20'

Standard Twenty Foot long shipping container

40'

Standard Forty Foot long shipping container

Arrival Notice

A notification by carrier of ship's arrival to the consignee, the "Notify Party," and - when applicable - the "Also Notify Party." These parties in interest are listed in blocks 3, 4 and 10, respectively, of the Bill of Lading.

B/L

Bill of Lading. A document that establishes the terms of a contract between a shipper and a transportation company. It serves as a document of title, a contract of carriage and a receipt for goods.

BAF

Bunker Adjustment Factor - charged by shipping companies to alleviate fluctuating Bunkering costs ( Ship's fuel oil ).

Bonded Warehouse

A warehouse authorized by Customs authorities for storage of goods on which payment of duties is deferred until the goods are removed.

Booking Reference Number

Reservation number used to secure equipment and act as a control number prior to completion of a B/L.

Break Bulk

Loose, non-containerized cargo.

Bulk Cargo

Not in packages or containers; shipped loose in the hold of a ship without mark and count." Grain, coal and sulfur are usually bulk freight.

C&F

Obsolete term of sale meaning "cargo and freight" where Seller pays for cost of goods and freight charges up to destination port. Replaced with the term CFR in July 1990 by the International Chamber of Commerce.

C.I.

Abbreviation for "Cost and Insurance." A price that includes the cost of the goods, the marine insurance and all transportation charges except the ocean freight to the named point of destination.

CIF

Cost, Insurance and Freight ( named port ) - Seller is responsible for all costs as in C&F plus Marine Insurance of the cargo. Same as C&F or CFR except seller also provides insurance to named destination.

CIF&C

Price includes commission as well as CIF.

CIF&E

Abbreviation for "Cost, Insurance, Freight And Exchange."

CIFCI

Abbreviation for "Cost, Insurance, Freight, Collection And Interest."

CIFI&E

Cost, Insurance, Freight, Interest and Exchange.

CAF

Currency Adjustment Factor - charged by shipping companies to alleviate exchange rate deficiencies.

CBM / M3

Cubic Metre

CFS

Container Freight Station - usually applies to LCL cargo where cargo is packed and then despatched overseas and then has to be unpacked at destination before delivery to consignee. Some FCL traffic is also handled this way. e.g. Term would be shown as CFS Melbourne to CFS Singapore.

COC

Carrier's own container. When shipper uses containers supplied by the carrier.

CU FT

Cubic Feet - 33.315 cubic feet = 1 cubic metre

CY

Container Yard - usually shown as CY / CY or CY Melbourne / CY Singapore and applies to FCL's moving through the system.

Cartage

Refers to intercity haulage by trucks

Certificate of Origin

A certified document showing the origin of goods; used in international commerce.

Commercial Invoice

A complete record of the transaction between exporter and importer with regard to the goods sold. Also reports the content of the shipment and serves as the basis for all other documents in connection with the shipment.

Consignee

A person or company to whom commodities are shipped.

Consignee Marks

A symbol or words placed on packages for identification purposes; generally a triangle, square, circle, etc. with letters and/or numbers and port of discharge.

Consolidator

A company that consolidates LCL cargo into full container loads. The consolidator takes advantage of lower FCL rates, and savings are passed on to shippers.

Container

A truck trailer body that can be detached from the chassis for loading into a vessel, a rail car or stacked in a container depot. Containers may be ventilated, insulated, refrigerated, flat rack, vehicle rack, open top, bulk liquid or equipped with interior devices. A container may be 20 feet, 40 feet, 45 feet, 48 feet or 53 feet in length, 8'0" or 8'6" in width, and 8'6" or 9'6" in height.

DG

Dangerous Cargo. Also known as Hazardous Cargo.

DHC

Depot Handling Charge. A fee charged by the container yard for collection/delivery of containers into and out of the depot.

D.O.

Delivery Order - a cargo release document given in exchange for an original Bill of Lading. Issued by Shipping companies and Freight Forwarders to enable Consignees to collect cargo/containers ex wharf or depot.

Demurrage

A penalty charge against shippers or consignees for delaying the carrier's equipment beyond the allowed free time. Currently carriers in Singapore allow 2 days free demurrage after which cargo will begin to incur storage.

Density

The weight of cargo per cubic foot.

Depot, Container

Container freight station or a designated area where empty containers can be picked up or dropped off.

Detention

A penalty charge against shippers or consignees for delaying carrier's equipment beyond allowed time. Demurrage applies to cargo; detention applies to equipment.

Door to Door

Through transportation of a container and its contents from consignor to consignee. Also known as House to House. Not necessarily a through rate.

ETA

Estimated Time of Arrival. Used to indicate when vessel is due to arrive at port.

Ex Works

Buyer bears all costs of transport from Sellers premises to Buyers premises.

Export Permit

Requirement by TDB (Trade Development Board of Singapore) for all exports in order to record the number of exports out of the country.

FAF

Fuel adjustment factor.

FAK

Freight All Kinds - mixed cargoes packed in the one container. Mostly used by Freight Forwarders consolidating a number of LCL shipments to form FCL.

FCL

Full Container Load

FEU

Forty Foot Equivalent Unit i.e. 1x 40' Container

FIO

Free In and Out. Cost of loading and unloading a vessel is borne by the charterer/shipper.

F.O.B

Seller is responsible for all costs up to Free On Board ship at a named Port. e.g. FOB Singapore. Buyer is responsible from "Ship's rail".

Feeder Service

Cargo to/from regional ports are transferred to/from a central hub port for a long-haul ocean voyage.

Feeder Vessel

A short-sea vessel which transfers cargo between a central "hub" port and smaller "spoke" ports.

Free Trade Zone

A port designated by the government of a country for duty-free entry of any non-prohibited goods. Merchandise may be stored, displayed, used for manufacturing, etc., within the zone and re-exported without duties.

Freight Pre-Paid

Freight charges paid by the shipper prior to the release of the bills of lading by the carrier.

GST

Goods and Services Tax - A tax imposed by the government. In Singapore it is currently pegged at 3% of CIF value on all general goods imported into Singapore. Varying tariffs apply for dutiable items such as alcohol and tobacco.

GRI

Abbreviation for "General Rate Increase." Used to describe an across-the-board tariff rate increase implemented by conference members and applied to base rates.

Gross Weight

Entire weight of goods, packaging and freight car or container, ready for shipment.

HBL

House Bill of Lading (Bill of Lading issued by a Freight Forwarder)

HS Codes

Harmonized Codes. An international goods classification system for describing cargo in international trade under a single commodity-coding scheme.

Heavy Lift Surcharge

A charge made for lifting articles too heavy to be lifted by a ship's normal tackle.

IMCO

International Maritime Consultative Organization. A forum in which most major maritime nations participate and through which recommendations for the carriage of dangerous goods, bulk commodities, and maritime regulations become internationally acceptable.

Import Permit

Documentation required by Customs in order to clear goods from the Free Trade Zone. The import permit will also indicate the amount of GST to be paid.

Inland Haulage

Transportation that hauls export or import traffic between ports and inland points.

KG

Kilogram - 1000 = 1 Tonne

LBS / lbs

Pounds - 2.204 lbs = 1kilogram

LCL

Less than Container Load.

Letter of Credit

Commercial instrument for organising payments - some forms offer security and minimise risk. Available through the Banks.

LO / LO

Lift On / Lift Off - charges levied by Terminal operators

Loose

Cargo sent without packing

Marks/Markings

Letters, numbers, and other symbols placed on cargo packages to facilitate identification.

Negotiable B/L

The B/L is a title document to the goods, issued "to the order of" a party, usually the shipper, whose endorsement is required to effect is negotiation. Thus, a shipper's order (negotiable) B/L can be bought, sold, or traded while goods are in transit and is commonly used for letter-of-credit transactions. The buyer must submit the original B/L to the carrier in order to take possession of the goods.

Net Weight

Weight of the goods alone without any immediate wrappings, e.g., the weight of the contents of a tin can without the weight of the can.

Non-Negotiable B/L

Indicates the shipper will deliver the goods to the consignee. It does not convey title (non-negotiable). Most often used when the goods have been pre-paid.

NVOCC

A cargo consolidator in ocean trades who buy space from a carrier and sub-sell it to smaller shippers. The NVOCC issues bills of lading, publishes tariffs and otherwise conducts itself as an ocean common carrier, except that it will not provide the actual ocean or intermodal service.

OBL

Ocean Bill of Lading. A contract for transportation between a shipper and a carrier. It also evidences receipt of the cargo by the carrier. A bill of lading shows ownership of the cargo and, if made negotiable, can be bought, sold or traded while the goods are in-transit.

Open Top Container

A container fitted with a solid removable roof, or with a tarpaulin roof so the container can be loaded or unloaded from the top.

Over Height or Long Length Cargo

Cargo more than 243.84 cm (8 feet) high which thus cannot fit into a standard container.

Packing List

Itemized list of commodities with marks/numbers but no cost values indicated.

Pallet

A platform with or without sides, on which a number of packages or pieces may be loaded to facilitate handling by a lift truck.

Port of Discharge (POD)

Port at which cargo will be discharged from the vessel

Port of Loading (POL)

Port at which cargo is loaded onto vessel

Proof of Delivery

- Port of Discharge.
- Port of Destination.
- Proof of Delivery. A document required from the carrier or driver for proper payment.

Revenue Tonne

A ton on which the shipment is freighted. If cargo is rated as weight or measure (W/M), whichever produces the highest revenue will be considered the revenue ton. Weights are based on metric tons and measures are based on cubic meters. RT=1 MT or 1 CBM.

RO/RO

A shortening of the term, "Roll On/Roll Off." A method of ocean cargo service using a vessel with ramps which allows wheeled vehicles to be loaded and discharged without cranes.

SOC

Shipper's own container

STC

Said to contain. Used when describing contents of packages.

Sea Waybill

Document indicating the goods were loaded onboard when a B/L is not needed. Typically used when a company is shipping goods to itself.

Ships (Types of)

Bulk Carriers: All vessels designed to carry bulk cargo such as grain, fertilizers, ore, and oil.

Combination Passenger and Cargo Ships: Ships with a capacity for 13 or more passengers.

Freighters: Breakbulk vessels both refrigerated and unrefrigerated, containerships, partial containerships, roll-on/roll-off vessels, and barge carriers.

Barge Carriers: Ships designed to carry barges; some are fitted to act as full containerships and can carry a varying number of barges and containers at the same time. At present this class includes two types of vessels LASH and Sea-Bee.

General Cargo Carriers: Breakbulk freighters, car carriers, cattle carriers, pallet carriers and timber carriers.

Full Containerships: Ships equipped with permanent container cells, with little or no space for other types of cargo.

Partial Containerships: Multipurpose containerships where one or more but not all compartments are fitted with permanent container cells. Remaining compartments are used for other types of cargo.

Roll-on/Roll-off vessels: Ships specially designed to carry wheeled containers or trailers using interior ramps.

Tankers: Ships fitted with tanks to carry liquid cargo such as: crude petroleum and petroleum products; chemicals, Liquefied gasses(LNG and LPG), wine, molasses, and similar product tankers.

Shipper

The person or company who is usually the supplier or owner of commodities shipped. Also called Consignor.

Shipper's Instructions

Shipper's communication to forwarder or carrier advising consignee, notifiy party and any other specific details or clauses to be printed on the B/L, including directions for cargo pickup and delivery.

Shipping Order or Shipping Note

Shipper's instructions to carrier for forwarding goods.

Shrink Wrap

Polyethylene or similar substance heat-treated and shrunk into an envelope around several units, thereby securing them as a single pack for presentation or to secure units on a pallet.

Stuffing

Putting cargo into a container.

TEU

Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit i.e. 1x 20' Container

THC

Terminal Handling Charge - levied by shipping companies and reflects the local port costs of stevedoring.

Terms of Sale

The point at which sellers have fulfilled their obligations so the goods in a legal sense could be said to have been delivered to the buyer. They are shorthand expressions that set out the rights and obligations of each party when it comes to transporting the goods. Following, are the thirteen terms of sale in international trade as Terms of Sale reflected in the recent amendment to the International chamber of Commerce Terms of Trade (INCOTERMS), effective July 1990:

EXW (Ex Works): A Term of Sale which means that the seller fulfills the obligation to deliver when he or she has made the goods available at his/her premises (i.e., works, factory, warehouse, etc.) to the buyer. In particular, the seller is not responsible for loading the goods in the vehicle provided by the buyer or for clearing the goods for export, unless otherwise agreed. The buyer bears all costs and risks involved in taking the goods from the seller's premises to the desired destination. This term thus represents the minimum obligation for the seller.

FCA (Free Carrier): A Term of Sale which means the seller fulfills their obligation when he or she has handed over the goods, cleared for export, into the charge of the carrier named by the buyer at the named place or point. If no precise point is indicated by the buyer, the seller may choose, within the place or range stipulated, where the carrier should take the goods into their charge.

FAS (Free Alongside Ship): A Term of Sale which means the seller fulfills his obligation to deliver when the goods have been placed alongside the vessel on the quay or in lighters at the named port of shipment. This means that the buyer has to bear all costs and risks of loss of or damage to the goods from that moment.

FOB (Free On Board): An International Term of Sale that means the seller fulfills his or her obligation to deliver when the goods have passed over the ship's rail at the named port of shipment. This means that the buyer has to bear all costs and risks to loss of or damage to the goods from that point. The FOB term requires the seller to clear the goods for export.

CFR (Cost and Freight): A Term of Sale where the seller pays the costs and freight necessary to bring the goods to the named port of destination, Terms of Sale but the risk of loss of or damage to the goods, as (continued) well as any additional costs due to events occurring after the time the goods have been delivered on board the vessel, is transferred from the seller to the buyer when the goods pass the ship's rail in the port of shipment. The CFR term requires the seller to clear the goods for export.

CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight): A Term of Sale where the seller has the same obligations as under the CFR but also has to procure marine insurance against the buyer's risk of loss or damage to the goods during the carriage. The seller contracts for insurance and pays the insurance premium. The CIF term requires the seller to clear the goods for export.

CPT (Carriage Paid To): A Term of Sale which means the seller pays the freight for the carriage of the goods to the named destination. The risk of loss of or damage to the goods, as well as any additional costs due to events occurring after the time the goods have been delivered to the carrier, is transferred from the seller to the buyer when the goods have been delivered into the custody of the carrier. If subsequent carriers are used for the carriage to the agreed upon destination, the risk passes when the goods have been delivered to the first carrier. The CPT term requires the seller to clear the goods for export.

CIP (Carriage and Insurance Paid To): A Term of Sale which means the seller has the same obligations as under CPT, but with the addition that the seller has to procure cargo insurance against the buyer's risk of loss of or damage to the goods during the carriage. The seller contracts for insurance and pays the insurance premium. The buyer should note that under the CIP term the seller is required to obtain insurance only on minimum coverage. The CIP term requires the seller to clear the goods for export.

DAF (Delivered At Frontier): A Term of Sale which means the sellers fulfill their obligation to deliver when the goods have been made available, cleared for export, at the named point and placed at the frontier, but before the customs Terms of Sale border of the adjoining country.

DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid): A Term of Sale where the seller fulfills his obligation to deliver when the goods have been made available at the named place in the country of importation. The seller has to bear the costs and risks involved in bringing the goods thereto (excluding duties, taxes and other official charges payable upon importation) as well as the costs and risks of carrying out customs formalities. The buyer has to pay any additional costs and to bear any risks caused by failure to clear the goods for in time.

DDP (Delivered Duty paid): "Delivered Duty Paid" means that the seller fulfills his obligation to deliver when the goods have been made available at the named place in the country of importation. The seller has to bear the risks and costs, including duties, taxes and other charges of delivering the goods thereto, clear for importation. While the EXW term represents the minimum obligation for the seller, DDP represents the maximum.

DES (Delivered Ex Ship): A Term of Sale where the seller fulfills his/her obligation to deliver when the goods have been made available to the buyer on board the ship, uncleared for import at the named port of destination. The seller has to bear all the costs and risks involved in bringing the goods to the named port destination.

DEQ (Delivered Ex Quay, [Duty Paid]): A Term of Sale which means the DDU term has been fulfilled when the goods have been available to the buyer on the quay (wharf) at the named port of destination, cleared for importation. The seller has to bear all risks and costs including duties, taxes and other charges of delivering the goods thereto.

Through Rate

The total rate from the point of origin to final destination

Transship

To transfer goods from one transportation line to another, or from one ship to another.

Unclaimed Freight

Freight that has not been called for or picked up by the consignee or owner.

War Risk

Insurance coverage for loss of goods resulting from any act of war.

Warehouse

A place for the reception, delivery, consolidation, distribution, and storage of goods/cargo.

Weights & Measurements

Measurement ton 40 cubic ft or one cubic meter.
Net ton, or short ton 2,000 lbs.
Gross ton/long ton 2,240 lbs.
Metric ton/kilo ton 2,204.6 lbs.
Cubic meter 35.314 cubic ft.

Wharfage

Charge assessed by a pier or dock owner against freight handled over the pier or dock or against a steamship company using the pier or dock.

W.M. (W/M)

Abbreviation for "Weight or Measurement;" the basis for assessing freight charges. Also known as "worm." The rate charged under W/M will be whichever produces the highest revenue between the weight of the shipment and the measure of the shipment.