SEAFREIGHT (TERMS) 

ADSp (Allgemeine Deutsche Spediteurbedingungen)
General German shipping terms.

All Risk
All Risks Coverage, a type of marine insurance, is the broadest kind of standard coverage, but excludes damage caused by war, strikes, and riots.

Alongside
A phrase referring to the side of a ship. Goods to be delivered "alongside" are to be placed on the dock or lighter within reach of the transport ship's tackle so that they can be loaded aboard the ship. Goods are delivered to the port of embarkation, but without loading fees.

B.A.F. (Bunker adjustment factor)
Accessorial charge to adjust cost fluctuations for fuel.

B/L (Bill of Lading)
A contract of carriage, used by ocean, inland waterway, rail and truck, common carriers, and contract carriers. Variety of B/L's include an Ocean B/L, a Multimodal B/L, a Uniform B/L, & a Uniform Short B/L. The former two can be negotiable and would carry title to the goods.

Break Bulk
Cargo loaded in bulk inside a vessel as compared to containerised cargo.

C.A.F. (Currency adjustment factor)
An accessorial charge to compensate for fluctuations in currencies.

Carrier
Company, carrying out the transport of goods.

C.F.S. (Container freight station)
A location where the carrier controls the loading and/ or unloading of containers.

Clean Bill of Lading
A receipt for goods issued by a carrier with an indication that the goods were received in "apparent good order and condition," without damages or other irregularities.

CMR (Convention relative au Contrat de transport international de merchandises par route)
Convention for the international road freight transportation contract.

C.O.D.
Cash on Delivery

Conference
Contractual agreement of legally independent line shipping companies who are serving the same travel areas. The rates and timetables are determined.

Container 20 Feet
Outside measurements in metres: Length = 6,058; Width = 2,438; Height = 2,591
Inside measurements in metres: Length = 5,930; Width = 2,330; Height = 2,380
33cbm

Container 40 Foot
Outside measurements in metres: Length = 12,192; Width = 2,438; Height 2,591
Inside measurements in metres: Length = 12,070; Width = 2,330; Height = 2,380
67cbm

C.Y. (Container Yard)
A container yard is a location where containers may be parked, picked up, or delivered full or empty. The C.Y. may further be a place of loading (stuffing) or unloading and/or where ocean carrier accepts custody and control of cargo.

C/S (Congestion surcharge)
Extra charge for waiting periods at the port.

C.S.C. (Container service charge)
Costs for the container handling.

Demurrage
Charges caused by containers being stored at port or C.Y. beyond specified free time.

Detention
Charges caused by containers being kept outside port or C.Y. beyond specified free time.

Egdat
Application for import authorizations at the Federal Office for Trade via electronic file transfer.

E.T.A.
Estimated time of arrival.

E.T.D.
Estimated time of departure

Freight for All Kinds(FAK)
FAK is a shipping classification. Goods classified FAK are usually charged higher rates than those marked with a specific classification and are frequently in a container which includes various classes of cargo.

FCL (Full Container Load)
Complete (house/ house) Container.

FCL/FCL
Door-to-Door full container load.

FCL/ LCL
Container load with goods from one Sender to more than one consignee.

FCR
Forwarding agents certificate of receipt.

FEU (Fourty feet equivalent unit)
40' Feet Container-unit.

FIATA (Federation Internationale des Associations des Transporteurs et Assimilés)
World-wide federation of shipping organisations.

FIO (Free In and Out)
In this term, free means that the cost of loading and unloading are for the account of the shipper, and not the carrier. In other words, Free In and Out (FIO) means that the loading (in) charges, and unloading (out) charges are free as far as the carrier is concerned.

Force Majeure
A natural disaster, riot terrorist act, or war which is totally beyond a party's control, and prevents them from fulfilling obligations under a contract.

Hague Rules
Ocean B/L terms covering carrier liability established 25 Aug. 1924.

IMO (International Maritime Organization)
Part of the UN which regulates international navigation and shipping safety through a framework of rules, treaties and regulations.

Incoterms
The purpose of Incoterms is to provide a set of international rules for the interpretation of the most commonly used trade terms in foreign trade. Thus, uncertainties of different interpretations of such terms in different countries can be avoided or at least reduced to a considerable degree.

LCL (Less than Container Load)
Single shipments loaded together in a collective container.

LCL/LCL
Single shipments from different Senders for different consignees which are packed together in one container at the Container Freight Station and which will be divided again at the place of destination.

LCL/FCL
Container packed with single shipments from single Senders for one consignee.

Liner Terms
Liner terms (or full liner terms) are the opposite of Free terms. When you ship liner terms, the carrier is responsible for the loading and unloading of the cargo. If you ship LINER-IN, FREE-OUT, then the carrier is responsible for loading, and the shipper is responsible for unloading. FREE-IN, LINER-OUT means the shipper pays for loading, and the carrier pays for the unloading.

Mass/ Weight ratio
1 cbm = 1 t

Multimodal Transport
Goods are transported by a minimum of at least two different means of transport.

Notify
Additional address (besides the consignees address) to be notified about the arrival of a shipment.

NVOCC (Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier)
An indirect ocean carrier who does not operate vessels, but accomplishes carriage via sub-contract with vessel operating carriers.

Outsider (Non-Conference)
This is the counterpart of a conference.

Packing List
A shipping document issued by shipper to carrier, Customs and consignee serving the purposes of identifying detail information of package count, products count, measurement of each package, weight of each package, etc.

P.O.L.
Port of loading.

P.O.D. (Port of discharge)
Port of discharge.

RORO (Roll On, Roll Off)
Ships specially fitted so entire trucks can drive onboard.

Shipping Marks
The letters, numbers or other symbols placed on the outside of cargo to facilitate identification.

SLVS (Shipping, logistics and storage insurance policy)
Shipping insurance for all shippers who work on the basis of the ADSp (Allgemeine Deutsche Spediteurbedingungen).

STC 
Standard Trading Conditions

Tare Weight
The weight of a container and/or packing materials without the weight of the goods it contains.

T-B/L (Through Bill of Lading)
B/L covering the whole transport although the shipment will be reloaded during the transport.

TEU (Twenty feet equivalent unit)
Twenty feet equivalent container unit.

T.H.C. (Terminal Handling Charges)
Charges for the container handling.

Transhipment
When a shipment from point "A" to "C" must be handled through "B" or other intermediate points.

T/T
Transit time for the transport.

Wharfage
A charge assessed by a pier or dock owner for handling incoming or outgoing cargo.

W/M (Weight or Measurement)
Seafreight calculation based on the weight or measurement.