Sea Freight Forwarding

Australia’s Premier Sea Freight Forwarder

Stockwell International is Australia’s premier sea freight forwarder. As a freight forwarding company with over 50 years of experience, we have developed close relationships with major shipping lines worldwide.

Our longstanding relationships and extensive experience provides us with flexible shipping rates and transit times so that we can provide our customers with the right method of freight delivery that is on time and within budget.

How We Can Help

LCL Freight Forwarding

If you’re importing or exporting ocean freight shipments that don’t require the full capacity of an ocean container, we can arrange for its transportation in a shared container. Less than container load (LCL) shipping is most suitable for traders who don’t require a full shipping container yet still need to move their goods via ocean freight. Depending on the volume and regularity of shipments, LCL freight forwarding can provide convenience, cost-effective shipping rates and faster transit times.

FCL Freight Forwarding

Large-scale goods or more significant volumes may require transportation through full container load (FCL) freight forwarding. Without the need for consolidation and deconsolidation, FCL freight forwarding can result in more efficient transit times, and depending on the circumstances, your sea freight forwarder may secure you a more cost-effective shipping rate.

Buyer’s Consolidation

With well-established warehousing, pick-n-pack capabilities and quality control management in place in most countries, Stockwells provides a holistic multiple shipper freight forwarding consolidation service. By strategically grouping shipments, we can reduce your shipping rates, mitigate the risk of damage to your freight and optimise your international sea freight process.

Reefer Container Services

Have your perishable, seasonal and pharmaceutical goods delivered in reefer containers with Stockwell’s transportation management. We safeguard the form and quality of your refrigerated goods so they are delivered exactly as you would expect them to be, in any location at any time of the year.

Track & Trace

Our track & trace service provides importers and exporters with complete visibility of all shipment statuses in real-time. The Stockwell International client portal retrieves processing information instantaneously and displays it in a simple to use dashboard so that all consignments can be tracked in one place.

Marine Insurance

Ocean container freight forwarding is subject to unavoidable forces and accidents that can lead to loss and damage of goods. It’s important to understand that, depending on the terms of trade, marine insurance may not be included and may need to be provided by the importer or exporter. Stockwell International can help you secure marine insurance and safeguard your cargo.

Project Cargo

Ensure your oversized/overweight cargo is handled professionally from door-to-door with Stockwell’s project cargo management service. Our global network ensures maximum efficiency, risk mitigation and a reduction in the costs involved with moving large, out-of-gauge project cargo. Stockwell’s cargo management and logistics solutions allow us to handle cargo for the following projects:

  • Solar and wind farm
  • Tunnelling and major roadwork
  • Mining
  • Construction
  • Large cargo movements (agricultural machinery, boats, yachts, conveyor belts)

We Can Transport Your

The Stockwells Difference

Meet Your Ocean Freight Forwarding Team

Our Stockwell International team is cross trained in all aspects of our logistics operations.

Client Stories

Why an experienced ocean container shipping forwarder is essential.

This particular client was shipping 5cbm of goods from Mumbai to Melbourne. The shipping documents had already been passed along after the client had been notified of requests for a quote for CIF with local delivery to Melbourne. 

On looking over the documents, we noticed two things; the goods had already arrived and were, in fact, accruing storage at the LCL freight forwarding depot, and that a treatment certificate was required for the commodity. 

The client did not have the treatment certificate and had to go back to the shipper to request one. The shipper then notified the client that it had been couriered and should arrive soon. A tracking number was requested, and documents were in fact, en-route.

We obtained a copy of the document to find out it had been incorrectly filled out and was not accepted by DAFF. The shipper was not able to make any changes as the original had already been sent, and DAFF would not allow customs clearance without proof of treatment. 

Because the goods had been shipped from India, they could be cleared on a copy of the certificate only. However, it was the fact that the original had been sent already and could not be changed that was the issue.

This client required the goods to be cleared urgently and subsequently could not wait on sending the certificate back, especially when each day cost him AU$600 in storage costs. 

The local charges from the handling agent were AU$987 more than they should have been, AU$1200 in additional storage at the local depot had already accrued and, the re-treatment cost the client AU$2756, which he tried to bill back to the shipper, unsuccessfully. 

In this circumstance, CIF should not have been the preferred term of trade used to move LCL freight from places like India and China. This is because by moving under this term, any control along the supply chain is essentially wiped out and puts all responsibility on the supplier. 

The cost of the local charges and the cost of late or lost documents are very expensive. At Stockwells, unfortunately we see this time and time again. Many importers fall into the mistake of assuming CIF is the easiest way to ship, but in fact, it has far more reaching ramifications in the long run when things go wrong. Once the goods arrive in Australia, they are the importer’s problem, including all the costs associated with the aforementioned errors. 

When you ship free on board (FOB), you are putting the responsibility of some of these things on the Australian freight forwarder. The freight forwarder then has the opportunity to liaise with the shipper and work out whether fumigation is required, etc. 

The documents are also handled between the freight forwarder and the shipper, so we are able to assist with overseeing the documents for Australian standards. Unfortunately, under FOB we still do not handle the fumigation, but we can offer advice on commodities where it is required. 

All in all, CIF is suitable under some circumstances (especially where it is not a prerequisite to control the shipping times, costs and or if there were allowable consolidations), however for LCL freight forwarding out of China and India, it does not work in favour of the importer. 

If this particular client had approached Stockwell to advise them on LCL freight forwarding, they would have saved a lot of time and money.

What Our Clients Say

Other Ways We Can Help

Air Freight Forwarding

With a well-established network of major airlines and a wide-reaching network of offices, we are well equipped to offer competitive air freight forwarding rates with personalised service at optimum efficiency.

Learn more about our Air Freight Forwarding service.

US/AU Trade Lane

There are many complexities that come with sending freight between the USA and Australia. When it comes to taxes, typical transit times, and shipping costs, it pays to have an expert help you deal with the process.

Find out more about Freight Forwarding Between the US and Australia.

Warehousing & Distribution

When your freight arrives, you need a reliable warehousing and distribution solution. That’s where we come in. By utilising Stockwell’s strategically placed distribution centres as a direct extension of your business, your supply chain will perform at optimum levels.

Find out more about our Warehousing & Distribution service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have questions about our ocean freight management services? Check out our FAQs.

Almost any country in the world, including between the US and Australia. Ask us about the country you import from today!

Learn more in our complete guide to freight forwarding.

To keep it simple, we can’t! Stockwells has been dealing with the customs process for 50 years and will ensure you have all the correct documentation to keep the process as smooth as possible. 

There is no legal way to avoid the random checks Australian Customs does to ensure border control.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has been working to reduce the harmful impacts of shipping on the environment. 

In 2016, the Marine Environment Protection Committee made the decision that as of 1st January 2020, there would be a significant reduction in the sulphur content of the fuel oil used by ships (the sulphur content was lowered from 3.50% that was the global norm to 0.50%). 

Its effect on shippers takes the shape of increased and additional surcharges from the shipping lines. Each line calculates charges differently and will depend on which shipping line your cargo is on.

Choose the experts in ocean shipping and sea freight forwarding