Logistics, Trade Administration and Supply Chain

Wishing all my friends, colleagues, customers, vendors and readers a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Lighters are small boats that can be stowed on board ocean vessels. Lighters are useful at ports where the draft is too shallow for ocean vessels to berth alongside. Cargo are firstly loaded onto the lighters which are then towed to the ship's side. The lighthers are then lifted onboard the ship using the ship's crane. At the discharge port, the lighters are lifted overboard using the ship's crane. The lighters are then towed to alongside the port. The super heavylift ships are conventional vessel fitted with derricks that are capable of lifting heavy cargo such as machineries, equipments, electrical installations, tractors, etc. . Barges are small boats that can navigate up rivers. They are usually utilised for the following: Ferrying cargo to and from ships that cannot berth alongside port due to shallow draft. Transporting cargo to and from inland areas lying near the rivers. Transporting food and supplies to offshore installations such as oil drills.

Dry bulk carriers are conventional vessels with large unobstructed cargo holds for transporting bulk cargo such as grains, sugar, coal, ores, etc. The cargo holds have large hatchways to facilitate loading of cargo conveyor belts and suction pumps. Gas carriers are specialised vessels used for transportation of natural gas. They are commonly referred to as LNGs or in full name, Liquefied Natural Gas carriers due to their close association with the product that they carry. Gas carriers are usually operated under time charters.

Ro/Ro ships were developed after World War Two and is frequently termed as a "vehicle ferry". It was designed for the conference of road vehicles. At such terminal, a ramp is provided for vehicles to be driven on to or out of the vessel. This eliminates carnage and permits a quick turn-around for the vessel. Tankers are specialised vessel designed to carry bulk liquid cargo such as chemicals, oils, latex and petroleum products. Some of the largest ships in the world are crude oil tankers. These are very large crude oil carriers (VLCC) with capacities exceeding 350,000 deadweight tons. Tankers are usually operated under voyage or time charters. However, some oil companies do own tankers for transporting their own products.

These ships are designed to carry general cargo and are usually operated by liner operators. Their capacities varies from 200 deadweight tons for the coastal trade to more than 20,000 deadweight tons for the deep sea trades. The smaller ships are usually constructed with two cargo holds while the larger ones have four to six cargo holds. The holds are divided with between decks for stowing the wide assortment of general cargo carried by the cargo liners. The ships are fifted with their on derricks or cranes, including jumbo derrick for heavylifts, to facilitate the loading and discharging of cargoes. Most of these type of ships are fitted with refrigerated rooms for storing perishable cargo and deep tanks for tanks for carrying bulk liquids such as latex and oils.

This container is designed to carry liquids such as spirits, latex, oil and chemicals. The tank is made of stainless steel and is suspended within the framework of a general purpose container. It has a filling port fitted centrally at the top of the tank and a discharge pipe at the bottom rear end of the tank. Hangertainers This container is similar to the general purpose container except that its interior is fitted with facilities designed to transport hanging garments.

Of the same construction as the General Purpose Containers except for the inclusion of full length ventilation gallaries sited along the top and bottom side rails. Primarily designed to transport commodities such as coffee beans, coco beans, etc.

These container have a fixed roof, open sides and end opening doors. The sides are closed by full height gates and covered with nylon reinforcement PVC curtains. It is designed to accommodate carriage of commodities such as plywoods.