Packaging for maritime and marine applications
Properties required for successfully shipping products
If your business ships specialist or industrial products internationally via sea freight, or have engineers working in offshore locations, maritime packaging is crucial to your success.
But what is maritime packaging?
Maritime packaging for industrial shipments includes large waterproof cases, wooden shipping containers and glass-reinforced plastic (GRP). Smaller cases, such as Peli and Explorer cases, are suited to protecting tools and equipment for offshore maintenance applications. Maritime packaging must protect contents from moisture, humidity, temperature fluctuations, and physical damage.
Regardless of your application, there are several crucial characteristics that your maritime packaging, cases and containers should possess. This guide details:
- The types of maritime packaging available.
- Specific applications where maritime packaging is essential.
- The seven crucial characteristics all maritime packaging should have.
- How to select the best option for your particular application.
Contents
Introduction
Maritime packaging applications
In an increasingly connected world, there are numerous methods for shipping goods. Air freight, road haulage and rail transport are all vital in many supply chains.
However, more than 90% of all goods transported globally are carried by sea freight at some point. This makes shipping by sea – and, by extension, maritime packaging—crucial to many industries.
Yet the marine environment is particularly hostile, presenting a vast array of potential ways in which goods can get damaged when transported via sea.
Damage caused during transit can prove costly, with customer rejections, project delays and even loss of reputation for your company significantly impacting your business’s ongoing success.
Offshore and marine maintenance
In addition to international shipping of goods, the maintenance of vessels, offshore rigs or other marine environments also requires maritime packaging.
For example, engineers working on oil drilling platforms use specialist tools and equipment, frequently costing thousands of pounds. These tools need protection from the elements and other forms of damage.
Damage or loss of tools is obviously costly. However, the potential loss of productivity or health and safety implications of engineers being unable to perform essential maintenance and repairs is even more serious.
7 crucial characteristics of Maritime packaging
Key points to consider when sourcing maritime packaging for your business
Considering how vital it is to get products to your customers undamaged and the need for offshore engineers to be able to do their job, the importance of your packaging cannot be overstated.
As such, there are seven crucial characteristics of maritime packaging:
- Resistance to moisture and humidity.
- Prevents corrosion (of metal products).
- Unaffected by changes in temperature.
- Protects from impact and vibration.
- Provides adequate structural stability.
- Includes clear labelling and signage.
- Adheres to relevant regulations.
Protection from moisture
Saltwater, moisture and humidity
Shipping via sea risks exposing your goods to wet conditions and salt water, which can lead to potential damage. Therefore, ensuring that your packaging offers robust resistance to moisture ingress is imperative.
Carefully selecting materials and employing suitable protective packaging is vital. However, it’s essential to acknowledge that resistance to salt water and humidity extends beyond the choice of packaging material and encompasses design and construction, too.
Additionally, consider the duration of exposure to moisture and salt water during marine transport. Depending on the voyage’s duration and environmental conditions, supplementary protective measures like moisture absorbers or desiccants may be necessary to maintain a dry interior environment within the packaging.
These considerations also extend to the protective cases used for storing tools, equipment, and kits used by offshore engineers.
Corrosion damage
Is VCI packaging also required?
If you are shipping large industrial parts or components, they may also be susceptible to damage caused by corrosion.
Marine environments are, understandably, particularly prone to conditions that could cause damage to your shipments in this way.
As such, your maritime packaging may need to include measures to protect against this. VCI packaging (volatile corrosion inhibitor), in the form of wraps, papers or specialist coatings, can be essential.
Protection against impacts and vibrations
Physical protection for goods during transit
Alongside the challenges of salt and water, you’ll need to consider protecting your goods against impact and vibration that are likely during transportation and general handling.
Ensuring your maritime packaging and cases can effectively absorb impacts and shield contents from potential damage is paramount.
Incorporating cushioning materials such as foams and corner protectors is advisable to accomplish this. These materials serve as an extra layer of defence, mitigating risks during transit and minimising the likelihood of damage to your cargo.
Structural stability
Ensuring safety for loads
The packaging utilised for maritime transport must possess sufficient strength to endure the demanding conditions it will encounter.
Your goods may undergo stacking, loading, unloading, and handling in ports, warehouses and on the vessels (and other transport) themselves.
As such, it’s crucial that your packaging retains its structural integrity even when subjected to heavy loads or compression.
Choosing durable materials like glass-reinforced plastic, plastic cases or even high-density plywood to safeguard the safety of your items throughout the journey.
Clear labelling and signage
Why labelling is an essential part of the process
An essential factor in packaging for maritime transport involves accurate labelling and marking.
Clearly indicating the fragility of the contents, providing handling instructions, and highlighting any special requirements can play a surprisingly significant role in protecting your shipments.
Placing visible and durable markings, particularly widely known transit packaging symbols, aids transporters in handling your goods correctly, thus reducing the risk of damage.
Maritime packaging regulations
Regulations specific to maritime packaging applications?
Packaging intended for shipment by sea must adhere to various regulations to ensure safety, environmental protection, and compliance with international standards.
Compliance with these regulations is essential to ensure the safe and legal transport of goods by sea, protect the environment, and prevent accidents and incidents during maritime transit. Shippers and packaging manufacturers should stay informed about relevant regulations and ensure that their packaging meets all applicable requirements before shipping by sea.
A number of the main regulations that packaging must follow for maritime transport include:
International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) code
The IMDG Code regulates the transportation of dangerous goods by sea. It provides guidelines for the classification, packaging, marking, labelling, and documentation of hazardous materials to prevent accidents and protect human health and the marine environment.
International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM)
ISPM standards, particularly ISPM 15, regulate the treatment of wood packaging materials to prevent the spread of pests and diseases through international trade. Wood packaging, such as pallets and crates, must undergo approved treatment and be marked with the appropriate certification.
National regulations
Depending on the country of origin and destination, additional national regulations may apply to packaging for maritime transport. These regulations may cover packaging materials, labelling requirements, and customs documentation.
Maritime packaging options
What type of packaging is suitable for maritime applications?
Considering these crucial characteristics for maritime packaging, several materials and options are available. Each of these is particularly suited for specific products, industries, and applications.
Glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) for maritime packaging
Due to several key characteristics, glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) cases are suitable for maritime packaging. They are fully waterproof, strong and durable yet relatively lightweight and can be reused over many trips (if a returnable supply chain is in place).Arguably, their main benefit is their availability in custom sizes. This size flexibility makes them ideal for larger industrial products, such as aircraft parts, sizeable military equipment, industrial components, and any other specialist, large or expensive items.
Overall, the combination of corrosion resistance, waterproofing, strength, lightweight construction, customisation options, and longevity makes glass-reinforced plastic cases well-suited for maritime packaging applications.
Roto mold cases
Rotomolded cases are among the toughest protective cases available today. They provide exceptional resistance to water (even if submerged) and the highest level of physical protection.
As a result, their use is commonplace in mission-critical applications, where tools, parts or equipment simply cannot become damaged (due to the potential consequences).
Roto mold cases are, therefore, frequently used in naval applications. But their inherent properties also make them a good, off-the-shelf alternative to GRP cases.
Waterproof cases
Smaller waterproof cases, such as those manufactured by Peli, Explorer, Nanuk and SKB, are the ideal option for protecting tools and equipment that engineers or maintenance staff use in offshore environments.
To protect contents from moisture and physical damage, waterproof cases are typically supplied with custom foam inserts. These inserts provide additional protection and aid productivity by organising tools and preventing loss.
Aluminium cases
It is a common misconception that aluminium cases rust if exposed to moisture. A small layer of surface oxidation occurs, which prevents further damage to the case from occurring.
As aluminium cases are also particularly lightweight and often compatible with standard pallet sizes, they can be suited to specific maritime packaging applications.
Wooden shipping crates
Wooden shipping crates are another popular option for maritime packaging.
They are lightweight, cost-effective, and widely accepted by most transit providers.
However, they provide little protection from moisture and inclement conditions, so depending on their contents, you may require secondary packaging (including internal and external wraps and linings).
Summary
Adopting packaging solutions in maritime logistics
There are many considerations regarding maritime packaging, with material selection, additional protection, customisable options and regulations all being vital.
At GWP, we have over 30 years of experience in providing maritime packaging to a number of businesses. Alongside ensuring your packaging meets your requirements, we have a track record of providing goods with secure packaging solutions that offers a genuine competitive advantage.
So, if you would like further information and advice on maritime packaging, including how yours can adhere to the regulations, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
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About the author
Stuart boasts over 20 years of top-level experience as a packaging design engineer, in roles at Insit Moulded Packaging (IMP) and Macfarlane.
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