CLASSIFICATION OF BULK CARGOES
Whether they are shipped by sea, air, or ground, goods are classified into multiple types. Most people are familiar with shipping containers, which require dedicated container ships to transport. There is also RO/RO (Roll-on/Roll-off) cargo, which typically refers to vehicles and other towable cargo that can be rolled directly on and off the ship.
Any cargo that doesnโt fall into these two categories is called bulk cargo. There are three main classes: dry bulk, liquid bulk, and breakbulk.
- Dry bulk is loose, unpacked cargo transported in large quantities, such as sand, charcoal, iron ore, gravel, or cobblestone;
- Liquid bulk includes free-flowing liquids or liquid gasses directly carried inside tanks mounted on specialized ships. Examples include milk, wine, solvents, petroleum products, and natural gas;
- All other cargo falls into the breakbulk cargo category.
WHAT IS BREAKBULK CARGO?
Breakbulk, also known as general cargo, is packaged freight that is not transported in shipping containers. Instead, it refers to goods stored in various types of individual packaging units that are loaded directly into the shipโs hold.
Examples of packaging units used in breakbulk cargo shipping include:
- Bags;
- Barrels;
- Boxes;
- Crates;
- Drums;
- Pallets.
This type of cargo can also include irregularly sized freight that cannot fit in any standard-sized container or packaging unit. Consequently, this type of cargo is sometimes called โnon-unitized.โ