How to Choose the Right Lashing Services to Keep Your Cargo Safe?

Since time immemorial, shipping has been one of the most preferred modes of transporting cargo. Once they’re on the move, ships are subject to 6 different kinds of motion. Thus, it is very important for all cargo to be securely lashed in place. If it were to slip or tip over, not only would it cause financial losses, it could also cause injuries to the people on board. When you’re hiring a company to lash your cargo, you will of course check their reputation and testimonials. But, that alone isn’t enough. Here are a few thing to keep in mind when you’re choosing a company for lashing services.

Experience

There are many nuances to lashing cargo. It isn’t as simple as throwing a rope over the container and tying down both ends. You need to work with a company that has experience lashing your kind of cargo. With this experience, they will gain the expertise required to know what type of lashing is required for your type of cargo. In most cases, you will see that there are many different types of lashing techniques used together. Experienced professionals will also know the safest ways to lash cargo so as to prevent injuries. They will also be able to design a route specific lashing system to maximize capacity. You must be able to trust the company’s decisions.

Material Range and Quality

There are many different types of materials used for lashing. The company you choose to work with, should offer a wide range of materials. They should also be able to judge what the best material for your needs would be. For example, the lashing ribbons used for high cube containers must be thicker than the lashing ribbons used for standard height containers.

That said, simply having the right type of material is not enough. The materials should also stand up to quality standards. For example, web lashing should not be torn or knotted. Poor quality materials can make your lashing ineffective.

Scope of Work

When it comes to choosing a company for its lashing services, don’t look at lashing in isolation. Instead, you should ideally work with a company that offers a complete design service package. Look for services that extend beyond lashing the cargo to the ship and include building lashing bridges, access platforms and adjustable-length container cell guides.Also note that as the ship moves, lashing can stretch. Thus, the company needs to have someone onboard to inspect the lashings from time to time and make adjustments whenever required.

Also Read: 5 Benefits of Transporting Cars in Containers

When it comes to lashing services, it is important to remember that there is no one size fits all solution. Thus, there’s a lot of careful consideration required to choose an efficient lashing system. When you’re finding a company to handle this service, walk through the entire process with them to understand their thought process. This is an important decision because improper lashing could deliver all yoru hard work to the bottom of the ocean instead of its intended destination.