Oversized wheeled cargo that exceeds the deck clearance or weight limits of standard car decks on RoRo vessels. High & heavy units — including construction machinery, mining equipment, and agricultural vehicles — require special stowage on reinforced weather decks or hoistable car decks.
What is High & Heavy Cargo?
In RoRo shipping, "high and heavy" (H&H) refers to wheeled cargo that won't fit on standard car decks — either because it's too tall, too heavy, or both. The typical threshold is height above 2.2 meters or weight above 5 tons, though exact limits vary by vessel and deck.
Standard car decks on a PCC have 1.6-2.0m clearance. A PCTC's hoistable decks can raise to 6.5m, but the deck itself has weight limits per square meter. H&H cargo needs reinforced weather decks, hoistable decks at maximum clearance, or dedicated heavy-lift decks — all of which are limited capacity on any given vessel.
What Qualifies
The H&H category covers a wide range of wheeled and trackable equipment:
- Construction machinery — excavators, wheel loaders, bulldozers, graders, dump trucks
- Mining equipment — haul trucks, drilling rigs, crushers on trailers
- Agricultural vehicles — combines, tractors, harvesters
- Port equipment — reach stackers, terminal tractors, straddle carriers
- Military vehicles — armored personnel carriers, logistics trucks
- Buses and coaches — double-decker buses, articulated coaches
What these share: they're too tall or too heavy for the fixed car decks where sedans and SUVs sit, but they have wheels (or can be placed on wheeled platforms) so they can still roll on and roll off.
How H&H Gets Loaded
Pre-Booking Assessment
The shipper provides exact dimensions (length, width, height) and weight. The carrier's stowage team confirms the unit fits within available deck clearance and weight capacity. Weather deck or hoistable deck allocation is confirmed.
Terminal Staging
H&H units stage separately from standard vehicles — they need wider driving lanes and sometimes crane assistance for positioning. Some units arrive on MAFI trailers (flat-bed roll trailers) or cassettes that get towed onto the vessel.
Loading
Self-propelled units drive on under their own power. Non-propelled units (tracked equipment, oversized trailers) are towed by terminal tractors or loaded on MAFI trailers that are then pushed aboard. Loading H&H takes significantly longer per unit than standard cars.
Securing
Lashing requirements are substantially heavier than for standard vehicles. Steel chains (not nylon straps) anchored to deck rings, heavy-duty chocks and blocks, and cross-bracing to prevent any lateral movement. A single excavator may require 8-12 lashing points and 30-45 minutes to secure properly.
Weight distribution is critical
A single piece of mining equipment can weigh 30-50 tons — the equivalent of 25-40 sedans concentrated in one spot. The stowage planner must account for point loading on the deck, overall vessel stability, and the combined effect of multiple H&H units. Miscalculating weight distribution on H&H cargo has caused vessel stability incidents.
Pricing
H&H pricing works differently from standard vehicle rates. Instead of per-CEU or per-unit rates, carriers typically charge per Revenue Ton (RT = L x W x H / 3) or negotiate flat rates per piece based on dimensions and weight. H&H rates run significantly higher per unit than car rates because each piece consumes premium deck space that could hold dozens of vehicles.
A 20-ton excavator might cost $3,000-8,000 to ship by RoRo versus $200-600 for a standard sedan on the same route. But compared to the alternative — breakbulk shipping with crane loading — RoRo is still 20-40% cheaper and faster for equipment that can be wheeled or trailered.
RoRo vs Breakbulk for Heavy Equipment
RoRo is preferred for H&H whenever the equipment can roll. Drive-on/drive-off eliminates the need for heavy-lift cranes (which are expensive and limit port choice), reduces loading time, and lowers damage risk from sling handling. The limitation is deck clearance and weight capacity — if a piece exceeds what the vessel's weather deck can handle, breakbulk on a general cargo vessel with its own cranes becomes the only option.
FAQ
What qualifies as high and heavy cargo in RoRo shipping?
Generally any wheeled cargo exceeding 2.2 meters in height or 5 tons in weight, though thresholds vary by carrier and vessel. Construction machinery, mining equipment, agricultural vehicles, buses, and military vehicles are the most common H&H categories. The key distinction is that these units won't fit on standard fixed car decks and require weather decks, hoistable decks, or dedicated heavy-lift decks.
How is high and heavy cargo priced differently from vehicles?
H&H is priced per Revenue Ton (length x width x height / 3) or as a flat rate per piece, rather than the per-unit or per-CEU rates used for standard vehicles. Rates are significantly higher because each H&H unit consumes premium deck space — a single excavator takes the space of 8-15 cars. Lashing costs are also higher due to heavier equipment and longer securing times.
Can tracked equipment (without wheels) be shipped by RoRo?
Yes, but it can't drive on under its own tracks (tracks would damage the vessel's deck). Tracked equipment is loaded onto MAFI trailers or roll trailers at the terminal, which are then towed onto the vessel by terminal tractors. This adds handling cost and time but still avoids the need for crane loading, keeping the cost advantage of RoRo over breakbulk shipping.