Household goods travel in exactly the same ISO 668 steel containers that carry electronics, food and industrial goods around the world. That standardisation is why container shipping is affordable, reliable and traceable — every port in the world can handle a 20ft or 40ft box, and every reputable line-haul carrier issues a bill of lading you can track daily.

You have two commercial models available: FCL (Full Container Load) means you book the entire container for your household alone; LCL (Less than Container Load) means your goods share a container with other households and are consolidated at a warehouse before sailing. FCL is faster and simpler; LCL is cheaper for smaller volumes and is what most 15–35 m³ UK-to-worldwide moves actually use.

Container shipping is the correct choice for any move where the destination is not reachable by road in a reasonable time — which for the UK effectively means anywhere outside Europe. USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, South Africa and most of Asia are container moves whether you like it or not. Within Europe, container shipping is only used for island destinations (Malta, Cyprus, Iceland) and, occasionally, southern Spain / Portugal via Bilbao or Santander to save road miles.

You are the right customer for container shipping if you're relocating for work or family with a genuine household of goods (not just suitcases), if you want to move furniture, books and belongings you already own rather than replace them at destination, and if you can plan 6–12 weeks ahead of your move-in date.

Stage 1 — Survey and quote. Either a home video survey or a physical pre-move survey establishes your volume in cubic metres and flags any special items (piano, safe, artwork, fragile antiques).

Stage 2 — Booking. You confirm dates, service type (FCL vs LCL), origin loading style (container to your door, or collection to warehouse), and customs option (mover handles it, or you appoint your own broker).

Stage 3 — Export packing at your UK address, or self-packing to standards agreed in advance. Wardrobe cartons, bubble-wrap, edge protection, TV crates and export-grade tape are the minimum.

Stage 4 — Loading and sealing. For FCL, the container arrives at your kerbside on a HIAB or side-loader. It's loaded room by room, netted or lashed, then closed with a numbered bolt seal photographed for your records. For LCL, goods are collected to a warehouse and consolidated into a shared container over the following days.

Stage 5 — Transport to the UK port of loading — usually Felixstowe, Southampton, Tilbury, Liverpool or Immingham depending on destination.

Stage 6 — Ocean freight. Sailings are weekly or fortnightly on scheduled services. This is the bulk of the transit time.

Stage 7 — Destination port arrival and customs clearance. The bill of lading is presented, customs entry filed, duties and taxes settled or waived under relief.

Stage 8 — Delivery, unloading and (optional) unpacking at your new address. The seal is broken in front of you or on your written authority.

Ocean transit times are governed by shipping schedules and cannot be materially compressed by paying more. What you can influence is how quickly your goods enter and leave the port system — pre-cleared paperwork saves days at both ends.

The real end-to-end door-to-door time for a UK-to-USA move is typically 5–8 weeks (LCL) or 4–6 weeks (FCL). Australia and New Zealand are 8–12 weeks. UAE is 4–6 weeks. Add 1–3 weeks in November–December (peak retail freight) and June–August (peak household migration).

Container shipping requires more paperwork than any other move type because every port and every customs authority verifies the load independently. Your mover prepares most of it, but the source documents come from you.

Every non-EU destination treats an inbound container as a customs event. In most cases, personal used household effects belonging to a returning national or a newly-arrived permanent resident are duty-free and VAT-free provided the goods have been owned for 6–12 months and the paperwork is filed correctly.

The relief programme differs by country: Transfer of Residence (ToR) in the EU, Section 321 / HHG entry in the US, Unaccompanied Personal Effects in Australia and NZ, B4 exemption in Canada, and Residence Visa duty-free entry in the UAE. Missing the deadline (usually 3–12 months from your arrival) means paying full import VAT / GST on the goods' declared value — often 5–25%.

Standard goods-in-transit liability is capped at low per-kilo amounts (typically £40/kg or lower) and covers only proven negligence. It's not insurance in the sense most people mean.

For a real container move you want Marine Cargo All-Risks insurance underwritten against the Institute Cargo Clauses (A). This covers total-loss events (vessel sinking, container overboard, warehouse fire) and partial-loss / damage events at the level you declare, with a small deductible. Typical premium is 1.5–3% of declared value; on a £30,000 declared inventory that's £450–£900. Worth every penny.