Sea freight from China to Australia/USA/UK-Sea Shipping
Fast, reliable & affordable sea freight services; shipping by sea from China to Australia/USA/UK.
Our Services
Table of Contents
1. Sea freight forwarder
Sea freight forwarder means shipping agent that can ship cargo from one country to another county.
DAKA International Transport Company is a sea freight forwarder in China.
Our main business is international sea freight and air freight from China to Australia/USA/UK.
DAKA International Transport Company work with main vessel owners like COSCO, MSK, YML, MSC ,EMC, OOCL etc . We can choose suitable shipping route and provide competitive sea freight price.
DAKA can ship from any ports in China to any ports in Australia/USA/UK.
DAKA will also provide shipping related service, including customs clearance, warehousing, labeling, repackaging , fumigation.
Below are the top 10 sea freight forwarders in China:
- COSCO container shipping
- SINOTRANS LOGISTICS LTD
- DAKA Transport
- Sino Shipping
- SHENZHEN BASENTON LOGISTICS CO. LTD
- Amass Global Logistics
- Winsky Freight
- Super International Freight
- Seabay Internatioanl Logisitcs
- Yunexpress
2. Sea freight service provided by DAKA
- FCL （Full Container Load） shipping
- LCL （Less than Container Load）shipping
- Customs clearance in both China and AU/USA/UK
- Warehousing
- Repackaging and labeling
- Fumigation
- Shipping Insurance
- Shipment online tracking
- Consolidate different products into one shipment
- FTA or COO certificate
In a word DAKA Transport can provide door to door sea freight from China to Australia/USA/UK.
3. Why choose DAKA as your sea freight forwarder ?
Fast
DAKA Transport work with different vessel owners and can choose best shipping route . Also we can work efficiently in container loading/customs clearance etc.
Professional
Most of DAKA team workers are well educated in university under the major of international trade . And DAKA has about 10 years of experience in international shipping service. DAKA team can speak good English as our main customers are buyers in Australia/USA/UK
Flexible
DAKA will make a customized shipping solution based on the cargo details and our customer’s requirements. We are flexible and will try our best to meet every requirement of our customers.
Honest
DAKA International Transport Company is always honest with our customers. Before we organize the shipping, we will make shipping cost very clear to our customers. During the shipping, we will keep our customers updated of the process.
Quick response
DAKA Team work 7X24 hours. Customers can always get a quick response from DAKA Transport.
Online tracking
DAKA Transport can provide online tracking for the sea freight from China and air shipping
One-stop service
DAKA can provide door to door shipping,including sea freight,customs clearance,warehousing, pickup from Chinese factory, cargo delivery to consignee’s door in Australia/USA/UK. We provide one-stop door to door shipping service from China to Australia/USA/UK.
4. What is sea freight ?
Sea freight or ocean freight means cargo was shipped by sea from one country to another country.
Currently more than 90% of cargo in international trade were shipped by sea.
International sea freight from China can be divided as containerized transport and non-containerized transport (also known as breakbulk transport).
Container Transport means that cargo was loaded into a 20ft/40ft container at the origin place and then the container was transported by trucks/vessel/trains to the final destination. After consignee receive the container, they will unpack the container and take products out.
Container transport is good for most consumer and industrial goods that can be loaded into containers. And now is a very popular sea freight way in international trade.
Non-containerized transport is necessary when the cargo can not be loaded into containers—such as heavy machinery, bulk commodities, or oversized infrastructure components.
DAKA International Transport Company mainly specializes in container shipping from China to Australia/USA/UK.
5. FCL and LCL sea freight
Containerised transport can be divided into FCL shipping and LCL shipping.
FCL shipping means Full Container Load shipping. It means products were loaded into a separate 20ft/40ft container and no other products share the container. When you have enough cargo to load a 20ft or 40ft container, we suggest FCL shipping.
Below is the capacity of a 20ft and 40ft container:
| Container type | Length*width*height(meter) | Weight(kgs) | Volume(cubic meter) |
| 20GP(20ft) | 6m*2.35m*2.39m | About 26000kgs | About 28cubic meter |
| 40GP | 12m*2.35m*2.39m | About 26000kgs | About 60cubic meter |
| 40HQ | 12m*2.35m*2.69m | About 26000kgs | About 65cubic meter |
LCL shipping means we ship your products via sharing a container with others.
For example, if you have clothes of about 500kgs, 3cubic meters to be shipped from China to Australia and shipping by air is too expensive , LCL shipping would be your best choice. We will load your cargo together with others in a container. After vessel arrives at Australia, we will unpack the container in our AU warehouse to separate your cargo and then deliver the clothes to your door.
FCL or LCL comparison
Advantages | Disadvantages | |
FCL | 1. Lower risk of damage/theft; 2. High efficiency in customs clearance and container loading | 1. Not feasible for small shipments 2. Some origin or destination address may not allow a container entry |
LCL | 1. Cost effective for small cargo 2. No minimum order requirement | 1. Higher risk of damage/theft; 2. Low efficiency in customs clearance and container loading |
6. How will DAKA organize sea freight ?
DAKA International Transport Company is a Chinese freight forwarder. We can organize sea freight /air freight from China to Australia/USA/UK by sea and air.
Below is DAKA’s sea freight process (take Sea freight from China to Australia for example) :
Vessel booking
We book space on the vessel for your cargo
Container loading
Cargo was loaded into the empty container and then we send the container into port area for getting onto vessel
Chinese Customs clearance
We make customs clearance in China
Getting container onto vessel
After Chinese customs release the cargo ,container will be put onto vessel
Ocean Freight
Container vessel sails from China to Australia/USA/UK according to its plan
Australian customs clearance
We will make customs clearance in Australia when vessel arrives
Cargo delivery
After the cargo was released by Australian customs,we will deliver the cargo to consignee’s door.
7. Sea freight transit time from China
DAKA International Transport Company specialize in sea freight from China to Australia, from China to UK, from China to USA.
The transit time of Sea freight from China to Australia/USA/UK is different according to different ports in China.Take sea freight China to Australia for example, the transit time from South China to Australia is faster than from north China.
Below transit time is based on from Shanghai Port in China which is in the middle of China.
From China to Australia
From： | To : | Transit time(port to port) |
Shanghai China | Sydney Australia | 15 to 20 days |
Shanghai China | Melbourne Australia | 15 to 20 days |
Shanghai China | Brisbane Australia | 15 to 20 days |
Shanghai China | Adelaide Australia | 22 to 27 days |
Shanghai China | Fremantle Australia | 22 to 27 days |
From China to UK
From： | To : | Transit time(port to port) |
Shanghai China | Felixstowe UK | 40 to 50 days |
Shanghai China | Southampton UK | 40 to 50 days |
From China to USA
From： | To : | Transit time(port to port) |
Shanghai China | Los Angeles west USA | 13 to 16 days |
Shanghai China | Long Beach west USA | 13 to 16 days |
Shanghai China | Seattle west USA | 13 to 16 days |
Shanghai China | New York east USA | 28 to 35 days |
Shanghai China | Savannah east USA | 28 to 35 days |
Shanghai China | Charleston east USA | 28 to 35 days |
Shanghai China | Houston south USA | 25 to 30 days |
Shanghai China | Miami south USA | 35 to 40 days |
If you want to know the door to door transit time, we need to know the detailed address in China and in Australia/USA/UK.
You can contact DAKA’s sales team to get door to door transit time for sea freight from China.
Factors affecting sea freight transit time
1. Vessel owners and shipping route
Different vessel owners has different transit time . For example, transit time by COSCO is different from YML.
For same vessel owner different shipping routes means different transit time. Some routes are direct sailing and some require transshipment. For example when we ship products from shanghai China to New York USA, some routes are direct and some need to change vessel at Bushan port in South Korea.
And not all direct routes are with same transit time. For example both COSCO A3S service and COSCO JKN service are direct sailing from China to Australia. But COSCO A3S is much slower than COSCO JKN service when we ship products from Shenzhen China to Brisbane Australia. This is because A3S stops at Sydney/Melbourne first and then go to Brisbane whereas JKN’s first arrival port of Australia is Brisbane.
2. Shipping agent
Vessel owner can only control port to port transit time . But in international trade customers always care about door to door transit time, which includes pickup time from Chinese factory, Chinese customs clearance time , Australian/UK/USA customs clearance time, and destination trucking time to consignee’s door.
If the shipping agent you used delays pickup from Chinese factory, did a slow job in customs clearance, or coordinates with vessel owners in a very low work efficiency, we may miss the vessel and will cause big delay
3. Bad weather/port workers’ strike/customs inspection/port congestion etc
Sea freight from China transit time can also be affected by bad weather like typhoons, port workers’ strike, customs inspections, and port congestion. These are the factors beyond our control.
8. Sea freight costs from China
How to calculate sea freight costs from China ?
Take door to door shipping by sea for example, sea freight costs from China to Australia/USA/UK include three parts :
- Charges in China .
- Ocean freight .
- Charges in destination country(Australia/USA/UK)
Factors affecting sea freight cost from China
1. Product type : The shipping cost for dangerous products like oil, battery is more than general products. Some products require special treatment like quarantine or fumigation which will cause extra charges too
2.The quantity of products : The weight (kilograms) and volume(cubic meters) will affect shipping cost. For some oversized package with the length of more than 5 meters, it will cause more shipping cost.
3.The detailed address in China and in destination country will affect cost of door-to-door sea freight from China. The address close to the sea port is cheaper than remote address
4. Ocean freight in different months is different : For example, ocean freight before Christmas is more expensive that what was in June or July.
5. Cargo value : The cargo value decides how much duty/tax you need to pay to the customs or government. So it will affect the total cost of sea freight from China.
6. Vessel owner : ocean freight among different vessel owners are different.
7. Shipping cost among different shipping agents in different: When you find shipping agent, you need to check if they are experienced or professional and then the price. Some shipping agents quoted a very cheap price. But after they get your products in hand, they can not ship out the products smoothly or they will ask for more money.
9. Types of containers in sea freight
Normally, when we talk about container types, we usually say 20ft or 40ft container.
20ft container’s inner size is 6m*2.35m*2.39m and it can load cargo of about 28cubic meter and about 26ton.
20ft container can be dived into 20ft dry container (20GP), 20ft refrigerated container (20RF), and 20ft flat rack container(20FR).
20ft dry container is used for general products so it is called as 20GP.
20ft refrigerated container is used to transport perishable foods (meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables) or pharmaceutical products (vaccines, medicines) which require constant temperature preservation. This is all called as 20RF.
20ft flat rack container is a type of “special container”. Its core feature is the absence of a roof and side walls (only retaining the bottom frame and end walls at both ends). It is mainly used to load oversized cargo. It is called as 20FR
40ft container can also be divided into 40GP, 40RF and 40FR same as above.
But 40ft can also be dived into 40GP and 40HQ according to the difference in the height. 40GP inner size is 12m*2.35m*2.39m and it can load about 60cm and 26000kgs. 40HQ inner size is 12m*2.35m*2.69m and it can load about 65cubic meter and 26000kgs.
| Container type | Length*width*height(meter) | Weight(kgs) | Volume(cubic meter) |
| 20GP(20ft) | 6m*2.35m*2.39m | About 26000kgs | About 28cubic meter |
| 40GP | 12m*2.35m*2.39m | About 26000kgs | About 60cubic meter |
| 40HQ | 12m*2.35m*2.69m | About 26000kgs | About 65cubic meter |
Kindly remind both the 20ft and 40ft have the same maximum weight but the volume of a 40ft is double of a 20ft .
If you have 50cubic meter, 20tons of products, you can use one 40ft container or two 20ft containers to ship.
But if you have 50cubic meter , 50tons of products, you can NOT use one 40ft to ship. You can only use two 20ft containers.
As for ocean freight, usually 20ft is half of a 40ft container. 40GP and 40HQ usually share almost same ocean freight and that is why most customers use 40HQ.
10. Major ports in China and Australia/USA/UK
Chinese main ports
- Port of Shanghai
- Port of Shenzhen
- Port of Ningbo
- Port of Guangzhou
- Port of Qingdao
- Port of Tianjin
- Port of Xiamen
- Port of Hong Kong
Australian main ports
- Port of Sydney
- Port of Melbourne
- Port of Brisbane
- Port of Fremantle
- Port of Adelaide
UK main ports
- Port of Felixstowe
- Port of Southampton
- Port of London
- Port of Immingham
- Port of Liverpool
- Port of Dover
USA main ports
- Port of Los Angeles
- Port of Long Beach
- Port of New York and New Jersey
- Port of Savannah
- Port of Houston
- Port of Seattle Tacoma
- Port of Virginia
- Port of Charleston
- Port of Oakland
- Port Of Miami
11. How to track my sea shipment?
We can track the cargo oline and know the estimated arrival time of the vessel. So that we can better prepare for destination customs clearance and cargo delivery to consignee’s door.
If you ship with DAKA Transport Company, DAKA will provide container or bill of lading number and website for you to track the sea shipment online by yourself.
We suggest our customers to use container No. to trace the cargo online which is easier.
Container No. consists of three parts:
Part 1: The first three characters are the alphabetic code of the vessel owner.
Part 2: The fourth character represents the equipment code(For all containers the fourthe character is U).
Part 3 :The following six digits are the serial number and the last digit is the check digit.
After we get the container No., we can trace the cargo on its vessel owner’s website. Different vessel owner has different website and you can google it.
For example you can trace the cargo by container No. TEMU8249778 on https://elines.coscoshipping.com/ebusiness/cargoTracking?trackingType=BILLOFLADING&number=9503225330
12. FAQ
Have questions? We have answers
We can organize sea freight from China for general products. For dangerous items, we need to to double check with vessel owner with MSDS or DG cargo certificate.
When your shipment is less than 18cubic meters, we would suggest LCL shipping for cheaper cost. If more than 18CBM, we would suggest FCL shipping
From South China to Brisbane/Sydney/Melbourne is about 2 or 3 weeks ; from north China to Brisbane/Sydney/Melbourne is about 3 or 4 weeks. Transit time to Fremantle/Adelaide is about one week more than to Sydney.
The sea freight cost will depend on how many products and from which address in China to which address in Australia. DAKA can provide shipping quotation based on the information.
DAKA will provide container number or bill of lading number and the website for you to trace the cargo online. This ensures you can monitor your sea freight from China to Australia/USA/UK efficiently.
