The difference between bulk and break bulk is that bulk is loose cargo, and break bulk is cargo that can be given a unit count. An example of bulk cargo is coal. An example of break bulk is drums of liquid.
Bulk and break bulk vessels come in 2 varieties, geared and gearless. Geared vessels have cranes onboard to assist with the loading and unloading, allowing the vessel to call into ports that do not have the necessary equipment to handle bulk goods. Gearless vessels do not have cranes on board and rely on shoreside equipment for loading and unloading.
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The beginning of the process is making the booking with the carrier to move your goods on a specific vessel, using a particular piece of equipment. The haulier will then collect this equipment from an assigned depot, advise the equipment number to your ocean freight forwarder and load the goods.
The carrier will book the equipment onto the port by updating the export manifest with the equipment number. Whilst the carrier must allocate the equipment numbers to a manifest, the customs clearance agent needs to provide the carrier with a clearance before the vessel is loaded.
If the shipment is bulk or break bulk, the goods will be unpacked at the port and loaded to the vessel directly. If the shipment is an LCL, then the goods will be taken to a warehouse for loading with other consignments before the containers manifest is provided to the carrier for vessel loading.
Once the goods are received at the Port Of Arrival (POA), they will require carrier release, customs clearance and inland haulage to take the goods to their destination. If the goods are LCL, then they will go to an Electronic Remote Transit Shed (ERTS) for devanning and collection by the importer.
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