For goods from China to Saudi Arabia, sea freight is the most common international shipping method. Sea freight has the advantages of low cost and high transport capacity, but it is slow. If your supply chain has a tight shipping budget and your main goal is to keep shipping costs to a minimum, then sea freight is the right choice. Sometimes the goods are so large or heavy that air transport is not practically or economically feasible, and sea freight is the only way.

Advantages of sea freight:

• Large capacity: Since ships are large transport vehicles with large deadweights, they can transport a large amount of goods in a single voyage.
• Low cost: Overall, sea freight has lower costs compared to other modes of transportation, partly due to the large capacity of ships and high transportation efficiency.
• Ability to transport a variety of goods: Ships are able to transport goods of various sizes, weights, and shapes. It can transport bulk goods, cars, heavy equipment, etc.
• Abundant ports: Allows ships to reach many different ports in Saudi Arabia. In addition, ports facilitate loading and unloading, customs clearance, and warehousing.

Disadvantages of sea freight:

• Delivery time: Sea freight takes 20 to 30 days to reach the destination port in Saudi Arabia.
• Insurance and maritime risks: Shipping is susceptible to maritime risks such as drowning, collision, theft and piracy. Cargo may need to be insured according to maritime laws and regulations, which will increase costs.
• Storage and handling restrictions: Ocean freight requires cargo to be stored in containers or ship parts, which may mean that special equipment such as container cranes must be used to load and unload cargo. This can pose challenges in formatting, arranging and storing in limited space.
• Dealing with customs documents and procedures: Ocean freight involves customs formalities and dealing with documents such as bills of lading, certificates of title and certificates of origin.

Our ocean freight forwarding services to Saudi Arabia cover all major ports in China, Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Qingdao, Tianjin, Dalian, etc. In addition to regular FCL and LCL services, we also handle OOG cargo from China and arrange for bulk carriers and RoRo ships.

Read more:Logistics shipping prices from China to Saudi Arabia