Legal Definitions - transshipment

Transshipment refers to the process of transferring goods or cargo from one mode of transportation to another during a journey. This often occurs at an intermediate point, such as a port, airport, or rail yard, where the original vehicle cannot complete the entire delivery or where it's more efficient or necessary to switch transport methods.

Here are some examples:

• Example 1: Ship-to-Ship Transfer

  A massive ocean freighter carrying thousands of tons of raw materials from South America arrives at a deep-water port in the Netherlands. Some of its cargo is destined for smaller industrial ports along the Rhine River that the large vessel cannot navigate due to its size and draft. These specific raw materials are unloaded from the ocean freighter and then reloaded onto smaller river barges, which then transport them inland to their final destinations.

  This illustrates transshipment because the cargo is moved from one ship (the ocean freighter) to another (the river barge) to complete its journey, rather than staying on the original vessel.

• Example 2: Ship-to-Land Transfer

  A shipment of imported electronics, packed in large containers, arrives at a major coastal port in California on a cargo ship from Asia. Once docked, the containers are lifted directly off the ship by cranes and immediately placed onto specialized flatbed trucks or rail cars. These land-based vehicles then transport the containers hundreds or thousands of miles inland to various distribution centers and warehouses across the United States.

  Here, transshipment occurs as the electronics are transferred from a maritime vessel to land-based transportation (trucks and trains) to continue their journey to their final destinations.

• Example 3: Air-to-Land Transfer

  A critical, time-sensitive shipment of vaccines is flown via a dedicated cargo plane from its manufacturing facility in Europe to a major international airport in the central United States. Upon arrival, the temperature-sensitive cargo is quickly unloaded from the aircraft and immediately transferred into refrigerated delivery vans. These vans then transport the vaccines directly to various clinics and hospitals within a 200-mile radius of the airport.

  This scenario demonstrates transshipment because the vaccines are moved from an air cargo carrier to ground transportation vehicles to complete the final, crucial leg of their journey.