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Cargo Info

1. Ocean Freight Container Sizes

   For practical purposes the internal dimensions of a general purpose container may be assumed to be:

   	LENGTH		WIDTH		HEIGHT
   6M	5 900mm	X	2 330mm	X	2 380
   12M	11 900mm	X	2 330mm	X	2 380

   The maximum permitted weight of a container is determined by 3 separate factors:

   1. Plate rating -the maximum weight the container is designed to handle. This given on a plate attached to each container door.
   2. Rail maximum - the maximum allowed gross weight of the container is as follows:

      6m	-	24 000kg
      12m	-	30 480kg

   3. Road maximum - the maximum gross mass of a container moving by road in South Africa, without being classified as abnormal is limited to 24,000 kg for both 6m and 12m containers. IF the shipment is larger than this "abnormal load" permits must be obtained.

   Please note that these rates are only applicable in South Africa and different rates may apply overseas.

2. Air Freight Container Sizes (U.L.D.'s)

   Capacity	Maximum Payload
   6m Container	33 m3	10 340kg
   3m Container	17,4 m3	6 315kg
   Contoured (LD 7)	10,5m3	3 310kg
   Contoured (LD 3)	4,1m3	1 455kg

   The LD3 pallet is designed to fit in the lower cargo holds only.

3. Hazardous Cargo

   There are a great many categories of cargo which are regarded as hazardous for one reason or another. These include: explosive, flammable, corrosive, noxious, poisonous, radioactive and irritative substances, commodities which emit poisonous vapour and are dangerous when wet, bio-medical material, substances liable to spontaneous combustion, pressurized gasses and magnetized metal.

   Disclosure

   The quantity and type of cargo involved, and the exact nature of the hazard and of the manner of protection and packing must be fully declared by the shipper at the time of booking space on the ship or aircraft.

   The bill of lading or airway bill must bear a full written disclosure. Any failure on the part of the supplier to make full disclosure of all the relevant details may have serious consequences not only for the supplier but also for the importer.

   Packing and Labelling

   Minimum standards of packing are laid down by the inter-governmental Maritime organization (IMO) for all hazardous cargo and these must be strictly observed.

   These standards are very detailed and the publication in which they may be found consists of thirteen volumes of just over then thousand pages. The importer of hazardous cargo is advised to consult very closely not only with his supplier but also with the responsible officials of the shipping company or airline which he proposes to use, so as to obtain proper advice concerning the packing and the form of declaration necessary for the goods being imported.

4. Abnormal Cargo

   Individual packages or items of cargo with masses or dimensions exceeding those defined as "Normal" in the shipping line's tariff will attract either a "heavy lift" or a "long length" surcharge (or both) to compensate the shipping company for the cost of the using or providing special lifting gear for loading and discharge. The mode of calculation of abnormal load surcharges varies from trade to trade and often involves a sliding scale taking into account the degree of "abnormality" of the cargo.

   For the purpose of determining what is normal the following guidelines can be used.