Ocean Freight to Colombia

Ocean freight shipping to Colombia

Colombia has become one of the most dynamic economies in the American continent. Due to the increase of petroleum exports, there has been a quick commercial take-off, with a peak in ocean freight to Colombia.

For its special geographic position, with shores both in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, most of the exports of Colombia are made through its seaports. The improvement in these infrastructures has allowed a competitive development for the ocean freight to Colombia, thus gaining both in quality and in productivity.

FCL container service to Colombia

With a 3,200km coastline, shipping cargo to Colombia is a great way to get your merchandise into Latin America. When deciding between one container service and another, you may want to consider shipping a full container to Colombia, or FCL.

If you are shipping merchandise that can fill 6 standard pallets in a 20-foot container, or 12 standard pallets in a 40-foot container, one of the most profitable shipping services is the Full Container Load (FCL).

FCL or LCL for your ocean freight to Colombia

One of the first questions you should ask yourself when planning a maritime transport to Colombia is whether you should do so in a Full Container Load (FCL) or in a Less Container Load (LCL), also known as groupage.

Shipping a container to Colombia does not mean that you have to fill it completely. When shipping FCL, the container used to transport your goods will not be shared with any other shippers, which means you will avoid any contamination problems of any type.

With LCL shipping, your shipment travels in a shared container and faces a higher risk of damage and contamination. However, it may be a better option for low-volume shipments.

Ocean freight ports in Colombia

Seaports have a very active role in the development of trade operations in Colombia. Nowadays, more than 90% of the Colombian imports and exports are made through seaports.

Colombia has nine port areas, seven of them along the Caribbean Coast: la Guajira, Santa Marta, Ciénaga, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Golfo de Morrosquillo, Urabá y San Andrés, and two along the Pacific Coast: Buenaventura and Tumaco. In the Caribbean area we can highlight:

Port of Cartagena

The Port of Cartagena consolidated as the great logistics and international transfer seaport in Colombia, specialized in the container trade. It has major public use terminals, such as the Sociedad Portuaria de Cartagena (CONTECAR), Muelles El Bosque and the Puerto de Mamonal
Cartagena is the leading port in the container exports towards the United States, with 47% of the overall activity. Its other activity is the cruise tourism industry: 150 cruises arrive per year and it’s a port of embarkation for Royal Caribbean Cruises.

→ Ship container to Cartagena

Port of Barranquilla

The Port of Barranquilla is the largest multipurpose port on the Colombian Caribbean Coast, used both for cargo and for containers. It has a 1058-meter linear dock and another one of 550 meters for fluvial crafts. Besides that, it is the only Colombian port in the Atlantic Coast with railroad, which allows load and unload operations directly in the docks.

→ Ship container to Barranquilla

Port of Buenaventura

This is the main port on the Pacific Coast for Colombia. It has been declared as Special Free Trade Zone and is the first port of its type that enjoys such benefits so the firms in the Terminal must pay only a 15% tax against the traditional 32%. It has 12 docks and stands out for its importance for the foreign trade of Colombia.

Other ports where you can send your ocean freight to Colombia to are the Ports of Santa Marta, Quibdó, Tumaco, Coveñas and Turbo.

→ Ship container to Buenaventura

Our ocean freight services to Colombia

At iContainers, you’ll find that we offer the most professional and efficient ocean freight ocean freight services to India an extensive range of ports located all over the world. These include ports in:

• USA
• Spain
• Netherlands
• Germany
• Belgium
• Mexico
• Dominican Republic
• China
• Taiwan
• UAE

What our ocean freight rates to Colombia include

For more information, consult ship container rates for your ocean freight to Colombia here.