Our website now has a vessel tracking page. It charts the cargo ships and tankers crossing the Mediterranean and lists every one that is broadcasting Benghazi, or another Libyan port, as its destination. It costs nothing and needs no account, and it works on a phone.

What it shows

Each ship is drawn where it last reported its position, pointing the way it's heading. The ones bound for Libya are red, and they're listed next to the chart.

Pick a ship and you see what it's broadcasting: its name, flag, IMO and MMSI numbers, speed and course, how far it is from Benghazi, its destination and arrival time as the crew entered them, and its size and draught. The address in your browser changes to that ship, so you can send the link to a colleague and they'll open the same vessel.

You can search by name, IMO or MMSI number, and zoom from the whole Mediterranean to its western, central or eastern basin, or to the approaches to Benghazi. The page refreshes itself every minute.

Where the positions come from

Ships broadcast their position, course and speed over AIS, the Automatic Identification System, and receivers on shore pick those messages up. The chart is fed by the volunteer receivers of the AISStream network. Our server listens to them around the clock, so the list is already full when you open the page, and a ship bound for Libya stays on it for four days after it was last heard.

Why the south of the chart is quiet

A shore receiver hears a ship out to about 40 nautical miles, and the receivers in this network stand mostly on the coasts of southern Europe. None of them covers the open sea, Malta, Egypt or the Libyan coast. So a ship heading for Benghazi usually goes quiet somewhere south of Italy or Greece.

When that happens we keep it where it was last heard and draw it hollow. For a ship bound for Benghazi we also draw a dashed line for the approach it's expected to take. That line is our estimate. The ship didn't report it.

What it can't tell you

The page follows vessels. It can't tell you whether your container made it onto one, or where your goods stand in customs. For that, ask us and we'll tell you.

A load plan decides how much fits in the box and whether it all arrives in one piece. Here's how to make one, by hand or with our free cargo planner.

Measure and weigh every package

You need the length, width and height of every package as it will be loaded, so on its pallet if it's on one, and the weight of each. Group identical packages and count them. Round up, never down: a carton that's a centimetre too tall for the space that's left is a carton that doesn't go in.

Decide what can carry weight

Ask two questions about each kind of package. Can something go on top of it? And is it fragile? A strong carton of tinned food can carry another row. A crate of glassware shouldn't carry anything and belongs on top of the load. In the planner these are the stackable and fragile boxes.

Heavy at the bottom, spread along the floor

Put the heaviest packages on the floor and the lighter ones above them. Spread the weight along the length of the container instead of piling it at one end: a lopsided box is harder to lift and to drive, and the cargo inside moves more on the way.

Everything above the floor needs something solid under it. The planner won't place a package unless at least three quarters of its base rests on the floor or on cargo directly underneath, and it keeps every package upright.

Stay inside the payload

Every container has a maximum payload. The planner counts the weight as it packs and stops adding cargo before the box goes over, then shows you how many items fitted and how many were left out. Our guide to choosing a container has the payload of each size.

Fill the gaps and secure the load

Cargo that can move will move at sea. Fill the gaps with airbags, dunnage or timber bracing, and strap or block the last row so nothing falls against the doors when they're opened.

Declare the verified gross mass

Before a packed container can go on a ship, the shipper has to declare its verified gross mass, or VGM: the cargo, the packing and bracing, and the empty container, either weighed together or added up by an approved method. It's been a requirement of the SOLAS convention since July 2016, and a container without one isn't loaded.

Let the planner do the packing

In the cargo planner, pick a container and add each kind of package with its size, weight, quantity, and whether it's stackable or fragile. Then press Optimise. It packs everything in 3D, shows how much space and payload you've used, and exports the plan as a PDF you can send to your supplier or to us.

It's a planning aid. The people loading the container make the final call on the stow. If you'd rather we planned it for you, send us your packing list.

Most cargo coming into Libya travels in one of three boxes: the 20 ft, the 40 ft and the 40 ft high cube. Picking between them comes down to two numbers: how much space your cargo takes up and how much it weighs. Whichever limit you reach first decides the box.

The standard boxes

These are typical inside measurements and payloads for steel dry containers, and they're the figures our cargo planner uses. Every shipping line's boxes differ by a few centimetres and a few hundred kilos, so check the numbers on your booking.

The door is a little smaller than the inside: about 2.34 m wide, and about 2.28 m high on a standard box or 2.58 m on a high cube. Measure your tallest item against the door, not the ceiling.

Twice the floor, a fifth more weight

A 40 ft container has twice the floor of a 20 ft, but it can only carry about a fifth more weight. Dense cargo like tiles, steel or machinery hits a 40 ft's weight limit long before it fills the space. Two 20 ft containers carry nearly twice as much as one 40 ft, so for heavy goods the 20 ft is usually the right box.

The payload isn't the only limit, either. The truck that takes the container to and from the port has its own legal maximum, which can be lower. If you're planning to load a box anywhere near its rated payload, talk to us first.

Light, bulky cargo: the high cube

Furniture, textiles, cartons of household goods and other light cargo run out of space first. A 40 ft high cube is 31 cm taller than a standard 40 ft on the same footprint, which gives you about 13 percent more room.

You won't fill every centimetre

Gaps between packages, pallets that don't divide the floor evenly, and the room you leave for bracing all cost space. As a rough guide, plan on using about 85 percent of the inside volume. That's around 28 m³ in a 20 ft, 57 m³ in a 40 ft and 65 m³ in a high cube.

Less than a container: LCL

If your cargo only fills part of a box, you don't have to pay for all of it. With LCL, or less than container load, your cargo shares a container with other shippers' and you pay for the space it takes up. Below roughly 13 to 15 cubic metres, LCL usually works out cheaper; above that, a 20 ft of your own often does. It depends on the route and the season, so ask us to price both.

Try it with your own cargo

The cargo planner packs your own items into a 20 ft, 40 ft, high cube or 45 ft container in 3D and keeps count of the payload as it goes. Our guide to planning a container load walks you through it.

melitashipping.com has been rebuilt. It has a new design and is built to load quickly on a mobile connection. It also has tools you can use before you ship anything.

What you'll find

• All six of our services, from freight forwarding and container shipping to customs clearance and door-to-door delivery.
• Our trade lanes: the seventeen loading ports on four continents we bring cargo in from, on a map with the distance from each one to Benghazi.
• A cargo load planner. Enter your cargo, pick a container and see it packed in 3D, then export the plan as a PDF.
• Vessel tracking, a live chart of the merchant ships in the Mediterranean with the ones bound for Libya picked out. There's more about it here.
• News and blog, for company news and practical guides like choosing the right container.
• QR codes that save our contact details to your phone in one scan, or open our company profile.

Getting in touch

Use the contact form, call us on +218 92 001 0040 or email info@melitashipping.com. Tell us what you're bringing in, where it's coming from and when, and we'll come back with a plan and a price.