Avoiding uninsurable moisture damage to your containerised cargo
Do you know what the percentage is of cargo that needs to be discarded due to moisture damage? An alarming 10%!
What you might not realize is that a significant portion of that damage is completely uninsurable! The reason this cargo is not insurable, is because the damage is due to condensation, aka as container rain or cargo sweat.
When your cargo travels along international routes, shipping containers experience radical changes in temperature. The temperature variations in containers travelling between tropical locations such as Hong Kong or Singapore and northern latitudes such as Alaska or Scandinivia can be as much as a whopping 50°c!
Unless your container is vacuum sealed, it will trap moisture inside. Unfortunately, if you look at places where most containers are packed and loaded, which is often in damp maritime environments, this risk is even higher!
During transportation, the atmosphere inside the shipping containers warms. This causes the trapped moisture to evaporate and form warm, humid air. Condensation takes place on the coldest available surface. When the warmer air hits a colder surface (eg a container ceiling), beads of water will from. Just like the dew you see on a can of softdrink or cold beer on a hot day.
In extreme heating and cooling cycles, the moisture release can be so significant that drops fall from the container ceiling. Hence the name, container rain. This process can happen repeatedly every 24 hours unless the relative humidity is reduced.
Any insurer will tell you that condensation is a “foreseeable risk” and is therefore not covered under any of their policies. Yet, they receive regular claims from disappointed clients who have not realized this.
We focus on ensuring your cargo is protected from any form of transport damage. From eliminating cargo damage by properly stowing and securing your cargo, as well as controlling moisture and preventing moisture damage.
To better protect your cargo from moisture than ever before, we recently introduced our market leading Cordstrap Dry range. Cordstrap Dry has the highest absorbency rate available today of 320% of its own weight. The high performing Tyvek© technology in the outer bags guarantees they are tear resistant and leak proof.
Contact us for free advice about the risk your cargo is running based on the nature and packaging of your product and its shipping route.
