Sea freight and ocean freight are two names for the same mode: cargo moved by container ship or bulk vessel between international ports. The industry uses them interchangeably. "Ocean freight" is the more common phrase in North America, "sea freight" in Europe and Asia, but the vessel, the carrier, the port, and the documents are identical either way. Sea freight moves roughly 80 percent of world trade by volume because nothing else matches it on cost per kilogram over long distances.
This guide covers what sea freight is, how a shipment moves from booking to empty container return, the six service types you can book (FCL, LCL, breakbulk, bulk, RoRo, and reefer), transit times by major trade lane, the full cost structure, container sizes, the documents every export and import file needs, the top ten carriers, and how a freight forwarder handles the workflow. If you run GoFreight or any full featured forwarder platform, ocean and sea freight bookings sit on the same shipment record, whichever term your customer used on the quote request.
Sea freight is the movement of cargo by ship across oceans, typically inside standardized shipping containers loaded at a port of origin and discharged at a port of destination. It is the dominant mode for international trade, handling roughly 80 percent of all global cargo by volume.
Sea freight covers everything from a single pallet consolidated with other shippers' cargo in a 40 foot container, to a full cargo of grain in the hold of a bulk carrier, to a fleet of new cars on a roll on roll off vessel. The common thread is a scheduled ocean crossing between two ports, coordinated by an ocean carrier, filed with customs at both ends, and moved to and from the port by truck or rail.
Every question shippers ask about the mode uses similar language. What is sea freight? The cargo movement by sea in containers or bulk. What is ocean freight? The same thing in North American English. What is FCL? A full container booked exclusively for one shipment. What is LCL? A shared container. This guide answers each of those in turn.
Yes. Sea freight and ocean freight are two names for the same mode of transport. A shipment quoted as "sea freight" is moved on the same container ships, by the same carriers (Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, COSCO, Hapag Lloyd, ONE), through the same ports as one quoted as "ocean freight."
The reason both terms exist is regional. North American forwarders and carriers grew up calling the service "ocean freight" (ocean import, ocean export, ocean rates), which is the language you will still see on US carrier rate sheets and forwarder invoices. European and Asian forwarders use "sea freight" (sea freight import, sea freight export, sea freight rates) more often. Neither is more correct than the other and every carrier accepts either term on a rate request.
The terminology becomes precise only when paired with direction or service type:
A typical sea freight shipment moves through eight stages, from booking to empty container return:
Sea freight is a many party workflow. A single shipment typically involves:
Sea freight handles almost any cargo that is not urgent. Common categories:
Six service types cover almost every ocean booking. Which one you use depends on the cargo, the volume, and how much handling the goods can tolerate.
| Service Type | What It Is | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| FCL (Full Container Load) | You book a full 20 foot or 40 foot container for your cargo only. The box is sealed at origin and opened only by the consignee. | Cargo volume above roughly 15 m3; goods sensitive to handling or theft; scheduled replenishment. |
| LCL (Less than Container Load) | Your cargo shares a container with other shippers. Consolidated at origin and deconsolidated at destination. | Cargo volume 2 to 15 m3; occasional shipments; when paying only for the space you use matters more than transit speed. |
| Breakbulk | Non containerized cargo loaded piece by piece into the vessel hold. Includes crated machinery, steel coils, and drummed cargo. | Oversized single pieces that do not fit a container; cargo without container packaging; niche lanes with no container service. |
| Bulk | Loose cargo loaded directly into a bulk carrier hold with no packaging. | Commodities: grain, coal, iron ore, cement, fertilizer, crude oil (tanker). |
| RoRo (Roll on Roll off) | Wheeled cargo driven on and off a specialized vessel via a stern ramp. | New and used vehicles, trucks, buses, tractors, self propelled heavy equipment. |
| Reefer | Cargo in a temperature controlled container powered on the vessel and during transit. | Fresh produce, seafood, meat, dairy, pharmaceuticals, chemicals with narrow temperature bands. |
Most freight forwarders quote FCL and LCL as their default. Breakbulk, bulk, RoRo, and reefer are specialist bookings and are usually handled by carriers or forwarders with named expertise in that mode.
Choose sea freight when cost matters more than speed. Choose air freight when speed matters more than cost.
| Factor | Sea Freight | Air Freight |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per kg | 0.10 to 0.50 USD | 2.00 to 8.00 USD |
| Transit time | 14 to 45 days port to port | 1 to 5 days airport to airport |
| Volume capacity | Very high (full containers, bulk vessels) | Limited by aircraft hold |
| Cargo weight | Heavy and bulky welcomed | Volumetric weight penalizes large boxes |
| Best for | Planned replenishment, large volumes, low value per kg goods | Urgent shipments, high value goods, perishables |
Most international supply chains use both: sea freight for planned inventory replenishment and air freight to cover stockouts or launch shipments.
Transit time is port to port sailing time only. It excludes origin pickup, port cutoff times, customs clearance, and inland delivery, all of which add 7 to 14 days on each end. Direct sailings (no vessel change) are faster; transhipment sailings (cargo transferred to a second vessel at a hub port) are usually 8 to 15 days slower on long haul lanes.
The table below covers the major container trade lanes with typical direct and transhipment ranges, and the carriers most likely to appear on a rate sheet.
| Origin Region | Destination Region | Direct Transit (days) | Transhipment Transit (days) | Typical Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asia (Shanghai, Ningbo, Yantian) | US West Coast (Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland) | 14 to 18 | 22 to 30 | MSC, Maersk, ONE, Evergreen, COSCO |
| Asia (Shanghai, Busan) | US East Coast via Panama (New York, Savannah, Charleston) | 28 to 35 | 35 to 45 | MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag Lloyd, ZIM |
| Asia (Shanghai, Hong Kong) | North Europe (Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp) | 30 to 45 | 40 to 55 | Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, Hapag Lloyd, COSCO |
| Asia (Shanghai) | South America East Coast (Santos, Buenos Aires) | 40 to 50 | 50 to 65 | MSC, Maersk, Hapag Lloyd, CMA CGM |
| Europe (Rotterdam, Antwerp) | US East Coast (New York, Norfolk) | 10 to 14 | 15 to 22 | MSC, Maersk, Hapag Lloyd, CMA CGM, ONE |
| Intra Asia (Shanghai, Ningbo) | Southeast Asia (Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta) | 5 to 7 | 8 to 12 | ONE, Evergreen, Wan Hai, TS Lines, Yang Ming |
Transit times vary by service string, vessel speed, and port congestion at both ends. Real time container tracking through Shipment Tracking & Operations Software for Forwarders is how modern forwarders keep customers current when a vessel skips a port or a transhipment call runs late. For deeper coverage of factors that move these numbers, see our guide to ocean freight transit times.
Sea freight rates are quoted per container (FCL) or per cubic meter (LCL). Five variables drive the final invoice.
The published rate per 20 foot (TEU) or 40 foot (FEU) container on a specific lane. As of 2026, indicative rates:
Spot rates fluctuate weekly. Contract rates lock in a price for 6 to 12 months.
Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF) for fuel, Currency Adjustment Factor (CAF), Peak Season Surcharge (PSS), Low Sulfur Surcharge, and emergency surcharges (Suez transit, war risk) all stack on top of the base rate.
Origin Terminal Handling Charge (OTHC) at the load port and Destination Terminal Handling Charge (DTHC) at the discharge port. Documentation fees and customs filing fees (AES at origin, ISF and AMS at destination) also sit at this layer.
Trucking from supplier to port at origin. Trucking from port to consignee warehouse at destination. Drayage fees within the port area.
Cargo insurance (0.3 to 0.7 percent of cargo value), customs duties and import taxes, and any demurrage or detention fees if free time at the port is exceeded.
The "cheap sea freight" search you might be running often refers to base ocean rates only. Total landed cost is usually 1.5 to 2 times the base ocean rate once all five layers above are included.
Sea freight uses ISO standardized containers. The most common types:
| Container | Internal Volume | Max Payload | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 ft standard | about 33 m3 | about 28,000 kg | Dense cargo (machinery, ceramics) |
| 40 ft standard | about 67 m3 | about 28,800 kg | Most general cargo |
| 40 ft high cube | about 76 m3 | about 28,600 kg | Lightweight bulky goods (furniture, foam, apparel) |
| 20 ft / 40 ft reefer | about 28 / 59 m3 | about 27,400 / 27,700 kg | Refrigerated cargo |
| Flat rack / open top | Varies | Varies | Heavy lift, oversized cargo |
The choice between Full Container Load and Less than Container Load is driven by cargo volume and time tolerance.
Use FCL (Full Container Load) when you have at least 14 to 18 cubic meters of cargo, or when your goods are sensitive to handling. FCL containers are sealed at origin and opened only by the consignee, which reduces damage and theft risk. The breakeven point is typically around 15 m3, where below that LCL is cheaper, and above that FCL is cheaper per cubic meter.
Use LCL (Less than Container Load) when you have a smaller shipment, typically 2 to 15 cubic meters. LCL cargo is consolidated with other shippers' cargo at the origin container freight station and deconsolidated at destination. Transit times are 5 to 10 days longer than FCL due to consolidation steps, and per cubic meter rates are higher, but the absolute spend is lower because you pay only for the volume you ship.
Every ocean shipment carries the same core document set, regardless of lane or carrier. A missing or wrong document is a common cause of customs holds, storage charges, and delayed delivery.
Modern forwarders file ISF, AMS, and AES from a single shipment record using Customs Management Software for Forwarders, so the same cargo, container, and party data drives every filing and no field is retyped.
The top 10 carriers handle around 85 percent of global container capacity. As of 2026:
Most operate within global alliances (Gemini Cooperation, Ocean Alliance, Premier Alliance) that share vessel capacity to give shippers more sailing options per lane.
A freight forwarder is the operational layer between you and the carriers. Forwarders book vessel space, handle export and import documentation, coordinate trucking and customs at both ends, track the shipment, and reconcile the invoices. For an importer or exporter without an in house logistics team, the forwarder is the single point of contact across what would otherwise be 5 to 10 separate vendors.
Freight forwarders are distinct from ocean carriers. Carriers (MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, and the others listed in the section above) own or operate the vessels. Forwarders coordinate the shipment across carriers, customs, trucking, and warehousing without owning the ships. The largest global ocean freight forwarders by handled ocean TEU volume typically include:
Rankings shift year to year with mergers and lane volume shifts. Regional and mid market forwarders serve most SME shippers, while the top 10 above concentrate large enterprise ocean freight.
Modern freight forwarders run on cloud based software that captures every shipment, document, and invoice in one workflow. GoFreight is purpose built for this. The platform handles ocean import and export, AES and ISF filing, container tracking, customer portals, and accounting in one place. See Ocean Freight Management Software for the full feature breakdown.
Sea freight is a many party, many document, many week workflow. See how GoFreight runs all of it on one cloud platform.
Request a GoFreight Demo →There is no operational difference. Sea freight and ocean freight are two names for the same mode of transport, used interchangeably across the industry. North American shippers tend to say "ocean freight" while European and Asian shippers tend to say "sea freight." Both describe container or bulk cargo shipping between international ports.
Ocean freight is the movement of cargo by ship across oceans, typically inside standardized shipping containers loaded at a port of origin and discharged at a port of destination. It is the same mode as sea freight, just named differently by region: "ocean freight" is the common phrase in North America, "sea freight" in Europe and Asia. Both cover container, breakbulk, bulk, RoRo, and reefer service and together handle roughly 80 percent of global trade by volume.
Port to port transit times range from 5 to 7 days on the shortest intra Asia lanes (Shanghai to Singapore) to 30 to 45 days on long haul routes (Asia to Northern Europe). Add 7 to 14 days on each end for inland pickup, port cutoff, customs clearance, and final delivery. So a Shanghai to inland US shipment typically takes 30 to 40 days door to door.
Base ocean rates for a 40 foot container in 2026 run 2,000 to 5,500 USD depending on the lane. Total landed cost is usually 1.5 to 2 times the base rate once you add origin and destination terminal handling, customs filing, inland trucking, surcharges, and any duties or insurance. Spot rates change weekly; contract rates lock in a price for 6 to 12 months.
FCL (Full Container Load) means you ship a full 20 foot or 40 foot container exclusively for your own cargo. LCL (Less than Container Load) means your cargo shares container space with other shippers and is consolidated and deconsolidated at container freight stations. FCL is faster and lower risk, while LCL is cheaper for shipments under roughly 15 cubic meters.
Yes, by a wide margin. Sea freight costs 0.10 to 0.50 USD per kilogram, while air freight costs 2.00 to 8.00 USD per kilogram. The tradeoff is time: sea freight takes weeks, air freight takes days. Most international supply chains use sea freight for planned replenishment and air freight only for urgent or high value shipments.
The core set is the bill of lading, commercial invoice, packing list, and certificate of origin. US bound cargo also needs an Import Security Filing (ISF, "10+2") before vessel loading at origin and an AMS manifest filing on arrival. US exports need an AES declaration. Hazardous cargo needs additional DG declarations. A freight forwarder typically prepares and files these documents on behalf of the shipper and consignee.
Sea freight uses ISO standardized containers. The four most common are the 20 foot standard (about 33 m3, up to 28,000 kg payload), the 40 foot standard (about 67 m3, up to 28,800 kg), the 40 foot high cube (about 76 m3, up to 28,600 kg, taller for lightweight bulky goods), and the 20 foot or 40 foot reefer (temperature controlled, about 28 or 59 m3). Flat rack and open top containers cover heavy lift and oversized cargo that does not fit inside a standard box.
As of 2026, MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) is the largest container carrier by fleet capacity, ahead of Maersk. The top 10 carriers (MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, COSCO, Hapag Lloyd, ONE, Evergreen, HMM, Yang Ming, ZIM) together control about 85 percent of global container capacity.
Ocean freight forwarders differ from ocean carriers. Carriers own or operate the vessels; forwarders coordinate the shipment across carriers, customs, trucking, and warehousing. The largest global ocean freight forwarders by handled ocean TEU volume typically include Kuehne + Nagel, DHL Global Forwarding, Sinotrans, DB Schenker, DSV, Nippon Express, Expeditors International, CEVA Logistics, Kerry Logistics, and CH Robinson. Rankings shift year to year with mergers and lane volume shifts. Regional and mid market forwarders serve most SME shippers.
Breakbulk is non containerized cargo loaded piece by piece into the hold of a general cargo or multi purpose vessel. Typical breakbulk cargo includes crated machinery, steel coils, rolls of paper, drums, and heavy plant equipment that does not fit inside a standard container. Breakbulk lanes are more specialized than container service and rates are usually quoted per freight ton (the greater of weight in tons or volume in cubic meters).
BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor) covers changes in vessel fuel cost. THC (Terminal Handling Charge) covers loading and discharge work at the port and is applied at both origin (OTHC) and destination (DTHC). PSS (Peak Season Surcharge) applies during Northern Hemisphere summer and pre holiday peaks when demand exceeds vessel capacity. Additional surcharges cover currency movement (CAF), low sulfur fuel compliance, canal transit fees (Suez, Panama), and war or emergency risk. Surcharges stack on the base ocean rate and often add 20 to 40 percent to the invoice.
A direct sailing loads at the origin port and discharges at the destination port on the same vessel. A transhipment sailing offloads the cargo at a hub port (Singapore, Rotterdam, Algeciras, Colombo, Salalah) and reloads it onto a second vessel bound for the final destination. Direct sailings are faster and lower risk; transhipment sailings add 8 to 15 days of transit time on long haul lanes and introduce a second window for delay or damage.