Lowest cost per tonne
Ocean freight from China and overseas
Ocean is where volume becomes affordable, whether the container is coming from China or crossing any other ocean. We book full and shared containers through Constanța, Koper, Rijeka, Hamburg and Rotterdam, and we plan the inland leg so the box arrives at your yard rather than sitting at a terminal.
At a glance
- Far East to Constanța
- 28 to 40 days
- Far East to North Europe
- 30 to 45 days
- Turkey to Constanța
- 4 to 8 days
- 20ft payload
- Up to 28 t, about 33 m³
- 40ft high cube payload
- Up to 26 t, about 76 m³
- LCL break even
- Around 15 m³
For anything that is not urgent and not tiny, ocean freight is usually the cheapest way to move goods between continents. A forty foot container from Shanghai to Constanța costs a fraction of what the same load would cost by air, and modern schedules are reliable enough to plan production around. The planning horizon is the point: ocean rewards companies that order early and punishes last minute decisions.
The port choice matters more than most shippers expect. Constanța is the obvious gateway for Romania and is often the shortest total transit from Asia through Suez. Koper and Rijeka can beat it on inland cost for western Romania, and the North European ports of Hamburg, Rotterdam and Antwerp carry the widest carrier choice and the most frequent sailings. We price the realistic options rather than defaulting to one gateway.
We handle both FCL, where you take a whole container, and LCL, where your pallets share one with other shippers. Below roughly fifteen cubic metres, LCL almost always wins. Above that the break even tips toward a full container, and we will show you where your particular shipment sits.
What we take care of
- Carrier and sailing selection across the relevant gateways
- Container booking, equipment release and gate in
- Inland haulage between your site and the port
- Container stuffing supervision and load plans
- Export clearance, EX1 and transit documents
- Bill of lading issue and release management
- Import clearance, duty and VAT at destination
- Demurrage and detention monitoring
What we do
FCL, 20ft and 40ft
Standard, high cube, open top and flat rack equipment booked with the carrier that actually has space on the sailing you need.
LCL consolidation
Shared container space with weekly departures, priced per cubic metre, for volumes that do not justify a full box.
Port to port or door to door
We can stop at the quay or carry the shipment all the way to the receiving address, including the inland haulage.
Customs on both ends
Export clearance in Romania and import clearance at destination, including transit procedures where the port is outside the country of delivery.
Bill of lading handling
Original, express release or telex release, prepared correctly the first time so release at destination is not delayed.
Demurrage and detention control
We track free time on every container and push for release before storage charges start, because those are the costs that ruin a cheap rate.
How it works
- 1
Tell us the volume and the deadline
Cubic metres or container type, gross weight, commodity, loading address and required arrival week.
- 2
We price the gateways
Usually Constanța against a North European or Adriatic option, with total door cost and total transit for each.
- 3
Booking and loading
We secure the slot, release the equipment, arrange the haulage and supervise the stuffing where required.
- 4
Sailing, clearance, delivery
We monitor the vessel, prepare clearance ahead of arrival and move the box out before free time expires.
Frequently asked questions
When should I switch from LCL to a full container?
As a rule of thumb, somewhere between thirteen and eighteen cubic metres, depending on the lane. LCL is priced per cubic metre with a minimum, so it scales linearly, while a full container is a fixed price whether it is half empty or packed. We run both numbers on every enquiry that lands in that range.
Should I ship through Constanța or a northern port?
Constanța is usually the shortest transit from Asia and the cheapest inland leg for eastern and southern Romania. For the west of the country, Koper and Rijeka are often better once trucking is included. Northern ports win on sailing frequency and carrier choice, which matters when a specific arrival week is critical. We quote whichever is genuinely cheaper door to door.
What are demurrage and detention?
Demurrage is what the terminal charges when a container sits in the port beyond its free days. Detention is what the carrier charges when the container is off the terminal but not yet returned empty. Both accrue daily and both are avoidable with paperwork that is ready before the vessel arrives, which is a large part of what we do.
Do you arrange cargo insurance?
Yes, on request. Carrier liability under the Hague-Visby rules is limited and calculated per package or per kilogram, not on the value of your goods, so it rarely covers a real loss. All risks marine cargo insurance is inexpensive relative to the value at stake and we recommend it on most ocean shipments.
Related services
Where we ship this
Industries we serve with this
Incoterms used with this service
Tell us what you need to move.
Send the supplier city or port of loading, the volume and weight, and the date the goods are ready. We will come back with a landed cost and a realistic transit time, usually within one working day.