Dutch chartering firm Transito has launched Total Freight, a new combined sea-and-inland service designed to respond to persistent low-water and other disruptions that have complicated cargo movements between European seaports and the hinterland. Sources indicated the launch on 17 September 2026.
Total Freight brings the sea voyage, port handling, transhipment and onward transport by inland vessel together under a single commercial arrangement, the company says, folding multiple legs of the journey into one coordinated offering. The package is intended to reduce the administrative and operational fragmentation that shippers frequently face when moving cargo from coastal terminals into inland waterways.
The product is presented as a single-contract solution, combining sea freight and inland shipping so that one contractual party assumes responsibility for the integrated movement rather than shippers having separate agreements for each leg. That structure is framed expressly as an answer to the practical difficulties caused by low water levels and other interruptions on river corridors that link ports to their hinterlands.
New combined contract model
By uniting sea and inland legs under one agreement, Total Freight aims to simplify the contractual landscape for customers who previously needed to coordinate several providers and sets of terms, according to the launch details. The approach concentrates accountability for carriage, port handling and onward inland movement in one place, which Transito positions as a way to mitigate delays and logistical complexity when river conditions worsen.
The service covers the principal operational stages from the ocean voyage to the final inland leg, explicitly including port handling and transhipment to an inland vessel, the publisher’s summary states. That scope reflects the company’s attempt to offer continuity of movement across maritime and inland waterways without gaps in responsibility that can exacerbate disruption when river navigation is restricted.
Operational scope and river challenges
Transito is a Dutch chartering company and the timing of the launch comes as low-water events and other disturbances continue to present challenges for cargo flows between seaports and the wider European hinterland, the report notes. Those conditions have repeatedly forced adjustments to ship schedules, vessel drafts and the availability of inland carriers, creating a more complex planning environment for exporters, importers and freight forwarders alike.
Against that backdrop, Total Freight is positioned as an operational response rather than a single technical fix, bringing together maritime carriage, terminal operations and inland barge legs in one coordinated package. For shippers, the service offers a consolidated point of contact and contractual clarity for shipments that must traverse both sea routes and inland waterways, an arrangement that proponents say can reduce the need for last-minute reorganisation when river conditions change.
The launch underlines a broader trend in which market participants seek integrated solutions to manage the growing incidence of waterway-related interruption, with Transito’s initiative representing one commercial attempt to bridge the gap between coastal and inland logistics chains. reports provided the original coverage of the announcement on 17 September 2026, setting out the basic elements of the offering as disclosed by the company.