If you need to ship a cargo container for the first time for your business, here are three tips that will help ensure an effective shipping process.

#1 Purchase Insurance For Your Cargo

To start with, you are going to want to purchase insurance for your cargo. When you ship a container on a cargo ship, your goods are going to make a long journey. Over the course of that journey, the cargo container is going to be moved multiple times. During all of these moves, items may break even if you pack them up really well.

Additionally, your shipping container with your cargo is going to go through multiple ports. As it makes its way through multiple ports, there is a chance that your particular cargo container will get inspected more than once. During this process, goods could get damaged or misplaced.

Due to the chance of damage to your cargo, it is a good idea to plan for attrition and ensure that you have the proper level and type of insurance to account for damaged goods and attrition that may happen during the shipping process.

#2 Always Declare Organic Material

You are going to want to check your cargo very carefully and note any plants, vegetables or fruit that is inside of your shipping container. Organic material requires special customs forms. You need to make sure that you correctly fill out all customs forms and declare all organic cargo. If you ship organic cargo without declaring it, and the organic cargo is discovered during an inspection, your container can end up in quarantine. When that happens, not only are your goods not making it to their final destination, but you will also be charged a daily fee while your goods are in quarantine and you complete and file the proper paperwork with the right authorities.

#3 Make Sure Your Goods Are Properly Packaged

Be sure to take into consideration all the different types of climates that your cargo is going to pass through. Your shipping container will most likely be exposed to temperatures ranging from extreme highs to extreme lows, as well as different levels of humidity. Unless you use a specialized shipping container, your container is not going to be climate controlled. That means you need to make sure that you package everything so that it can breathe and so that humidity, mold, and mildew will not build up. You also need to package your goods carefully so that the temperature remains as constant as possible if your goods can be damaged by changes in temperature. 

Contact a company like Slana Inc. to learn more.