Benefits of Professional Lightering Services
Let’s face it, there’s a high possibility that lightering is totally a new word to you, right? If so, you would want to understand what it means before you settle for services you completely know nothing about. Basically, lightering is the process by which products are transferred from a compromised vessel (normally transportation ships), to another vessel. Lightering is a task that can only be done by professionals to prevent oil or other hazardous materials, especially chemicals, from spilling into the surrounding waters. If you export or import products through water vessels and you would want your products to be loaded from one vessel to another, you should consider hiring lightering services.
One of the greatest benefits of finding professional lightering service providers is that they have the right machines and tools required to move products and items from one vessel into another. For example, to move huge containers from one ship to another, you will need huge and sophisticated cranes to do so. Unfortunately, such machines are costly, and even if you had them, you would still not manage to move the heavy containers. The importance of hiring lightering contractors is that they will bring their own machines, saving you the money required to invest on such heavy machinery.
Professional lightering contractors have access to professionals who know how to handle the heavy machinery used in moving containers from one vessel to another. As previously stated, you might own the cranes, but operating them requires specialized skills and knowledge. The importance of hiring the professionals is that they will ensure the transfer is smoothly done to prevent damages and loss of property. Since lightering is normally done in the ocean or sea, chances are you might end up dropping expensive containers in the sea if you did the transfer yourself.
If you own a large vessel, it might not have enough space to dock in the port. Therefore, you will need to transfer your cargo into a vessel that is small enough to dock in the available port space. Therefore, lightering is done to transfer cargo from a larger vessel to a smaller vessel to enable the vessel to enter port facilities. The importance of hiring the professionals is that they will ensure the transfer is done quickly, yet smoothly, to ensure that your cargo reaches its destination on time. Such services would greatly benefit you especially if you are shipping perishable goods.
Winding up, you would want to ensure that the lightering contractor hired is dedicated to deliver the safest, smartest, and the most efficient transshipment services. You might be transporting an expensive cargo and you would not want it to fall into the wrong hands. Furthermore, you would not want to see your cargo falling and getting lost in the sea. Such scenarios can only be prevented by hiring professionals lightering contractors who are experienced in delivering top-notch transshipment services. Before you trust anyone, do background research in them and pay special attention to customer reviews to see what other customers think about the lightering services.