Sea terms
Glossary of terms used in sea container transportation
ICT/ CT (Internal Customs Transit) is a customs procedure, according to which the foreign goods are transported between the temporary storage warehouses (TSW) and customs warehouses in the territory of the Russian Federation without paying any customs duties and taxes. As a rule, ICT is used for transportation of the goods from the place of their arrival (sea port) to the location of the customs office of destination for their further customs clearance. Transportation of the goods in ICT mode can only be carried out by customs carrier.
General Statement is a document drawn up by the NCSP (Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port) port terminal on the date of discharge completion of the containers from the vessel. General Statement date is the first day of the container storage at the port of NCSP and the beginning of the demurrage (for container lines operating at NCSP).
CCD/ CD (Cargo customs declaration) is a document drawn up during the goods transfer across the customs border of the state (export, import). CCD is executed by cargo manager and certified by customs official, and in the future it authorizes to cross the border. The declaration includes information on cargo and its customs value, vehicles carrying out delivery, forwarder and consignee. The term “CCD” also applies to the mode of cargo transportation within the territory of the Russian Federation, which is customs-cleared by the time of transportation.
Demurrage – a cargo owner uses the line container after container discharge from the vessel till return of the empty container to the line agent (exception – Maersk line, where the demurrage period ends on the date of container removal from the port, and after that a detention period begins). Free period and demurrage calculation method is at the discretion of the container line and, as a rule, is calculated from the date of opening of the Accounting documents/ Reporting documents (in NUTEP, NLE) and from the General Statement date (NCSP). Period of free demurrage for dry, non-hazardous, oversize cargo is in the range of 5 - 30 days.
Detention – a cargo owner uses the Maersk container line outside the port. It is calculated from the removal of the container from the port and until the return of the empty container to the line.
Accounting document/Reporting document is a document, executed by port terminal (stevedoring company) while accepting the bill of lading cargo for storage at the port. In most cases, the opening date of the accounting document is the first day of the container storage at the port and the beginning of the demurrage. Exception is the NCSP Port, where the first day of the storage is the General Statement date (see General Statement).
ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) – date of approximate arrival of the vessel/ cargo to the port of destination.
ETS / ETD (Estimated Time of Sailing/Departure) – date of approximate departure of the vessel/ cargo from the port of loading.
Bill of Lading/ B/L is a document, issued to a cargo owner by carrier (line agent) at the port of loading. It certifies the title to the shipped goods and is issued by the consignee to the carrier (line agent) to receive the cargo. Excepted from the rule is the simplified procedure, avoiding the need for issuance and delivery of the originals of the B/L (see Telex Release).
Line/ Container line is a carrier carrying out sea transportation of the containers (freight) and providing the services at the ports through its agents (Example of lines: ARKAS, CMA-CGM, MAERSK, MSC, NORASIA, ZIM. Examples of line agents: Arkas Russia, Zim Russia, Sovmortrans, Economy Shipping).
Local Fees – they are not included in the sea freight, but container line charges for performance of the services connected with container transshipment at the port of Novorossiysk. These include: terminal handling, collection of documents, container exposure for inspection/ weighing/ Mobile cargo inspection system, container storage at the port, demurrage and detention.
MCIS (Mobile cargo inspection system) is a form of customs inspection, carried out without opening the container and participation of the forwarder by means of X-raying of the container, in order to detect undeclared goods.
Material Safety Data Sheet / MSDS is a document issued by material manufacturer and containing information about its properties, components, physical specification, toxicity, health effects, storage and transport conditions. Clause 14 includes information on the material transportation conditions and its relation to the dangerous or non-dangerous goods (DG or non-DG cargo) in accordance with IMDG Code.
POD (Port of Discharge) – Port of discharge/destination.
POL (Port of Loading) – Port of loading.
Telex Release (colloq. “Telex”) is an agent’s request at the port of loading issued to the agent at the port of discharge for the cargo release to the consignee without original bills of lading (see B /L). This simplified form of cargo release by the line is applicable only if the B/L originals were not issued at the port of loading or were returned by the forwarder to line.
Terminal handling is a set of services, provided by the port terminal (stevedoring company) on the container unloading from the vessel, its acceptance in safe custody and further loading to the motor or railway vehicle (in case of import), or a set of services for container discharge from motor or railway vehicle at the port and its further loading on the vessel (in case of export).
TEU (Twenty-feet Equivalent Unit) – standard unit of measurement in the container transportations equivalent to the dimensions of ISO-container 20 feet long (6.1 m). Also forty-foot equivalent unit (FEU) is used, based on the dimensions of a 40-foot container and equal to 2 TEU.
Transit time is delivery time of cargo from port A to port B. It is calculated from the departure of the vessel from the port of loading until the arrival at the port of destination.
Transshipment is a process of container transfer at the port en route from one vessel to another. It is very common, if there is no container line service directly connecting the port of loading with the port of discharge. Example: a cargo transporting to Novorossiysk leaves the port of Shanghai on an ocean vessel ,which has no vessel call in Novorossiysk. At the port of Istanbul the cargo is transshipped to another (feeder) vessel, having a call vessel in Novorossiysk according to its schedule. In this case the port of Istanbul is the port of transshipment.
Consignment note is a document drawn up by the shipper, if the cargo is transported by motor transport. The document in 3 copies is issued to the driver and shall accompany the cargo till arrival to the consignee. It is designed to record the cargo traffic (commodities and materials), as well as to pay for cargo transportation (commodities and materials). On 25.07.2011 a new form was introduced (Appendix No. 4 to the Cargo transportation rules by motor transport), which replaced the form 1-T.
THC (Terminal Handling Charge) is a fee charged by container line for terminal handling (see Terminal handling). Origin terminal handling charges.
Storage at the port (Storage) – in case of import, it is a period when line container from container discharge from the vessel and till container removal by the cargo owner from the port (or cargo removal from the container). The first day of storage is the date of accounting documents (in NUTEP), reporting documents (in NLE), or General Statement date (in NCSP). Free period of demurrage for dry, non-hazardous, oversize cargo is 7 days.
Freight terms
Pre-paid – freight is paid by the forwarder, applicable to the delivery terms CFR, CIF, CIP, CPT, DAT, DAP, DDP.
Collect – freight is paid by the consignee, applicable to the terms FOB, FAS, FCA, EXW.
FIFO (Free In / Free Out) – freight rate excluding the cost of loading on the vessel and the cost of discharge from the vessel (terminal handling at the ports of loading/ discharge).
FILO (Free In / Liner Out) – freight rate includes the cost of discharge from the vessel (terminal handling at the ports of discharge), that is FILO = FIFO + DTHC.
LIFO (Liner In / Free Out) – freight rate includes the cost of loading on the vessel (terminal handling at the port of loading), that is FILO = FIFO + OTHC.
LILO (Liner In / Liner Out) – freight rate includes the cost of loading on one vessel and discharge from the other vessel (terminal handling at the ports of loading), that is FILO = FIFO + OTHC + DTHC.
Freight rate components
All-In – rate including all of the following surcharges.
BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor) – indexation of fuel prices changes.
CAF (Currency Adjustment Factor) – indexation of currency differences.
Congestion Surcharge – surcharge charged for recovery of expenses connected with the delays to the vessels in the overloaded ports.
EBS (Emergency Bunker Surcharge) – temporary surcharge connected with increase in fuel price.
DTHC (Destination Terminal Handling Charge) – fee charged by the container line for the terminal handling at the port of discharge (see Terminal Handling).
GRI (General Rate Surcharge) – overall increase in rate applied by the line compared to the previous period.
GAC (Gulf of Aden Surcharge) – surcharge during transportation en route, which runs through the Gulf of Aden.
HWS (Heavy-Weight Surcharge) – surcharge for cargo overweight over a certain set value (OWS analogue).
IMO Surcharge – surcharge during transportation of dangerous cargo OTHC (Origin Terminal Handling Charge) – fee charged by the container line for the terminal handling at the port of loading (see Terminal handling).
OWS (Over-Weight Surcharge) – surcharge for cargo overweight over a certain set value (HWS analogue).
PCS (Panama Channel Surcharge) – fee for the Panama Canal pass.
PSS (Peak Season Surcharge) – season surcharges.
SCS (Suez Channel Surcharge) – fee for the Suez Canal pass.
War Risk Surcharge – it is applied when the vessels call at the war-bent ports.