What is the Break Bulk Vessel?
A breakbulk vessel is a shipping unit that stores bulk cargo or products packed in small shipments. These vessels primarily ship irregularly sized products in bulk, which fail to suffice the standard sizing requirements. Some examples of goods transported by break bulk vessels are manufacturing equipment, building raw materials, structured steel, etc.
Significance of Break Bulk Vessel in an E-commerce Shipping and Delivery
A break-bulk vessel decreases the cost of shipping while allowing a shipping company to monitor them closely.
- Better control: Products are individually packed with unique bills of lading while loading or unloading. It allows a shipping company to pay close attention to the products, thus decreasing the chance of product theft or misplacement. As product theft and loss are widespread, these vessels play a huge role.
- Cost reduction for irregularly sized products: These vessels enjoy the highest carrying capacity amongst other modes of transport in the middle-mile delivery. Therefore, the cost of shipping an irregularly sized product through a break-bulk vessel is comparatively low.
Prerequisites of Break Bulk Vessel and How It Works
While shipping products via a break bulk vessel, a seller must ensure that their products fit the description mentioned.
- Seller’s leasing a break bulk vessel: A seller rents out space in a break bulk vessel to ship a said number of products from one port to another.
- Shipping companies leasing break bulk vessels: A shipping company rents out space in a vessel. The rented volume is denoted by the cumulative total of all the products to be shipped.
Use Case with Break Bulk Vessel
Suppose a car manufacturing company in Phuket rents and ships ten car units to Sydney by renting space in a break bulk vessel. Different parts of the car are broken and loaded onto other modes of transportation.