably lower than road freight rates, especially when transporting larger freight volumes and heavier cargo. Transitioning from road freight to short sea allows shippers to circumvent the high freight rates associated with road transport. In the long term, moving large volumes to short sea and away from the roads of Europe would help restore the capacity imbalance in road freight and eventually remove lack-of-capacity surcharges.

For more information about short sea shipping solutions, contact your local sales representative.

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Cost savings is no longer the only top priority for companies looking for outsourcing partners. More so, they want a partner who can provide the expertise and knowledge not found in-house. Logistics is a core competency, and also the biggest reason companies choose to outsource their logistics activities: It allows them to focus on their core business. This is precisely what one of our customers did.

In need of a qualified and experienced customs broker

In 2007, an international company, best known for its leading technology in the power, renewable energy, aviation, and healthcare industries, reached out to us. The company was struggling with custom formalities for shipments from China to Latvia. They were in need of a qualified and experienced customs broker that could handle the complex procedures and formalities for their large goods volumes. Together with the company, we looked into the possibilities, and a collaboration was initiated that would turn into a long-lasting relationship.

Logistics as a core competency

In 2018, the company re-nominated us as their customs broker. This time, the scope was a bit wider. Our customer is a large international company with businesses all over the world and large goods volumes that need to be moved across borders. Instead of employing their own logistics experts, they wanted to outsource their customs brokerage to us. Logistics being our core competency, this was a perfect match.

Providing our expert knowledge in customs brokerage

Two of our logistics experts would dedicate their resources exclusively to our customer’s account and work in their name. Thanks to our previous collaboration, we already knew the ins and outs of the company and its import and export requirements. After closing the agreement, including strict disclosure requirements and confidentiality rules, our logistics experts were ready to get to work.

Greencarrier Freight Services took care of customs procedures and formalities, making sure the shipments met all standards and regulations for import and export as well as requirements for customs clearance. We handled all the necessary documentation, duties, taxes, and payments.

Managing the cargo flow from A to Z

In 2020, the company reached out to us once again. They had a similar project in one of the CIS countries and needed our help. However, this time, they wanted us to handle customs procedures and formalities and manage their entire cargo flow from A to Z. This included all transport modes and multiple trade lanes. It also required logistics experts that could speak English and Russian fluently working in international teams.

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