Reference

Ocean freight & supply chain glossary

100 terms from container shipping, ports, customs and emissions — each in a sentence or two. Search, or open a category.

Documents12 terms

Bill of Lading (B/L): The carrier's receipt for cargo, the contract of carriage and, in its negotiable form, a document of title to the goods.
Master Bill of Lading: The bill issued by the ocean carrier to the freight forwarder who booked the space.
House Bill of Lading: The bill issued by a freight forwarder or NVOCC to the actual shipper, sitting underneath the master bill.
Sea Waybill: A non-negotiable transport document. Faster than a bill of lading because no original paper must travel to release the cargo.
Air Waybill (AWB): The transport document for air cargo: eleven digits beginning with a three-digit airline prefix. Not a document of title.
Commercial Invoice: The seller's bill to the buyer, used by customs to assess value, duty and tax.
Packing List: An itemised statement of what is inside each package or container, used for checking and customs inspection.
Certificate of Origin: A document declaring where goods were manufactured, used to claim preferential duty rates under trade agreements.
Letter of Credit (LC): A bank's undertaking to pay the seller once specified documents are presented, used where buyer and seller do not yet trust each other.
Cargo Manifest: The complete list of all cargo aboard a vessel, submitted to port and customs authorities.
Delivery Order: The instruction authorising a terminal or warehouse to release cargo to a named party.
Arrival Notice: The carrier's notification to the consignee that a shipment has arrived and charges are due.

Containers and equipment12 terms

Container Number: The unique identifier of a container: four letters and seven digits under ISO 6346.
Check Digit: The final digit of a container number, calculated from the other ten characters to detect typing errors.
ISO 6346: The international standard governing container identification, marking and coding.
BIC Code: The three-letter owner prefix assigned by the Bureau International des Containers.
TEU: Twenty-foot equivalent unit, the standard measure of container capacity. One twenty-foot box equals one TEU.
FEU: Forty-foot equivalent unit, equal to two TEU.
Dry Container: The standard general-purpose container, enclosed and unrefrigerated. The large majority of ocean boxes.
Reefer Container: A refrigerated container with its own powered cooling unit, used for perishables and pharmaceuticals.
Flat Rack: A container with no sides or roof, used for oversized or awkwardly shaped cargo.
Tare Weight: The weight of an empty container, marked on its door and subtracted to find the cargo weight.
Payload: The maximum weight of cargo a container may legally carry, being its gross weight less tare.
Seal Number: The identifier of the tamper-evident seal fitted after loading, recorded so interference can be detected.

Vessels and voyages11 terms

AIS: The Automatic Identification System, by which vessels broadcast identity, position, speed and heading to shore stations and satellites.
IMO Number: A permanent seven-digit identifier for a vessel that never changes, even if the ship is renamed or reflagged.
MMSI: The Maritime Mobile Service Identity, a nine-digit number identifying a vessel's radio, transmitted with every AIS message.
Voyage Number: The identifier of one specific sailing of a vessel, since the same ship repeats a route many times.
Draft: How deep a vessel sits in the water. Determines which ports and canals it can enter.
Deadweight Tonnage: The total weight a vessel can carry including cargo, fuel, water and stores.
Knot: One nautical mile per hour, the standard measure of vessel speed. Container ships typically sail at 14 to 22 knots.
Heading: The compass direction a vessel is pointing, broadcast continuously over AIS.
Transshipment: Moving cargo from one vessel to another at an intermediate port rather than sailing direct.
Feeder Vessel: A smaller ship that carries containers between a regional port and a major hub.
Slow Steaming: Deliberately sailing below design speed to cut fuel consumption and emissions, at the cost of transit time.

Ports and terminals12 terms

Port of Loading (POL): The port where cargo is loaded onto the ocean vessel.
Port of Discharge (POD): The port where cargo is unloaded from the ocean vessel.
Place of Delivery: The final contractual destination, which may be inland and reached by rail or road after discharge.
Terminal: The facility within a port where vessels are worked and containers are stacked, gated and handed over.
Berth: The specific position at a quay where a vessel ties up to be loaded and unloaded.
Quay: The built structure along the water where vessels berth. Pronounced 'key'.
Gantry Crane: The large rail-mounted crane that lifts containers between vessel and quay.
Container Yard: The stacking area inside a terminal where containers wait between sea and land legs.
Gate-in: The event recorded when a container enters a terminal by road or rail.
Gate-out: The event recorded when a container leaves a terminal.
Port Congestion: A backlog of vessels waiting to berth because terminal capacity is exceeded, stretching transit times region-wide.
Berthing Window: The time slot a terminal allocates to a vessel for arrival and working.

Time and status11 terms

ETD: Estimated time of departure from the port of loading.
ETA: Estimated time of arrival at the port of discharge.
ATD: Actual time of departure, recorded once the vessel has sailed.
ATA: Actual time of arrival, recorded once the vessel has berthed.
Transit Time: The elapsed time from departure at origin to arrival at destination, usually quoted port to port.
Cut-off Time: The latest moment cargo or documentation can be submitted for a given sailing.
Free Time: The period during which a container may sit at the terminal or with the consignee before charges begin.
Last Free Day: The final day of free time, after which demurrage or detention starts accruing.
Rollover: When a container does not sail on its booked vessel and moves to a later one, typically costing a week.
Dwell Time: How long a container remains in a terminal between arrival and onward movement.
Milestone: A recorded status event in a shipment's journey, such as gate-in, loaded, departed or discharged.

Charges and rates13 terms

Demurrage: A daily charge for a full container remaining inside the terminal beyond its free time.
Detention: A daily charge for keeping the carrier's container outside the terminal beyond the agreed free period.
Freight Rate: The base price for moving a container between two ports, before surcharges.
BAF: Bunker Adjustment Factor, a surcharge reflecting changes in marine fuel prices.
THC: Terminal Handling Charge, levied by the terminal for moving a container between vessel and yard.
Peak Season Surcharge: A temporary surcharge applied when demand on a trade lane exceeds available capacity.
Drayage: Short-distance road transport of a container, typically between port and warehouse.
Accessorial Charge: Any charge beyond the base freight rate, such as waiting time, storage or special handling.
All-in Rate: A quoted price that already includes surcharges, giving one number for the whole move.
Spot Rate: The market price for immediate shipment, which moves with supply and demand.
Contract Rate: A price fixed with a carrier for an agreed volume over an agreed period.
GRI: General Rate Increase, a carrier's across-the-board rate rise announced on a trade lane.
Chargeable Weight: The greater of actual and volumetric weight, used to price cargo that is bulky but light.

Parties and roles10 terms

Shipper: The party sending the goods, named on the bill of lading. Usually the seller.
Consignee: The party entitled to receive the goods at destination, named on the bill of lading.
Notify Party: The party a carrier informs on arrival, often a customs broker acting for the consignee.
Freight Forwarder: An intermediary that arranges transport on the shipper's behalf without operating vessels.
NVOCC: A non-vessel operating common carrier: issues its own bills of lading and resells space it buys from vessel operators.
Carrier: The party that physically performs the transport, in ocean freight the vessel operator.
Customs Broker: A licensed agent who clears goods through customs on the importer's behalf.
Terminal Operator: The company that runs a container terminal, often distinct from the port authority.
3PL: A third-party logistics provider, outsourcing transport, warehousing and fulfilment as a package.
Beneficial Cargo Owner: The company that actually owns the cargo and takes delivery, as distinct from any intermediary.

Trade and customs9 terms

Incoterms: Standard trade terms published by the International Chamber of Commerce, defining who pays for and bears risk over each part of a shipment.
EXW: Ex Works: the buyer collects from the seller's premises and takes on all transport cost and risk.
FOB: Free On Board: the seller's responsibility ends once goods are loaded on the vessel at the named port.
CIF: Cost, Insurance and Freight: the seller pays ocean freight and insurance to the destination port.
DDP: Delivered Duty Paid: the seller bears all cost and risk to the buyer's door, including import duty.
HS Code: The Harmonized System code classifying a product for customs, determining duty rates worldwide.
Customs Clearance: The process of obtaining permission from customs to import or export goods.
Bonded Warehouse: A facility where imported goods are stored with duty suspended until they are released.
Duty: A tax levied on imported goods, calculated from their HS code, declared value and origin.

Load types and emissions10 terms

FCL: Full container load: your cargo fills a container booked for you alone.
LCL: Less than container load: your cargo shares a container with other shippers and is consolidated en route.
Breakbulk: Cargo shipped in individual pieces rather than containers, such as machinery or steel.
Bulk Cargo: Unpackaged commodities loaded loose into a vessel's hold, such as grain, ore or coal.
Ro-Ro: Roll-on roll-off: vessels for wheeled cargo that drives aboard rather than being lifted.
Intermodal: Moving the same container across sea, rail and road without handling the cargo inside it.
Consolidation: Combining several shippers' cargo into one container to reduce cost per unit.
Scope 3 Emissions: Indirect emissions in a company's value chain, including bought-in transport. Ocean freight you pay for is Scope 3 for you.
CO2e: Carbon dioxide equivalent: a single figure expressing the warming effect of all greenhouse gases in a shipment.
TEU-kilometre: One twenty-foot equivalent unit moved one kilometre, the standard denominator for freight emissions factors.