International Ocean Freight

1. What is a basic port

The concept of "basic port" in maritime transportation is somewhat similar to the national or regional hub stations in railway transportation, such as Guangzhou Station, Wuchang Station, Zhengzhou Station, Beijing West Station, Shenyang Station, etc. Trains usually stop at big stations, and there are many trains. If there is no direct train at a remote station, it is necessary to transfer at a large station. ‍

Non-Base Port refers to: all ports other than basic ports are called non-base ports. In addition to the basic port charge, transshipment surcharge will be charged for non-basic ports. Direct surcharge will be charged for a fixed shipment.

Ships usually call at all the basic ports on their route, and generally make direct or direct flights, and then transfer from the basic port to a smaller or smaller non-basic port.

2. European basic ports

The world shipping industry is a convention of the most important ports in Europe unified address. European basic port refers to the ship companies to Europe after the most common several ports, in the geographical location is extremely important. All shipping companies to Europe are attached to the European basic port and then transferred to the corresponding other ports or inland points in Europe.

There are six basic ports in Europe: Rotterdam in the Netherlands; Hamburg, Germany; Antwerp, Belgium; Le Havre, France; And Felixstowe and Southampton in the UK.
In Europe, the main shipping companies are: MSC, CMA CGM, Maersk MSK, COSCO, CSCL, PIL, ZIM, WANHAI, MISC, NCL, K-LINE, APL, HANJIN (recently bankrupt), HMM, MOSK, etc.

1) Rotterdam Port

Rotterdam Port is located at the mouth of the Rhine and Maas rivers, west of the North Sea, east of the Rhine and Danube River, can reach the Caspian Sea, known as the "gateway to Europe", is the basic port of the Netherlands. The port area is about 100 square kilometers, the total length of the dock is 42 kilometers, the deepest draft is 22 meters, can berth 545,000 tons of super tanker. The infrastructure of the port area is owned by the Rotterdam Municipal Government. The Rotterdam Port Authority is responsible for the daily management of the port. Various companies rent the infrastructure of the port area to develop business.

Rotterdam is the second largest city in the Netherlands, the port of Rotterdam has long been the largest seaport in Europe, in terms of container traffic, in the 1880s was the largest port in the world. In 2015, the top 10 global ports in terms of cargo throughput were: Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, Shanghai Port, Singapore Port, Tianjin Port, Suzhou Port, Guangzhou Port, Tangshan Port, Qingdao Port, Rotterdam Port and Port Hedland in order. Rotterdam ranked ninth, topping the list in Europe and the United States. Rotterdam is the west bridgehead of the Eurasian continental bridge (the east bridgehead is Lianyungang City of China).

Rotterdam port area service is the biggest characteristic of storage, transportation, sales through-train. The goods are stored, transported and reprocessed through a number of bonded warehouses and cargo distribution centers to increase the added value of the goods, which are then sent to destinations in the Netherlands and Europe by road, rail, river, air, sea and other transport routes.

2) Port of Hamburg

Port of Hamburg is located on the right bank of the lower reaches of the Elbe River in northern Germany, about 76 nautical miles away from the sea mouth and close to Helgoland Bay. It is the largest port and basic port in Germany and the second largest container port in Europe. Founded in 1189, it has a history of more than 800 years, and has developed into the world's largest free port. In the center of the free port, there is the world's largest warehouse city, with an area of 500,000 square meters. It is different from other seaports, that is, it is located in the European Community, the European Free Trade Association and the center of the European market. Thus making it the most important transit port in Europe.

Hamburg is an important rail and air hub in Germany. Industry and commerce developed, is the shipbuilding center of Germany. Port of Hamburg has a temperate maritime climate. Port of Hamburg has a total area of 91 square kilometers, including 44 square kilometers of land, 31 square kilometers of water, and 16 square kilometers of free port area.

3) Antwerp Port

The port of Antwerp is located on the lower right bank of the Belgian River, with two tunnels under the river, about 50 nautical miles from the North Sea in the west, and the Albert Canal in the east leading to the Maas River. It is Belgium's largest seaport and basic port. Founded in the 13th century, it became Europe's first commercial city in 1460 and a commercial and transportation center in northern Europe.

Antwerp is the second largest industrial center in Belgium. The main industries include oil refining, chemicals, automobiles, steel, non-ferrous smelting, machinery, shipbuilding and so on. It is also an important trading place for international diamonds.

The harbor is a temperate Marine climate, prevailing northwest wind. The port is divided into two parts: riverfront and dock, with six locks connected to the river. The main terminal berths in the port area include Bulk Cargo; General Cargo C. Container C. An Oil Quay, etc.

4) Le Havre Port

Le Havre is a famous port city in Seine-sur-mer Province of Normandy region in northwest France, and it is the basic port of France. Located in the northwest coast of France, the north bank of the Seine estuary, near the east side of the Bay of the Seine, is the entrance and exit gateway of the industrial area of the middle and lower Seine River.

Le Havre handles cargo transfers between France and North and South America, and is an ideal transit port to and from Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Scotland, which can save three or four days compared with northern European ports. There is also a motorway and rail link to Paris, which takes only 2 hours and connects all of France and Western Europe. The main industries are shipbuilding, machinery, petrochemical, wood processing, electrical equipment and food, etc.

The harbor is a temperate Marine climate, prevailing west and southwest wind, east warm summer cool, year-round rain.

5) Felixstowe Port, Felixstowe

Felixstowe Port is located on The southeast coast of The United Kingdom of Great Britain And Northern Ireland, where the River Orwell meets the River Stour at its mouth, It is one of the largest container ports and basic ports in the UK. As early as July 1967, it became the first professional container port in the United Kingdom. In 1972, it opened the container water-rail combined transport and connected with major industrial cities in the United Kingdom into a network.

Felixstowe is a loading and unloading terminal for container ships on the British-Atlantic route, There are daily container lines to and from Hull, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Cardiff, Southampton, London and other ports.

The harbor has a temperate maritime climate, mild and humid, and foggy autumn and winter.

6) Southampton Port Southampton Port

Southampton is a city on the south coast of England and a large sea port, is one of the basic ports of the United Kingdom. Located in the center of the South coast of England, the harbor is wide and deep, with the Isle of Wight as a barrier. It was an important port in the Middle Ages. An important ocean trading port for Britain; It is also Britain's main passenger port. There are rail and road links to London, London outer port function.

The port of Southampton is connected by ferry to the Channel Islands, the Isle of Wight and France. It is one of the largest shipbuilding and ship repair centers in the country, with a huge dry dock. There are oil refineries and industries such as aircraft manufacturing, electrical machinery, cables, automobiles, plastics and synthetic rubber.