Rules for finding a maritime freight forwarder when sea shipping is required
What should a cargo owner tell a freight forwarder to organize sea shipping
Once the shipping route is established, you need to provide the following information: Name of goods (commodity code UKTZVED), its packaging, technical specifications, dimensions, weight and cargo properties, determine the name of the required container, the estimated date the cargo will be ready for loading onto the vessel.
Package of required documents for processing imported cargo; all documents must be submitted by the cargo owner in originals
Original ocean bill of lading, certified on the reverse with the receiver's company stamp/ release. House bill of lading (original, certified on the reverse with the receiver's company stamp/ release). Power of attorney. Commercial invoice. Packing list. Certificate of origin. Depending on the type of cargo, additional documents may be required: Phytosanitary certificate (for cargo of plant origin). Veterinary certificate (for cargo of animal origin). Import quarantine permit (for flour cargo, cereals, tea, coffee and others). Certificate of conformity (for food products). Sanitary-hygienic certificate (to obtain the mark «SES import, sale permitted» on the bill of lading).
What additional conditions and terms may apply in a sea shipping contract for cargo transportation in the given direction
Standard demurrage of motor vehicles: Motor vehicle downtime beyond the norm at the port of departure or port of arrival of the container. Conditions for cancelling a request. Penalties for overweight. Monitoring of reefer container at the port. Storage rates. Storage of oversized cargo. Cargo inspection. Demurrage-Detention of containers (use beyond the warehouse). Booking changes. Bill of lading corrections. Clarify the number of the sea container. The cargo owner should take these conditions into account to avoid unforeseen situations and expenses.
How to use the sea shipping section to find maritime freight forwarders for cargo delivery
Each cargo owner has a personal account where you as a customer in the category «Sea shipping» in the section «Add cargo», manage your requests, place new ones, showing everyone that you have cargo that needs to be delivered. Add several requests. Update them and raise them in the list of other requests in «My cargo» to show all your cargo to all service providers. If you perform these actions regularly, carriers and freight forwarders will always contact the customer of sea shipping whose request will be new, first, and at the top of the list of other requests.
01.11.2026 in the list of service provider requests for sea shipping, there are 1,326 offers currently active.
How to provide your sea transport with cargo and shipping requests.
Cargo ships and container fleets of freight carriers should not be idle. Any downtime brings losses, and ideally all types of sea transport should be in constant motion, with brief breaks for loading and unloading. If you manage to increase the turnover of cargo ships and container fleet, the carrier company will receive additional profits that will ensure its stable development. Let's find out how to quickly find cargo for sea shipping.
Options for finding free cargo for sea shipping
The international transport portal Com-stil.com was created and operates so that cargo owners and freight carriers can quickly find each other and begin mutually beneficial cooperation. All the opportunities for this have been created.
There are two ways to search for free cargo requiring sea shipping:
- You can study the cargo posted on the site, announcements submitted by cargo owners who need to ship by sea. To do this, go to the section Cargo - all requests. Shipper requests are available to all site visitors, including representatives of logistics and transport companies. Select from the available requests those that you can fulfill based on the characteristics of your available transport for sea shipping and the needs of the shipper. Contact the representatives of shippers using their contact information available in the sea shipping order request. The freight carrier and cargo shipper need each other, and reaching an agreement on shipping will not be difficult. If you did not find suitable requests among the available cargo shipping requests by sea, use the second option provided by Com-stil.com.
- Inform about the cargo ships, container carriers and containers at your disposal by posting your own announcement on the portal. To do this, go to the subsection Add transport and post information about your available transport and its planned route. All sea shipping requests from freight carriers are available to shippers and logistics companies in the section Transport – all requests. They monitor them constantly. As soon as their cargo and your transport match on the main parameters, they will contact you immediately.
How to make your sea cargo shipping request as attractive as possible
Competition in the sea and container shipping market is quite strong, and you should use all opportunities to attract clients specifically to your company. A well and brightly composed announcement about the availability of sea transport will provide you with this opportunity.
First of all, you need to provide the potential client with all necessary information:
- Country and port of loading and unloading of cargo are necessary information. However, you can also inform about cities where you are able to accept and to which you can deliver cargo, if your service allows it.
- The time period during which your sea transport is ready to receive cargo also relates to information necessary for the shipper.
- Be sure to inform about the maximum possible weight and volume of cargo available to clients in your transport.
- When providing your contact information, specify several communication channels. If one channel is unavailable, you can be reached via another.
To make your announcement stand out from others and attract clients, use the «Notes» field. It allows you to post any information about your company and its capabilities:
- There are shippers of sea cargo who engage in regular sea shipments. Such clients find the standard cost of a one-time shipment excessively high and seek to reduce it by leasing transport or ferries, by ordering sea shipping in advance for a long period. First and foremost, this applies to container rental and space on sea ferries. If you have a large container fleet and are ready for long-term leasing, tell cargo owners about this.
- Tell about all your competitive advantages: new vessels and containers, reduced rates compared to competitors, highly qualified personnel, all this will help you conclude an agreement on cargo sea shipping.
- Add any other information to the site that may attract potential clients to you. Become a consultant.
A properly and brightly composed announcement about sea shipping will attract additional clients and provide your transport with orders and increased cargo turnover.
