Ad Valorem: ("at value") an ad valorem freight rate is one where the freight is based on the value of the goods. An ad valorem bill of lading is one where the value of the goods is shown on the face of the document, which value then becomes the carrier's limit of liability. In return for this increased liability, the carrier will charge an addition to the sea freight
ANF: Arrival notification form. It advises the consignee of goods coming forward
ATA Carnet des Passages: Admission Temporaire (Temporary Admission). NA ATA Carnet makes the Customs clearance of certain temporary imports and exports easier
Athens Convention: International Convention governing carriers' liability for passengers and their luggage
BAF: Bunker Adjustment Factor. Freight adjustment factor will reflect the current cost of bunkers
Barge: An open or covered small vessel used mainly in harbours and inland waterways to carry cargo to / from alongside a vessel
BIMCO: Baltic and International Maritime Council. A Copenhagen based organization to which many ship-owners and brokers belong. It represents their interest and assists them by preparing standard charter parties, other shipping documents and other advisory services
B/L: Bill of Lading. This acts as a receipt for the cargo, contains the terms of the contract of carriage and is a document of title to the goods
Bonded Warehouse: A Place of security, approved by the customs authorities, for the deposit,
keeping and securing of goods liable to excise duty, without payment of this duty
Bow: The front end of a vessel
Boxtime: A Standard BIMCO time charter for container ships
Break Bulk Cargo: Goods shipped loose in the vessel's hold and not in containers
CAF: Currency adjustment factor. This adjusts the value of the freight to reflect currency exchange fluctuations
C&D: Collect and Delivery – carriage from / to customer's premises or to / from CFS (see below)
C&E: Customs and Excise
Cellular: A term used to describe the hold configuration of purpose-built container ships equipped with cell guides into which containers fit
Certificate of Origin: A document, certifying the country of origin of goods, which is normally issued or signed by a Chamber of Commerce or Embassy
C&F: Cost and Freight – a conventional port to port INCOTERM of sale, more correctly known as CFR (see below) CFR: Cost and Freight (see above)
CFS: Container Freight Station. A place for the packing and unpacking of LCL consignments. Sometimes known as C/B in the UK, Depots in other parts of the world and ICD in the UK and the Indian Subcontinent
CIF: Cost Insurance and Freight
CIP: See under INCOTERMS
Closing Date: Last date that goods can be accepted for a nominated sailing
CMI: Comite Maritime International – an international committee of maritime lawyers
COGSA: Carriage of goods by Sea Act – in the UK, the 1971 version incorporates the Hague-Visby Rules
Conference: An organisation of a group of shipping lines operating in one trade, who have agreed to operate a common tariff
Consortium: A group of CTOs who agree to rationalise sailings in a trade and carry each others cargo
Container Depot: Storage Facility for empty containers
COT: Customers Own Transport – i.e. the customer collects the cargo from or delivers it to the CFS / CY COU: Clip on Unit – a portable refrigeration unit
CPT: Carriage Paid To: A new combined transport INCOTERM replacing CFR where CT is involved but applicable to all modes of transport. It used to be DCP, and is particularly appropriate for combined transport.
CQD: Customary Quick Dispatch – cargo to be delivered or taken away alongside vessel as fast as vessel can load / discharge
CRN: Customer Register Number – replaced CAN (Custom Assigned Number) in October 1981. It's the number allocated by the C&E (see above) to an exporter, agent or freight forwarder
CSC: Container Safety Convention
CT: Combined transport – carriage by more that one mode of transport under one contract of carriage
CTD: Combined Transport Document. Also known as the CTO (Combined Transport Order)
CTO: Combined Transport Operator – a carrier who contracts as a principle to perform the CT (see above) operation
CY: Container Yard – collection and distribution point for FCL (see below) containers
Delivery Note: A document authorising delivery of goods in the care of a 3rd party to a nominated party. This document can be issued by a carrier on surrender of the original bill of lading and then used by the merchant to transfer title by endorsement
Demurrage: A charge raised for detaining a vessel, cargo, FCL or carrier's containers and / or trailers for a longer period than provided for in the tariff or contract
Detention: A charge raised for detaining cargo, containers or trailers for a longer period than provided for in the tariff
DGN: Dangerous Goods Note
DOT: Department of Trade – government department with responsibility for shipping and trade
EDI: Electronic Data Interchange – the transfer of structured data from one computer system to another
EDIFACT: EDI for Administration, Commerce and Transport – an organisation responsible to UN ECE for the development of standard EDI messages for Administration, Commerce and Transport
EEC: European Economic Community – the European Common Market
EFTA: European Free Trade Association
ESC: European National Shippers Councils
ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival – the estimation of the date / hour that the carrier believes the cargo, vessel or container will arrive at a nominated point / port
ETD: Estimated Time of Departure
FAK: Freight All Kinds – a system whereby freight is charged per container, irrespective of the nature of the goods, and according to tariff
FCL: Full Container Load
Feeder Service: Cargo to / from regional ports is transferred to / from a central hub / port for a long-haul ocean voyage
Feeder Vessel: A short sea vessel used to fetch and carry goods and containers to and from deep-sea ports / vessels
FEU: Abbreviation for "Forty Foot Equivalent Unit". This refers to the standard container size of forty feet. Two twenty-foot containers or TEUs are equal to one FEU
FILO: Free In Liner Out (shipping term) – Cost of loading is borne by charterer / shipper. Cost of unloading is borne by vessel owner
FIO: Free in and Out (shipping term) – Costs of loading and unloading a vessel are borne by charterer/shipper
FIOS + FIOST: Free In and Out Stowed / Trimmed (shipping term) – Costs of loading and unloading a vessel (including stowage & trim) are borne by charterer / shipper
FMC: Federal Maritime Commission – US Federal Authority governing sea transport. It administers maritime affairs
including tariff systems, freight forwarder licensing, enforcing the conditions of the Shipping Act and approving conference or other carrier agreements
FOB: Free On Board – a conventional port-to-port INCOTERM, term of sale
Freight: The amount of money payable for the carriage of goods. Sometimes erroneously use to describe the goods being carried (which are more correctly described as "cargo" in marine transportation)
Freight Ton: The weight / volume on which freight is charged
GA: General Average
GATT: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade – an international multilateral agreement embodying a code of practice for fair trading in international commerce. Its headquarters are in Geneva
Groupage: The consolidation of several LCL consignments into a container
H/L: Heavy Lift
Hague Rules: The 1924 International Convention on Carriage of Goods by Sea
Hague-Visby Rules: The 1968 revision of the Hague Rules
Hamburg Rules: The 1978 UNCTAD revision of the Hague Rules 8 House or Door: A movement starting or finishing at the customer's premises. Thus, "House / House" or "Door / Door" starts at the shipper's premises and ends at the consignee's premises
IMDG Code: International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code – contains the IMO recommendations for the carriage of
dangerous goods at sea
IMO: International Maritime Organisation – a UN body charged with making safety and anti-pollution conventions and recommendations concerning sea transport
INCOTERMS: International Rules for the Interpretation of Trade Terms – currently comprises 13 terms for foreign trade contracts, complied by ICC
ISO: International Standards Organisation – a body responsible for, inter alia, setting standards for container construction
LAYCAN: Laydays / Cancelling (date) – the range of dates within which the hire contract must start
L/C: Letter of Credit – a document in which the terms of documentary credit transactions are set out
LCL: Less than Container Load – when a parcel is too small to fi ll a container and is then grouped into one container with other LCL consignments
LIFO: Liner In Free Out (shipping term) – the cost of loading is borne by vessel owners and the cost of unloading is borne by charterers / shipper / consignee
L/I: Letter of Indemnity – sometimes also called Letter of Guarantee. It allows the consignee to take delivery of his goods without surrendering the original bill of lading which might have been delayed or lost
Lighter: An open or covered barge towed by a tugboat and used mainly in harbours and inland waterways to carry cargo to / from alongside a vessel
LLMC: International Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims – a 1976 limitation convention enacted in the UK by the Merchant Shipping Act of 1979
Lloyds' Registry: An organization maintained for the surveying and classing of ships so that insurance underwriters and others may know the quality and condition of the vessels offered for insurance or employment
Liner: A Vessel plying a regular pattern of a trade on a defined route under a published sailing schedule
LO-LO: Lift On Lift Off
Manifest: List of goods or passengers on a vessel
M/R: Mates Receipt – a receipt given to the party that delivers the cargo to the ship. The M/R states quantity and condition of the cargo and where it is stowed
Notify Party: The Party to whom the ANF (see above) is sent
NVOC (C): Non Vessel Operating (Common) Carrier – a carrier issuing bills of lading for carriage of goods on a vessel which he neither owns nor operates
NYPE: The New York Produce Exchange charter party which is the most commonly used form of the hire contract for vessels
O/H: Overheight - a container with goods protruding above the top of the corner posts
OOG: Out of Gauge – goods whose dimensions exceed those of the container in which they are packed
O/W: Overwidth – a container with goods protruding beyond the sides of the container /
flat rack onto which they are packed
P & I Club: Protection and Indemnity Association – the carrier's mutual liability insurer
Plimsoll Mark: A series of horizontal lines, corresponding to the seasons of the year and fresh or saltwater, painted on the outside of a ship marking the level which must remain above the surface of the water in order for the vessel to be stable
POA: Place of Acceptance – the place where goods are received for shipment or transit and where the carrier's liability commences. Now more usually called POR
POD: Port of Discharge Poincare Franc: A fictitious gold franc – originally used to, amongst other things, assess the carrier's liability in an inflation-proofed manner under the Hague-Visby Rules. It is now replaced by the SDR
Portside: Left side of a ship when facing forward
Pratique Certificate: Lifts temporary quarantine of a vessel; pratique is granted by a Health Officer
Principle Carrier: The carrier who issues the CTD, regardless of whether or not the goods are carried on his own, a third party's, or a consortium member's vessel
Reefer: A refrigerated vessel or container
RN: Release Notice – a receipt signed by the customer that acknowledges his goods have been delivered
RO-RO: A ferry type vessel onto which goods and containers can be driven, usually via a ramp
SABS: South African Bureau of Standards
SHEX: Saturdays and Holidays Excluded
SHINC: Saturdays and Holidays Included
Shipper: The person who tenders the goods for the carriage, not to be confused with the party issuing the bill of lading or the vessel's operator (the carrier)
Shippers Instructions: Shipper's communication(s) to its agents and / or directly to the international water-carrier. Instructions may be varied, e.g. specific details / clauses to be printed on the B/L, directions for cargo pick-up and delivery, etc
Shipper's Load & Count (SL&anp;C): Shipments loaded and sealed by shippers and not checked or verified by the carriers Shipping Order: Shipper's instructions to carrier for forwarding goods; usually the triplicate copy of the bill of lading
Shut-Out: Goods not carried on the intended vessel
Slot: The space on board a vessel occupied by a container
SOB: Shipped on Board – an endorsement on the "received for shipment" bill of lading confirming that the goods have been loaded on board
Spreader: A piece of equipment designed to lift containers by their corner castings
Starboard: The right hand side of a ship when facing the bow
Stern: The back end of a vessel
Straddle Carrier: Mobile truck equipment with the capacity for lifting a container within its own framework
Straight bill of lading: A peculiar American term for a negotiable bill of lading like a "Waybill". It is governed by the US Pommerene Act
Stuffing / Stripping: The action performed when packing / unpacking a container
Tariff: The terms, conditions and scale of charges – in the US trade the tariff must be notified in advance to the FMC (see above)
Terminal: The port or depot at which containers, bulk cargoes, breakbulk cargo, project cargo, heavy lifts and rolling equipment are loaded / unloaded onto / from vessels, trains or trucks
TEU Twenty: Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit. This refers to the 20 foot container size. i.e. 1 x 20ft container = 1 TEU and 1 x 40 foot container = 2 TEU
THC: Terminal Handling Charge – a charge for handling a container at an ocean terminal
TIR: Transport International Routiers – a system involving the issue of carnet to road haulers which allows loaded vehicles to cross national frontiers with minimum customs formalities
UCP: Uniform Customs and Practice of Documentary Credits – the bankers "bible" on documentary credit interpretation issued by the ICC
UNCITRAL: United Nations Commission on International Trade Law
UNCTAD: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
UNCTAD MMO: UNCTAD Multi Modal Transport Convention
Vienna Convention: A 1980 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods which came into force on 1st January 1988
Waybill: A bill of lading that acts as receipt for the goods and evidence of the contract of carriage. A waybill is a bill of lading that is not a document and can thus be defined as follows:
- A waybill is a receipt of goods
- A waybill is evidence of the contract
- A waybill is a non-negotiable document
Under a waybill, delivery is effected to a nominated consignee upon proof of identity. As a title it presents a personal contract between the shipper and the carrier only.
There is (at present) no mandatory law or convention and the parties have absolute freedom of contract