What Happens When a Container Ship Breaks Down

There are many aspects of ocean shipping that people do not really think about until they are forced to think about it. When a container ship has a problem on the water, what happens to their customer's goods and what do they do with all of the containers that have time constraints. Before anything else, everyone including shippers as well as consignees, should know that there is always potential for a problem with their cargo so there should always be an additional week or so added to the timeline. The shipping container could miss its vessel or a container ship could have a problem in transit. When an ocean vessel has a problem, usually the first step is to get them to the nearest port. Many times this can be done with a barge or tug boat. This is the easiest way to transfer the containers and get the cargo moving again. But what happens when the ship cannot be moved? This is always the most difficult since transferring containers is hard enough on land, but on the water it can be next to impossible. The carrier must have all of the load plans in order and the vessel that these containers are transferring to must be able to properly accommodate these containers and their contents. The carrier will always try to get as many containers off the vessel as possible to avoid any further costs since freight costs as well as claims for the content will be extensive. This can take days or even weeks to settle. So next time you hear of delays in your shipment, just be glad that it doesn't include damage to a ship.