Glossary of shipping terms
Affreightment
Ship rent. Contract of affreightment Ship rent contract.
AR – All risks
Full insurance coverage risk.
ARES
Insurance policy for shipper’s responsibilities. It does not cover all the responsibilities incumbent on the shipper, but only professional errors and omissions.
Average bond
Act of compromise by which the owner of the goods, undertaking to pay the contribution to general average, obtains from the maritime carrier obtains the free disposal of the goods.
Bad stowage
A stowage operation not performed correctly. In this case, there might damage to goods or part of the load.
Ballast
Amount of water to fill empty spaces of the ship in order to obtain the best alignment and balance.
Booking
It is the request to the shipping company for a reservation on a ship. Can be requested by the forwarder or the shipper and contains ship name, date, port of departure, port of destination, goods description.
Bulk cargoes code – BC Code
IMO rules for transportation of dry bulk cargo.
Bulk carrier – BC
Ship to transport dry bulk cargo.
Bunker
Fuel. The bunker tank is the tank on ships where the fuel is stored.
Cabotage
Transportation inside the national borders of a Country.
Cargo
Load. Cargo manifest A document where it is listed all the goods in the shipment.
Cash against documents (CAD)
Payment of the goods when official documents are delivered.
Cash on delivery (COD)
Payment of the goods when they are delivered.
Collect freight
A freight that is payable at destination place.
Combined Bill of Lading – CBL – HBL – TBL
Combined transport documents.
Container
A wide used term that identifies a metallic structure capable to contain various kind of goods. The purpose of the container is to reduce handling time, loading and unloading from ship or other vehicles, and offer security throughout the whole shipment.
Containers shipping Lo/Lo – Containers shipping Ro/Ro
A ship designed to optimize the space reserved for containers. It can also have space for break bulk cargo or road vehicles.
Corner fitting
Blocks to secure the load on the ship or on the vehicle that carries it.
Customs broker
A profession that involves the "clearing" of goods through customs barriers for importers and exporters.
Customs clearance
Process that allow the goods to enter the country in which they are shipped to.
Customs wharehouse
A warehouse with the only purpose to stock the goods waiting to be cleared.
Door to door
A transport organized from place of production (or other place agreed) to end customer place.
Door to pier
A transport organized from place of production (or other place agreed) to pier.
Dry bulk containers
Dry bulk containers have different type of openings on the side or on the bottom wall in order to ease the process of loading and unloading.
DSP / DTS – Droits de tirage special
Virtual money created by the International Monetary Fund in order to calculate the value of carrier responsibility.
ETA
Expected time arrival.
ETD
Expected time departure.
FCR – Fiata forwarder certificate of receipt
Certificate of acceptance for the delivery of the goods by the forwarder.
FCT – Fiata forwarder certificate of transport
Transport document issued by the freight forwarder.
Feeder
Small tonnage ship or port used to traffic redistribution.
Ferry boat – Roll on/Roll off
A ship designed with the purpose to board different kind of vehicles like trailers or rail wagons.
FEU
Acronym of Forty feet Equivalent Unit.
Flag
The flag distinguishes the nationality of the ship; is hoisted at the stern during the daytime sailing.
Flat rack containers
A flat rack container has removable side walls and is usually utilized to forward out of gauge material.
FWR – Fiata warehouse receipt
Receipt for the collection of goods in the warehouse.
Gas carriers
Tanks able to transport liquefied gases.
Gross registered tonnage
Measure of the volumes of spaces in a ship, including those not used for securing the load. It is performed by the Naval Register that issues the registration certificate.
Hold
Space of the vessel used to receive the cargo to be transported.
Hull
An insurance term that defines the set consisting of hull, equipment and appliances of a ship.
Hull & Machinery
An insurance term that refers to the hull of the ship, as well as to the engine or auxiliary machinery and all other parts.
Insulated containers
This type of containers have insulated walls to reduce the gap of temperatures between outside and inside environment.
Lash carriers
Carriers that have their own equipment allowing the loading and unloading of barges without the mooring quay.
Lashing
The operation that, with the use of special cables, permits the displacement of voluminous and heavy loads.
LCL – “Less than Container Loaded”
Container used by more than one shipper both on departure and arrival. A typical case is the groupage, where the final destination is not the whole container but individual packages, pallets, cartons etc.
Liner
Regular seafreight traffic of containers.
Liquid bulk
Bulk liquids whose load is via pumps. These include, for example: oil and derivatives, liquid chemicals, vegetable oils, wine, soda caustic solution, fertilizers.
Lo-Lo – Lift on/Lift off
Boarding and unloading of intermodal transport units through vertical movement with a lifting system
Log book
The log books are usually books that have to be necessarily kept on board the ship and on which are shown chronologically, the inventory of existing objects, revenues and expenses, the route followed, meteorological observations and extraordinary events that have occurred.
Lump sum
Amount that include every cost of the shipment.
Mulex
Great bag for bulk cargo in small batches.
Net
net weight. Net-net Weight measured without packaging.
Net registered tonnage
Measure of the volumes of spaces in a ship for securing the loads. It is performed by the Naval Register that issues the registration certificate.
Non-vessel operating common carrier – NVOCC
An NVOCC is a common carrier that holds itself out to the public to provide ocean transportation, issues its own bills of lading or equivalent documents, but does not operate the vessels that transport cargo.
On deck loading
If the goods are boarded on deck (not on hold), the policyholder or the insured must notify the insurer in order to be aware of the risk.
Open hatch gantry crane – OHGC
Ships with open hatch and a overhead granty crane.
Open top containers
Unlike what happens with traditional container, the goods are protected by tarpaulin fixed to the walls. Goods are loaded from the top, utilzed usually for heavy loads.
Packing list
List indicating the quantity, weight and description of goods in a shipment.
Perils of the sea
Any damages resulting from accidents during navigation, exluding the natural action of wind and waves.
Pier
Quay, wharf, jetty.
Quick work – Bottom
Part of the ship under the waterline.
Refrigerating containers
Containers provided with fixed or removable refrigerating equipment, powerd by the electric generator coupled to a diesel engine.
Refrigerating containers
Containers provided with fixed or removable refrigerating equipment, powerd by the electric generator coupled to a diesel engine.
Said to contain – STC
Term wrote in B/L by the ocean carrier when there is a full container load (FCL).
Ship owner
Person or entity that is entitled of the management of one or more ship to transport goods or persons.
Ship owner
Person or entity that is entitled of the management of one or more ship to transport goods or persons.
Shipper
Person or entity that is entitled of transport contract with the carrier.
Shipper
Person or entity that is entitled of transport contract with the carrier.
Shipper declaration for transport of dangerous goods – SDT
Declaration issued by the shipper for the transport of dangerous goods, prepared on a FIATA model.
Shipping agent
Maritime agent or freight forwarder.
Shipyard
A ship construction site.
Short sea shipping (SSS)
The "short sea shipping" expresses the movement of goods and passengers by sea between domestic ports.
Slot
Cell of a ship designed to load containers, boxes or trailers.
Solid bulk (or dry bulk)
Solid bulk cargoes may include iron, zinc, bauxite, sugar, coal, sand. Loading operation are usually performed thanks to bucket elevators or lifting belts.
Spreader
Equipment that connects the wires of a crane with a container.
Stowage
Arrangement of the goods inside the hold of a ship or any box or mean of transport.
Tank containers
Cylindrical tanks fixed to a metal structure having the external dimensions of a container.
Tankers
Ships that transport liquid cargo (oil and its derivatives, wine, water and so on). The tanks, in almost all cases, have walls glazed the ensure greater protection for the product and facilitate the washing operations.
Tankers
Ships that transport liquid cargo (oil and its derivatives, wine, water and so on). The tanks, in almost all cases, have walls glazed the ensure greater protection for the product and facilitate the washing operations.
Terms
Conditions of transport, see Incoterms.
TEU
Acronym of Twenty feet Equivalent Unit.
THC (Terminal handling charges)
Charges for handling containers stowed on the ship.
Through bill of lading
Sea multimodal transport document.
Transhipment
The process by which the goods are transferd from the ship or other means for the transport, on the ground or other vessel or other means of transport to enable it to reach the place of final destination
Transroulage
Combined transport sea/road.
Twistlock
Locking pin of a loading unit (e.g. container) to lock it to the vessel or the transport vehicle.
Very large crude carrier – VLCC
Large tonnage ship used to transport liquid bulk.
Warehouse
Deposit. Bonded warehouse Where goods are temporary stored (e.g. goods in transit). Customs warehouse Where goods are stored before clearing.