1. Characteristics of marine cargo transport

Marine cargo transport is the most widely used mode of transport in international trade, it is based on the vessel for transport tool , fixed routes and sailing region, between both the ports of domestic and abroad to complete the task of transport.

Compared with other modes of transport, marine transport has the following advantages:

 Large transport quantity. Ships carry far more capacity than trains, cars and aircraft, which is why shipping costs are lowest.

 Strong passing capability. Oceans area of the earth surface is about 70%,  facilitating comprehensive navigation via natural waterways and ports worldwide.

 Good adaptability to goods. Marine transport adapted to convey a variety of goods, especially some special cargo which is unable to transport by train or automobile, such as oil derrick.

Meanwhile, the disadvantages of ocean transport include:

 Slow speed. The measurement of the ship is rather large, the flow resistance is large, so the ship speed is slow.

 High risk. Marine transport cycle is relatively longer because of being subject to climate and natural condition.

2. Operation Mode of Marine transport

Currently，there are more than 55，000 merchant ships playing global trade around the world.These ships could be operating on two main types of services—liner service and charter service.

1) Liner Service

Liner service means that a cargo vessel operates over a regular route according to an advertised time-table. It has simple procedures and it is ideal for cargo of small quantity. Liner shipping generally offers carriage on fixed and stable freight rates. The freight rate usually consists of the basic freight and surcharges. Costs of loading and unloading cargoes are also included in the freight.

2）Charter Service

The second operation mode of marine tansport is charter service. Chartering ships follow no firm schedule，have no regular routes or times and sail off to where the goods are available. Their rates are not fixed but are determined by bargaining. Generally, there are three kinds of chartering：Voyage Charter ,Time Charter and Bare Boat Charter. 

 Voyage Charter 

Voyage Charter is the hiring of a vessel and crew for a specific voyage between a load port and a discharge port. The ship owner is responsible for providing a seaworthy ship with a master and crew, paying the costs related voyage.The charterer is obligated in accordance with the terms of the charter party to provide a full load of cargo at a specific port and to accept it at the destination port, and to pay the vessel owne freight on a “per ton”, “per cubic meter” or lump-sum basis.

 Time Charter 

Time charter refers to the hiring of a vessel for a specific period of time without dictating a fixed route to the charterer. This period usually takes less than one year.

Under time charter party contracts, the shipowner remains responsible for the technical operation of the vessel, including insuring the vessel, repairing the vessel ,supplying engine parts and so on. He must cover all costs associated with crewing, maintenance of the vessel and insurance as well.

 Bare Boat Charter

A bareboat charter is an arrangement for chartering or hiring of a ship or boat, whereby no crew, provisions or technical maintenance are included as part of the agreement. The charterer obtains possession and full control of the vessel along with the legal and financial responsibility for it. 

In addition to marine transport, the traders can ship their cargos through other means such as air, road, railway, etc.

1. Air transport 

Air transportion refers to applying the mode of air transport to delivery the import and export goods. It is one of the fastest ways to deliver goods. High level of security in airports reduces the risks of theft and damage to goods. It is a suitable way for shipping high-value goods and perihable goods, such as consumer eletronics, fruit and seafood. Except for the above advantages, the disadvantages of air transport are also very obvious, namely high shipping costs, poor applicability of goods, and flight delays or cancellations due to weather conditions.

The basic way of air transport can be grouped into Scheduled Airliner, Charter Transport and Air Express.

2. International Railway Transport

International railway transport is a major mode of transport in international trade following the marine transport. Its major advantage is larger load weight,  quick speed, transport risk is significantly smaller than the ocean transport, can be maintained at the sharp time to consign the goods all the year round. 

3. Road Transport

With the development of international trade, the highway transport is also developing rapidly.At present developed country road transport passenger and freight turnover accounted for completion of various modes of transport in total volume of about 90%. The characteristics of highway transport are flexible, adaptable which can realized of the “door-to-door” direct transport, less investment, fast capital turnover, small volume, higher cost. 

4. Pipeline Transport

Pipeline transport is a long-distance transport method that uses pipelines as a means of transport to transport liquid and gaseous substances. The cost of pipeline transport of petroleum products is higher than sea transport, but lower than railway transport. The pipeline has strong transport capacity, small land occupation, short construction period, low cost, safety and reliability, strong continuity, low energy consumption, low cost, and good benefits. However, pipeline transport also has its disadvantages, mainly manifested in poor flexibility and high cost.

5.Container Transport

Container transport is the most advanced modern transport method using containers as the unit of transport, and is an advanced collective transport method. It has the characteristics of "safety, speed, simplicity and cheapness", which can reduce the transport links. Container transport can integrate railway, highway, waterway, and aviation transport modes for multimodal transport, achieving "door-to-door" transport.

6. International Multimodal Transport

"International multimodal transport" refers to the transport of goods involving at least two modes of transport, and the transport of goods from the place of shipment to the destination according to a multimodal transport contract. In this way, the container is used as a medium, consisting of international multimodal transport and sea-land-air transport.