Freight, shipping and chartering glossary

Navigation of a commercial cargo or passenger ship between seaports of the same state.

A document allowing special categories of goods to cross international borders without paying duties. This document is issued by customs.

Same as CPT but insurance is added for seller’s account on a definite part of the route. The shipping section covered by insurance can be any.

A document to advise customs of the shipment's details. This document confirms the owner or consignee of the cargo.

A freight carrier‘s right to hold on to cargo until they have received payment for transporting the goods.

Customs form permitting in-bond cargo to be moved from one location to another under Customs control, within the same Customs district.

The buyer pays the seller in advance the shipment of goods.

Issued by an insurance company or broker. The document confirms the existence of an insurance policy and summarizes the main aspects and conditions of the policy.

Сertificate submitted by an exporter to those countries requiring it, listing goods to be imported and stating their place of origin. Used for customs and foreign exchange purposes.

Contract by which the owner of a ship lets it to others for use in transporting cargo.

A person or organization that rents a ship for the transportation of cargo or passengers from its owner.

Freight payable by the consignee at the port of destination.

A code describing a commodity or a group of commodities pertaining to goods classification. This code can be carrier tariff or regulating in nature.

An ocean carrier who is a member of an association known as a "conference." The purpose of the conference is to standardize shipping practices, eliminate freight rate competition, and provide regularly scheduled service between specific ports.

This surcharge is dependent on unusual events, e.g. strikes, bad winter, major port fires.

A natural or legal person who delivered the goods for carriage and is indicated as the sender in the carriage document.

Devices for transporting containers for ship or other operations.

Registration of all formalities and operations necessary to obtain permission to unload the container from the vessel and to load it on board the vessel.

A carrier-designated facility at which LCL cargo is received from consignors for consolidation and loading into containers or at which LCL cargo is unloaded from containers and delivered to consignees.

Document showing contents and loading sequence of a container.

Contract on the legal obligations of the carrier and the client.

The practice or technique of using a boxlike device in which a number of packages are stored, protected, and handled as a single unit in transit.

Supplier has organized land delivery, completed port formalities, performed loading on ship’s board, and paid freight charges to the port (airport) of destination.

When a shipping container has been filled by volume but has not reached its maximum weight limit.

Special duties imposed on imports to offset the benefits of subsidies to producers or exporters in the exporting country.

The document that provides US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with details of your shipment, such as cost, classification, and origin.

Duties on exports from China

(1) Movement of goods locally (short distances). (2) Сharge for pick-up and delivery of goods.

Settlement form, in which the exporter receives payment after submission of shipping documents to the bank or the importer receives documents for the goods after payment.

A network of agencies and other intermediaries that link the manufacturer and the end-user.

Freight that might have been damaged during transit, but, the damage/loss/shortage was not notated on the Proof of Delivery.

Freight sent under a single contract of carriage.

A bill of lading issued by a consolidating freight forwarder to a shipper.

A single rigid, sealed, reusable metal box in which merchandise is shipped by vessel, truck, or rail.

The charge made for the packing or unpacking of cargo into or from ocean freight containers.

Disinfection allowance (fumigation).

A place for handling/storage of materials used for fully unified cargo in containers and/or empty containers.

Same as the FCA, but insurance is added for the seller’s account on a definite part of the route. The shipping section covered by insurance can be any.

An enterprise that uses the services as provided by another enterprise.

The bond protects the US government should an importer not pay any duties, penalties, etc. either while the goods are in CBP custody or after release.

Duty on imports to the US may apply

The notional value of the goods used for customs duties.

(1) A secure enclosed area for storing highly valuable items, (2) a pallet-sized platform with sides that can be secured to the tines of a forklift and in which a person may ride to inventory items stored well above the warehouse floor.

A person who, under a contract of carriage, performs or mediates in the delivery of goods using a vehicle.

A group of countries producing the same product and having concluded an agreement between themselves to control the supply volume and price level of this product.

A method of payment for goods, in which something is sold on a cash with order basis, payment must be sent along with the order, before the goods are sent out, and the transaction becomes binding on both buyer and seller.

The tariff applied for chartering tonnage in a particular trade.

Fee charged by ocean carriers at certain U.S. ports for the use of their chassis.

Document claiming payment for goods supplied under conditions agreed between seller and buyer.

A group of vessel operators joined for the purpose of establishing freight rates.