Ro-Ro (roll-on/roll-off) is sea transport in which wheeled vehicles such as trucks, trailers or cars drive on and off the vessel on their own wheels; the cargo is not lifted by crane.
In road freight, Ro-Ro lets a shipment cross a stretch of sea without being unloaded from the vehicle. The truck can sail with its driver, or only the trailer can be shipped and coupled to another tractor at the far port. On Turkey-Central Asia and China-Caucasus lanes, the best-known example is the Caspian Sea ferries linking the ports of Kuryk and Aktau in Kazakhstan with the port of Alat in Azerbaijan. On that crossing, the ferry schedule and port waiting time usually decide the transit time; see our article on road freight from China to Turkey and the Caucasus.
