Everything to know about Heavy Machinery Shipping

No matter how many goods you may have shipped, transporting heavy machines is a whole different experience. Shipping heavy-duty goods or oversized machinery is a difficult task that involves significant risks and hurdles. If you are planning to transport heavy-duty goods, you must be aware of the different techniques used for shipping them safely. In this comprehensive guide, heavy-duty machinery shipping, we will walk you through the various details regarding a smooth and convenient shipping process. Let’s get started:

Ensuring the Equipment’s Safety

You cannot risk your equipment on the journey by not taking the necessary steps. First, you must prepare your heavy machinery for the upcoming journey to protect your goods from all kinds of damages and losses. You need to take the following necessary steps to ensure that it reaches safely:

• Drain all the fluids and batteries, especially fuels, to prevent leakage and accidents.
• If required, dismantle the equipment for easy packing and cover all the problematic parts for better protection.
• Pack it carefully using the packaging manual given with the equipment and follow all the steps correctly.

Check all the documents.

Shippers need to have proper documentation before they start with their shipping process. If you are shipping heavy machinery for the first time, you must ensure all the documentation for your shipping process. Poor documentation leads to more hurdles during the shipments, so you must prepare all your paperwork before the process begins.

For this, you first need to consider your country’s various customs rules and regulations. Also, when partnering with a freight shipping process, you need to check all your documents such as bills, receipts, insurance papers, a list of items, identification information of both shippers and consignees, etc. It is essential to understand the number of documents required to transport goods to different countries.

Calculate the risks involved

Before you ship your goods to the final destination, you need to assess the risks involved during the entire process. First, consider the type of goods you will send and the destination. Then you need to view the risk management policy of the freight forwarding company you are choosing for your shipping needs.

Shipping heavy machinery means that your shipment needs extra care and supervision while transporting. Choosing the top freight forwarding companies like SLR shipping helps you guarantee your machinery’s safety at all stages of the process, including packing, loading, handling, unloading, etc. They have professionals who understand the risk factors during the journey and take the necessary precautions to prevent them.

Different Shipping Options Overseas

One of the biggest decisions shippers need to make for transporting goods overseas is to choose the best option for shipping machinery. Different shipping options are available according to different sizes/dimensions and the distance involved. The three types of options available include:

Roll On Roll Off (RoRo)

This method of shipment is widely used overseas for the cost-effective and easy process. This is usually preferred for machinery and equipment with wheels as it can be quickly loaded and unloaded on ships, trailers, containers, etc.

Lift On Lift Off (LoLo)

Shippers use Lift On Lift Off (LoLo) for all the machinery without wheels and bulkier in size. In this type of shipping, a crane is used to load or unload heavy machinery, and it requires a skilled crane operator to complete the task without damaging the consignment.

Flat Rack Shipping Method

A flat rack shipping method is generally used for heavier goods hard to carry in an enclosed container. A container with no walls and roofs is used for mounting heavy equipment and machinery. For better protection, shippers use proper packaging while shipping the goods using LoLo.