What is a fish transhipper?
If a Thai seller has just told you that you need one, this page explains what that means before it asks you for anything.
The short answer
A fish transhipper is the company that stands between a seller in one country and a buyer in another. The seller hands over the fish; the transhipper flies them, clears them through customs, repacks them and sends them on to the buyer’s door.
You will see it spelled two ways. “Transhipper” is the British spelling and “transshipper” the American one — same job, same thing, and searching either will find the same handful of companies.
The word exists because almost no Thai fish seller can legally or practically post a box of live animals to a private address in the USA. Someone in the middle has to hold the export permits, book cargo space, meet the aircraft, and answer to US customs. That someone is the transhipper.
Why a buyer cannot just have the fish posted
Four things stand between a fish in Bangkok and a doorstep in the USA, and none of them are optional.
A government health certificate
Thailand requires live aquatic animals leaving the country to carry a certificate issued by its Department of Fisheries. A private seller posting one box cannot get one issued for it.
Cargo, not post
Live fish travel as air cargo on scheduled freight, not in the mail. Booking that requires an account with the airline and a licensed agent at the airport.
US import clearance
The box is inspected and cleared on arrival, with US Fish & Wildlife and customs paperwork filed against an importer of record. A hobbyist buyer is not set up to be one.
A second packing
The water the fish flew in is not the water they should spend another two days in. Boxes are opened, checked and repacked with fresh water and a heat or cool pack before the domestic carrier takes them.
Who does what
The most common confusion is thinking a transhipper sells fish. We do not. The fish are bought from and paid to your seller; we move them.
Your Thai seller
- →Breeds or sources the fish
- →Sets the price of the fish and takes that payment directly from you
- →Bags each fish and delivers them to us in Bangkok
The transhipper
- →Collects in Bangkok and obtains the export health certificate
- →Books and pays for the flight, and clears Thai export
- →Handles US import clearance and duty
- →Repacks with thermal protection and ships the last mile
- →Provides tracking, and carries the risk while the box is in transit
You, the buyer
- →Pay the seller for the fish
- →Pay the transhipper for the movement
- →Be at the address to receive a live animal
What a transhipper is not
Three services get confused with this one, and the differences cost money when they are missed.
Not a freight forwarder
A forwarder moves freight and hands you the customs problem. A transhipper of live animals owns the permits, the clearance and the survival of the cargo, which is a different liability entirely.
Not a courier
DHL, FedEx and the post will not carry live fish internationally to a private address. Nothing about a courier account changes that.
Not a fish shop
A transhipper does not choose, own or price the fish. If you have not already agreed a fish with a seller, there is nothing yet to ship.
What it costs
A transhipper charges for the movement, not the animal. Ours is a single figure covering collection in Bangkok, the export certificate, the flight, US clearance and duty, repacking and domestic delivery — no separate box fee, oxygen charge, heat pack or customs bill arriving later.
The figure depends on two things only: how many fish are in the box and which state it is going to. You can see it before entering an address.
See what your shipment would cost
Pick a fish count and a state. The price appears before you are asked for anything else.