Shrink-Wrapping Boats & Machinery for Export Shipping

Why export cargo is shrink-wrapped

Inside a closed container a boat or machine is protected by the steel box. On a flat rack, on the deck of a RoRo ship or in a breakbulk hold it is not. Over a voyage of two to six weeks, plus days in open terminal storage at each end, cargo meets salt spray, rain, sun, soot from ship exhausts and grit blown across the terminal. Salt dries into upholstery, electronics and unpainted steel, gelcoat chalks in the sun, and water pools in cockpits and cabs.

A properly fitted shrink-wrap keeps that out. It is a single skin of polyethylene film, heated until it tightens around the cargo, that sheds water, blocks sunlight and keeps salt off the surfaces underneath. It also shows at a glance whether anyone has been inside, since a cut in the film is hard to hide.

When wrapping helps, by shipping method

In a closed container a full wrap can do more harm than good. Steel boxes sweat as they move between climates, and film wrapped tight around a cold hull can hold that moisture against it. For container loads we cover upholstery, instruments and open cockpits, and leave the rest to breathe.

How we wrap

1. 1

   Clean and dry

   The cargo is washed, and for strict destinations cleaned to biosecurity standard in our washdown, then left to dry. Wrapping a wet surface traps the water underneath.

2. 2

   Secure and pad

   Loose items come off or are tied down. Antennas, rails, windshield frames, mirrors and sharp corners get foam padding so the film cannot tear on them in transit.

3. 3

   Strap and frame

   A polyester strapping band runs around the hull below the rub rail or around the machine frame, and the film is sealed to it. Flat or low areas get a frame of straps so rain runs off rather than pooling.

4. 4

   Film and heat

   Heavy-gauge, UV-stabilized polyethylene film, typically 7 to 12 mil (about 0.18 to 0.30 mm), is draped over the cargo, welded at the seams and heat-shrunk until it is tight.

5. 5

   Vents and a door

   Vents are set high on the sides to let moist air out, and a zip access door is fitted where an inspector, a RoRo driver or a crane crew needs to get in.

6. 6

   Mark and photograph

   Lifting points, tie-down points and the VIN or hull number are left visible or marked on the film, and the finished wrap is photographed before it leaves our yard.

Ventilation and condensation

The most common failure of a shrink-wrap is not a tear but mildew. A sealed wrap traps the air that was inside when it was closed, and as the temperature swings between day and night, or between a Savannah summer and a southern-hemisphere winter, that air drops its moisture on the coldest surface. Without vents, a boat can arrive with damp cushions, fogged instruments and mold on the headliner.

We fit vents in pairs, high on opposite sides so air can move through, with covers that keep rain from blowing in. Cushions, sails and canvas covers are better removed and packed dry inside the cabin or in a separate crate, and hatches are left slightly cracked under the wrap where the boat allows it.

Shrink-wrap, inspections and stink bug season

Wrapping does not clean or treat anything. It only keeps clean cargo clean, which is why it goes on last: after the washdown, after any APHIS inspection for a phytosanitary certificate, and after any treatment. Wrapping a dirty machine simply hides the soil from the inspector who will find it at destination.

Australia and New Zealand apply seasonal measures for the brown marmorated stink bug to vehicles, machinery and boats shipped from the United States during the risk season, roughly September to April. Where treatment is required, the fumigant or heat has to reach every surface, and plastic film blocks it, so cargo is treated before it is wrapped, never after.

Sources^1,2

Wrapping boats for export

Boats are most of the shrink-wrap we do, because so many of them ride outside a container. A center console or bowrider on a trailer by RoRo is wrapped from the rub rail up, with the T-top or tower lowered or removed first. Yachts and catamarans on a cradle are wrapped with the radar arch lowered and the flybridge enclosure removed or wrapped separately.

On a sailboat the mast is unstepped and travels alongside on padded supports, wrapped on its own, while the hull is wrapped with the standing rigging coiled and tied on deck. Outboards are tilted up and wrapped, or removed and crated when the boat goes in a container. Our boat export shipping page explains which boats go by container, RoRo or flat rack.

Wrapping machinery and vehicles

Machines on a flat rack or RoRo deck rarely need a full wrap; the steel is built for weather. What suffers is the cab, the engine compartment and the electronics. We wrap cabs with broken or missing glass, control panels, exposed wiring and air intakes, and coat chrome cylinder rods before covering them so salt cannot pit them. Attachments and removed parts from a dismantled machine that ride beside it on the rack are wrapped or crated together.

Cars and trucks shipped by RoRo are driven on and off by stevedores, so a full wrap is not used on them; the driver's door, windows and lights have to stay usable. Classic or high-value cars that need weather protection travel in a container instead. See heavy equipment export shipping for how each machine type is loaded.

Removing the wrap at destination

• Cut the film from the top down with a hook knife held away from the hull or paint, never with a box cutter dragged along the surface.
• Inspect under the wrap within a day of delivery and photograph any damage before signing for the cargo, since marine cargo claims depend on prompt notice.
• Shrink film is low-density polyethylene and is recyclable where a plastics recycler accepts it; the polyester strapping goes with general waste or metal-free recycling.