GlossaryEN1 min readUpdated: Jun 22, 2026
deep-sea shipping
Deep-sea shipping is the ocean transport of goods and passengers across major maritime distances, primarily on intercontinental trade routes linking large commercial ports.
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Source: https://www.imo.org
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Deep-sea shipping is the ocean transport of goods and passengers across major maritime distances, primarily on intercontinental trade routes linking large commercial ports. It relies on purpose-built vessels – container ships, bulk carriers, tankers, and ro-ro ships – operating on lanes such as Asia–Europe or the transatlantic corridor. Deep-sea operations fall under international maritime law and the frameworks of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), including SOLAS for vessel safety and MARPOL for pollution prevention. Unlike short-sea shipping, which covers regional coastal routes, deep-sea shipping is the backbone of high-volume cargo movement in global trade: freight cost per tonne is low, but transit times range from weeks to over a month depending on the route.
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Transit index
Check transit time: city-to-city index
P50/P80 transit times for sea, air and road — sourced and confidence-rated, not a carrier quote.
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