“What is roll on roll off shipping” is a question that’s often asked by shippers. Also known as Ro-Ro or RORO, this service is commonly used by shippers all over the world. That said, RORO is a service that’s harder to book than containerized shipping which is why so many shippers are unaware of this useful service.
According to the World Cargo Alliance (WCA), RORO shipping is a service that’s used to transport vehicles over large bodies of water. Rather than lifting vehicles onto a vessel, RORO ships allow vehicles to be driven and parked on the various decks that these vessels have.
Before using RORO shipping, it’s important to understand the inner working of this service.
Typically, vehicles are shipped either by being driven to their destination or by hitching a ride on a car carrier or flatbed trailer. However, when ground vehicles need to be shipped to another country overseas, RORO carriers pick up the slack. RORO is one of many types of ocean freight shipping services.
We mentioned above that RORO shipping is used to transport vehicles. Many shippers think that RORO vessels only transport vehicles commonly seen on U.S. roads, like cars and trucks. While this is true, RORO vessels are able to transport larger wheeled vehicles and vehicle equipment like:
To load and unload RORO vessels, vehicles are either driven or pulled on and off using stern ramps. Even when placed in the parked position, vehicles can still shift and move during their sea voyage within an RORO ship. This is prevented by lashing the vehicles in place once they’re parked in their designated spot.
Due to the number of cars imported and exported by the U.S. every year, RORO shipping is a service that’s used as often as possible. The table below shows the amount of vehicles imported and exported by the U.S. from 2017 to 2020.
| Imports | Exports | |
| 2017 | 7,965.44 units | 1,948.13 units |
| 2018 | 7,862.28 units | 1,804.75 units |
| 2019 | 7,798.22 units | 1,937.34 units |
| 2020 | 6,504.77 units | 1,445.01 units |
RORO shipping is beneficial because it can get vehicle imports and exports from one country to the next. That said, there are plenty of other advantages that you’ll be able to reap when you transport wheeled vehicles via RORO shipping.
When using roll on roll off shipping, your vehicles will receive specialized treatment from the staff that works on these vessels. Staff on RORO vessels receive training on how they should operate and handle the vehicles. In addition to their training, staff members on RORO vessels gain more and more experience with each voyage they make.
These factors ensure that any vehicle(s) that you ship across the ocean will be treated with the utmost care.
The speed at which vehicles can be loaded onto a RORO vessel is much faster than that of containerized cargo. As we stated above, vehicles can simply be driven or pulled on and off the vessel transporting them. This makes for a fairly short loading and unloading process.
Containerized cargo, on the other hand, is a process that has a few steps that are very long to complete. These steps include:
While these steps are short, the time it takes to carry them out can be long. The steps to loading vehicles onto a roll on roll off vessel don’t take as long to complete.
Due to the way that vehicles are loaded onto RORO vessels, the amount of cargo handling that has to be used during loading and unloading procedures is far less than containerized cargo. This also contributes to why loading and unloading vehicles that will be shipped using RORO is so much faster.
We mentioned earlier that RORO shipping is a service that will allow you to transport a variety of different vehicles. That said, there isn’t one specific type of RORO vessel that can transport every type of vehicle. Instead, there are multiple types of RORO vessels that are designed to accommodate different types of vehicles.
These vessels included:
Below, we’ve included dedicated sections detailing the attributes of these vessels and some of the vehicles that they transport.
One common RORO vessel variant is the ConRO (container-roll off) vessel. This particular type of ship is considered a hybrid vessel because it’s able to carry both containerized freight, as well as vehicles. This hybrid design accommodates shippers that require both containerized and RORO shipping methods.
These ships are characterized by the following:
As with regular cargo ships, containers are loaded into the top of ConRO vessels using a crane. Vehicles can be driven or pulled on and off the lower decks of a ConRO just as they would with a normal RORO ship.
Another type of RORO vessel is called the RoLo (roll on-lift off) vessel. Like the ConRO ship, the RoLo is a hybrid ship that’s able to accommodate roll-on and lift-off methods of loading and unloading. A RoLo vessel has a ramp where vehicles can drive onto and park themselves. These decks are also accessible by crane if ocean tides or the height of the dock prevents the deck ramp from lowering for vehicles to drive on and off of.
ROPAX is a name given to a RORO vessel that you’re probably already familiar with. This term is used to describe vessels that can transport people, as well as their vehicles. ROPAX ships are essentially ferries that are used to transport people and their vehicles a short distance.
The last type of RORO vessels is pure car carriers (PCC) and pure car/truck carriers (PCTC). As its names imply, PCC vessels provide RORO car and truck services specifically. PCTC vessels, however, can provide transport for the following vehicles:
The largest of these vessels have anywhere between 10 to 13 decks where vehicles can be parked and stored. PCC vessels alone are able to transport up to 6,000 cars if necessary. Regardless of the vehicle(s) you need shipped, you can count on one of the many roll on roll off vessels to get the job done.
Roll-on/roll-off shipping is safe in the sense that your vehicle will arrive at its destination in working order. That said, when vehicles are shipped using RORO shipping, the likelihood of them suffering minor damages while in transit is higher than if container shipping was used.
Some scenarios that can cause damage to your vehicle while it’s in transit are:
When in a container, your vehicle will have a higher level of protection from external factors such as these. That said, containerized shipping is more expensive and has other downsides. Before shipping a vehicle, you’ll need to consider which ocean freight shipping service is best for you.
Compared to other forms of ocean freight shipping, RORO shipping is among the cheapest. That said, you can still expect to spend a substantial amount of money when you’re moving vehicles overseas. You’ll also need to consider international cargo shipping rates before using this service.
The amount you spend on RORO services will vary based on the following factors:
With all of these factors at play, you can expect to spend anywhere between $800 to $2,500 to send a vehicle to another country via RORO shipping services. Fortunately, one of the many benefits of using a freight forwarder to organize an ocean freight service is that they can help find a more affordable rate for you.
If you need to ship a vehicle or vehicles, but don’t know where to start, our forwarders at USA Freight Forwarding Services will be able to offer you the assistance you need. Our team has connections with the best carriers and will be able to get your vehicle(s) transported at an affordable rate.
Some of the tasks that we can perform for you at USA Freight Forwarding Services include:
Ocean freight shipping is great for bulk quantities of goods while international air is great for small quantities of goods that need to be shipped fast. Both services will be available when you choose us as your freight forwarding provider.
Lastly, our consulting services will help you understand the international shipping process, as well as understand what responsibilities you’ll have as a shipper. Our team at USA Freight Forwarding Services is reachable at (866) 941-8081, or you can fill out a contact form.
