When the Container Is the Problem
Breakbulk and Project Cargo
Containers are efficient precisely because everything about them is standard, which is no help at all when the cargo is not. Breakbulk means shipping the item as it is - loaded loose into the hold, or secured onto a flat rack or open top where the height or width simply will not close a door. It is a different booking, a different rate structure and a different loading plan. Part of our sea freight services.
What Ships This Way
Cargo That Needs Breakbulk
The test is simple: if it does not fit, or fitting it would damage it, it goes breakbulk.
- Industrial plant and production machinery
- Structural steel and fabricated sections
- Generators, transformers and vessels
- Construction and mining equipment
- Boats, hulls and large assemblies
- Complete project consignments
Shipping Something Too Big?
Send the dimensions, the weight and the two ports
Get a Breakbulk Quote Call +971 4 239 7107How Breakbulk Is Priced and Planned
Almost every assumption from container shipping stops applying, which is where budgets go wrong.
Rates are negotiated, not listed
Breakbulk is quoted per shipment against the dimensions, weight and the vessel's own loading plan rather than from a rate sheet.
The vessel has to suit the cargo
Not every service takes breakbulk, and not every port handles it. Sailing options narrow considerably, which affects timing more than cost.
Lifting is part of the booking
The item has to be lifted on and off, with slinging points identified in advance - see oversized and heavy cargo handling.
Securing is engineering
Cargo in a hold has to survive weeks of vessel movement. Lashing and bracing are calculated, not improvised.
Getting it to the quay
A breakbulk booking assumes the item is already at the port. Moving something that will not containerise across Dubai is its own exercise in permits and route planning, and it usually takes longer than the loading does.
Flat Rack or Loose?
Two Different Answers
Not all non-containerised cargo ships the same way.
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Flat racks and open tops
Cargo that exceeds a container in one dimension only. It keeps container handling and slots into normal services.
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Loose in the hold
Genuinely large items shipped as breakbulk on a suitable vessel, with a bespoke loading and lashing plan.
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Prepared before it ships
Machinery cleaned, preserved and braced first - see machinery packing.
Why Cannata
The Landside Is Ours Too
A breakbulk booking without a plan for getting the item to the quay is half a service. That road leg is usually the harder half.
Lifting arranged
Cranes and heavy handling organised as part of the job rather than left with you to source.
Delivered to the berth
Movement to the port on our own low-beds and flatbeds.
Cleared by us
Project consignments often need careful classification, handled by our own customs team.
Rate Request
Get a price for this shipment
Give us the route and the cargo and we will come back with a rate, usually within one working day.
Our FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
What shippers ask about breakbulk.
