What does this cover?
Special cargo is reviewed against product information, documents, packaging, carrier rules and destination restrictions before acceptance.
Cargo type
Special Cargo
Special cargo cannot be confirmed from a category, only from the product details: the UN number, the packing, the documents and the carrier acceptance rules decide whether it can move at all. Once accepted, the transit range matches general cargo for the same mode — the extra work happens before booking, not in transit.
Cargo requiring prior channel and document review.
Related cargo conditions
Which more specific requirements apply?
Evidence and reading
What project experience relates to this?
Case study
Solar system with UN 3480 lithium batteries shipped FCL to Cuba
A high-value solar power system with UN 3480 lithium-ion batteries moved as a full container after the original LCL plan was rejected as unworkable, with full dangerous-goods documentation and carrier approval.
Read case →GuideShipping from China: what goes wrong, and how to check for it before you book
Four structural tensions explain almost every problem buyers hit when importing from China — and each one comes with something you can check before you commit, whoever you end up shipping with.
Read guide →Questions
What else do buyers ask?
What happens if my cargo cannot be shipped?
We tell you before you commit. Cargo is reviewed in three states: normally accepted, accepted only after review, and not accepted.
If a commodity cannot be shipped lawfully or safely on the route you need, we say so before the booking rather than discovering the problem at the port. Special cargo is reviewed against product information, documents, packaging and carrier rules first, and a refusal is stated as a refusal rather than a delay.
Which products need SASO or Saber product certification?
Regulated product categories need SASO certification through the Saber platform before they can be imported into Saudi Arabia, and the requirement is decided by the product HS code and technical regulation rather than by the shipment size or value.
We review the commodity against the applicable technical regulation before quoting, so certification is raised before production ships instead of being discovered at the port. Where a product cannot be certified for the route, we say so before you commit rather than after the cargo has left China.
Related cargo and services
How do you build the right shipping combination?
Need a shipment-level answer?
Send the cargo details, origin, destination and preferred delivery scope for review.