The largest items ever shipped overseas

When the concept of international delivery was first conceived, it was heavily restricted by the payloads of the various types of transport used.

In the early days of aeroplanes, strict limits were put on the amount of cargo which could be carried, simply because the owners of the craft – and indeed the manufacturers – could not necessarily be sure of the precise limits of their planes' capabilities.

And even today, the payloads of large ships and aircraft impose certain limits on the weight and size of the cargoes which can be transported safely.

With the use of online shopping channels increasing by the day, one of the most common queries which they receive is the maximum size of item they will ship.

Every company which operates domestic postal and courier services will specify the weight limits which they can carry at short notice. But from time to time, the need arises for a specialist carrier to ensure the safe passage of an exceptionally large or heavy consignment.

And shipping companies will impose strict limits on the size of the items which they can convey, simply because they have to be sure that the payloads of the ships, aircraft, rail wagons and truck trailers which they have available stay within the manufacturers' recommended limits. If such limits are exceeded, then there is a chance that the goods may not be accepted for carriage.

That is, unless special arrangements are made beforehand, and there are many instances which arise where this is necessary.

The history of international and domestic mail is full of instances of large items being shipped to a new owner or home. In the days when steam locomotives were being phased out in the UK in the 1960s for example, several engines weighing hundreds of tons were shipped overseas to find new homes – including a couple of examples of the legendary A4 locomotive class – one of which, Mallard, holds the world speed record for a steam engine. Complete with their tenders, these beasts of British railways weighed 167 tons. And ironically, two which were sent to new homes in Canada and America returned to the UK in 2012 on temporary loan.

In these days of the regular manufacture of large items overseas, shipping companies are getting used to having to arrange the safe passage of unusually large items of cargo. Engines, generators and turbines are among the massive items which are often put into an aircraft's or a ship's hold to be sent abroad.

Ships' capacity is continuing to grow as the demand is created for ever larger consignments of products to be sent around the world. And in early 2013, the world's biggest ship of this type, the MV Marco Polo, entered service between China and Europe. Able to carry 16,000 standard containers – which could carry the equivalent of 13.4 million 42-inch flat-screen TVs – the ship was due to be joined by two other mammoth ships of the same dimensions.

But even that record wasn't set to last for long, as 20 new ships were on order at the time for Danish shipping line Maersk which could carry 18,000 standard containers.

The shipping lines say that such massive vessels are the future of sea freight transport, because in terms of their size and payloads, they will be more fuel-efficient than any which have gone before. So we should be prepared for this record to be broken yet again, as intercontinental trade continues to grow.

Today, shipping unusually sized or shaped items any distance is no problem to the world's leading specialists in moving goods over long distances. Parcel2Go International Parcel Delivery services can take account of just about any size and type of consignment, while Parcelforce services at Parcel2Go are experts in shipping large and unusually-shaped goods. 

Sponsor Ads

• Ad Space Available - Rent it Now!

Report this Page

Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

Share on APSense

Comments