Shipments With a Status
Embassy and Consulate Logistics
A diplomatic consignment is physically the same as any other, and administratively it is not. Status affects how it is documented, how it is sealed, who may open it and what customs treatment applies - and getting any of that wrong is a protocol problem rather than a freight one. We handle mission freight, staff relocations and official consignments, with our own customs team preparing the entries.
What Missions Ask For
Work We Handle for Embassies
Mission requirements fall into a fairly consistent set.
- Official and mission consignments
- Diplomatic staff household relocations
- Office and residence furnishings
- Equipment and supplies for the mission
- Consignments between posts
- Storage between arrivals and departures
Mission Consignment to Move?
Tell us the origin, the destination and the timing
Discuss a Consignment Call +971 4 239 7107What Status Actually Changes
Four things behave differently on a diplomatic consignment, and none of them is about the cargo.
Customs treatment
Consignments belonging to a mission may attract a different treatment from ordinary imports. Establishing which applies before arrival avoids the entry being filed twice.
Seals and who may break them
Sealed consignments have to stay sealed through routine handling, which means planning where seals go rather than applying them and hoping.
Inventories that will be read
The list is read by an authority, not just the owner. It is built while the packing happens - see diplomatic packing.
Timing around postings
Diplomatic moves cluster around posting cycles. Storage between an outgoing and incoming officer is usually part of the requirement.
Where the mission is not the shipper
Freight forwarded on a mission's behalf by a relocation agent or a home-country department still has to satisfy the same requirements here. We work with whichever party holds the instruction rather than insisting it comes from the mission directly.
Around the Mission
What Else Is Usually Needed
Mission logistics is rarely a single consignment in isolation.
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Packing to standard
Residences and offices packed and inventoried to the standard these consignments require - see diplomatic packing.
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Documents separately
Attested papers and official documents move under their own arrangements - see document delivery.
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Storage between posts
Effects held in our own warehouses between an outgoing and an incoming officer.
Why Cannata
One Company Through the Whole Consignment
Where a consignment is sealed and inventoried, every additional company handling it is another point at which the record has to be reconciled.
Inventoried as packed
Lists built while cartons are filled rather than reconstructed afterwards.
Our own storage
Effects held between postings in warehouses we operate, not sub-let space.
Customs in-house
Entries prepared by the team that packed and sealed the consignment.
Rate Request
Get a price for this shipment
Give us the route and the cargo and we will come back with a rate, usually within one working day.
Our FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
What missions ask about freight and relocations.
