What is a Ro Ro Ship?

Ro Ro is short for Roll on Roll off, these purpose-built vessels are designed to ship lots of rolling cargo by sea.  Using the ships own loading ramps, vehicles are either driven or towed on to the lower decks of the ship. Ro Ro ships have multi levels which can be adjusted by height.  Small saloon cars load on to their own level as the height is adjusted to cater for vehicles up to 1.6mtrs high. SUV’s will each load on another level as height is up to 2mtrs high in most cases.  Vans, trucks, plant machinery and caravans will load on to a lower level inside the ship as weight needs to be distributed evenly as heavier weight must be at the bottom of the ship to ensure safe passage.

Ro Ro ships are very versatile and can cater for wheeled or tracked cargo such as some heavy plant machinery.  Ro Ro will always remain to be the preferred method of shipment by major car manufacturers due to its ease of loading/unloading and lower costs.  Non-motorised cargo is simply towed on and off, such as boats on trailers/mafi’s and even caravans.

Ro Ro Vessel Capacity

These modern ships are so highly sophisticated and feats of modern engineering.  These state-of-the-art ships are fully equipped to meet the needs of today and the future.  Most Ro Ro ships have liftable decks that support a wide number of configurations, thereby accommodating a much greater variety of cargo to meet the needs of the ever-demanding customer throughout the world.  These ships have often been compared to a parking garage due to how vehicles are strategically loaded and secured for transit.

Some of the largest Ro Ro ships are in excess of 850ft long, have approximately 8-10 internal decks that are capable of carrying in excess of 5000-6000 cars per sailing.

Where do Ro Ro Ships Sail from in the UK?

Ro Ro vessels sail from several ports throughout the UK, including Portsmouth, Southampton, Portbury, Tilbury, Sheerness and Immingham.  Ro Ro vessels sail weekly to thousands of overseas destinations worldwide, calling at multiple ports on route to unload and load each time.  Transit time will depend on the destination you want to ship to and how many stops on route it needs to do.

For further information on shipping a vehicle by Ro Ro then please do not hesitate to contact one of our highly experienced members of staff today.