Shipping Terms

B/L
A particular article, stipulation or single proviso in a Bill of Lading. A clause can be standard and can be pre-printed on the B/L.

Bank Guarantee
An undertaking by a bank to be answerable for payment of a sum of money in the event of non performance by the party on whose behalf the guarantee is issued.

Bar Coding
A method of encoding data for fast and accurate electronic readability. Bar codes are a series of alternating bars and spaces printed or stamped on products, labels, or other media, representing encoded information which can be read by electronic readers, used to facilitate timely and accurate input of data to a computer system. Bar codes represent letters and/or numbers and special characters like +, /, -, etc.

Bay
A vertical division of a vessel from stem to stern, used as a part of the indication of a stowage place for containers. The numbers run from stem to stern; odd numbers indicate a 20 foot position, even numbers indicate a 40 foot position.

Bay Plan
A stowage plan which shows the locations of all the containers on the vessel.

Berth
A location in a port where a vessel can be moored often indicated by a code or name.

Bilateral Transport Agreement
Agreement between two nations concerning their transport relations.

Bill of Exchange
An unconditional order in writing to pay a certain sum of money to a named person.

Bill of Health
The Bill of Health is the certificate issued by local medical authorities indicating the general health conditions in the port of departure or in the ports of call. The Bill of Health must have been visaed before departure by the Consul of the country of destination.When a vessel has free pratique, this means that the vessel has a clean Bill of Health certifying that there is no question of contagious disease and that all quarantine regulations have been complied with, so that people may embark and disembark.

Bill of Lading
A document which evidences a contract of carriage by sea. The document has the following functions:
1) A receipt for goods, signed by a duly authorised person on behalf of the carriers.
2) A document of title to the goods described therein.
3) Evidence of the terms and conditions of carriage agreed upon between the two parties.
At the moment 3 different models are used:
1) A document for either Combined Transport or Port to Port shipments depending whether the relevant spaces for place of receipt and/or place of delivery are indicated on the face of the document
2) A classic marine Bill of Lading in which the carrier is also responsible for the part of the transport actually performed by himself.
3) Sea Waybill: A non-negotiable document, which can only be made out to a named consignee. No surrender of the document by the consignee is required.

Bill of Lading Clause
A particular article, stipulation or single proviso in a Bill of Lading. A clause can be standard and can be pre-printed on the B/L.

Bill of Material
A list of all parts, sub-assemblies and raw materials that constitute a particular assembly, showing the quantity of each required item.

Block Train
A number of railway wagons (loaded with containers), departing from a certain place and running straight to a place of destination,without marshalling, transhipping or any coupling or de-coupling of wagons.

Bona Fide
In good faith; without dishonesty, fraud or deceit.

Bonded
The storage of certain goods under charge of customs viz.customs seal until the import duties are paid or until the goods are taken out of the country.
1)Bonded warehouse (place where goods can be placed under bond)
2)Bonded store (place on a vessel where goods are placed behind seal until the time that the vessel leaves the port or country again)
3)Bonded goods (dutiable goods upon which duties have not been paid i.e. goods in transit or warehoused pending customs clearance)

Booking
he offering by a shipper of cargo for transport and the acceptance of the offering by the carrier or his agent.

Booking Reference Number 
The number assigned to a certain booking by the carrier or his agent.

Break Bulk
1)To commence discharge
2)To strip unitised cargo

Break Bulk Cargo
General cargo conventionally stowed as opposed to unitised, containerised and Roll On-Roll Off cargo.

Broker 
Person who acts as an agent or intermediary in negotiating contracts.

Brussels Tariff Nomenclature BSI Container Specification
The old Customs Co-operation Council Nomenclature for the classification of goods. Now replaced by the Harmonised System. British Standards Institution Specification for freight containers.

Buffer Stock 
A quantity of goods or articles kept in store to safeguard against unforeseen shortages or demands.

Bulk Cargo 
Unpacked homogeneous cargo poured loose in a certain space of a vessel or container e.g. oil and grain.

Bulk Carrier 
Single deck vessel designed to carry homogeneous unpacked dry cargoes such as grain, iron ore and coal.

Bulk Container 
A container designed for the carriage of free-flowing dry cargoes, which are loaded through hatchways in the roof of the container and discharged through hatchways at one end of the container.

Bunker Adjustment Factor 
Adjustment applied by liner or liner conferences to offset the effect of fluctuations in the cost of bunkers.

Bunkers 
Quantity of fuel on board a vessel.

Bureau Veritas 
French classification society.

Business Process 
A business process is the action taken to respond to particular events, convert inputs into outputs, and produce particular results. Business processes are what the enterprise must do to conduct its business successfully.

Business Process Model 
The business process model provides a breakdown (process decomposition) of all levels of business processes within the scope of a business area. It also shows process dynamics,lower-level process interrelationships. In Summary it includes all diagrams related to a process definition that allows for understanding what the business process is doing (and not how).

Buyer 
Party to which merchandise is sold.

Cabotage
1) Transport of goods between two ports or places located in the same country.
2) Transport of cargo in a country other than the country where the vehicle is registered road-cargo)
3) The carriage of a container from a surplus area to an area specified by the Owner of that container, in exchange of which and during which the operator can use this container

CAD
Terms of payment: if the buyer of goods pays for the goods against transfer of the documents, entitling him to obtain delivery of the goods from the carrier.

CAF
Adjustment applied by P&O Nedlloyd lines or liner conferences on freight rates to offset losses or gains for carriers resulting from fluctuations in exchange rates of tariff currencies.

Call
The visit of a vessel to a port.

Call Sign
A code published by the International Telecommunication Union in its annual List of Ships’ Stations to be used for the information interchange between vessels, port authorities and other relevant participants in international trade.
Note: The code structure is based on a three digit designation series assigned by the ITU and a one digit assigned by the country of registration.

Capacity
1) The ability, in a given time, of a resource measured in quality and quantity.
2) The quantity of goods which can be stored in or loaded into a warehouse, store and/or loaded into a means of transport at a particular time.

Cargo
1) Goods transported or to be transported, all goods carried on a ship covered by a B/L.
2) Any goods, wares, merchandise, and articles of every kind whatsoever carried on a ship, other than mail,ship’s stores, ship’s spare parts, ship’s equipment,stowage material, crew’s effects and passengers’accompanied baggage (IMO)
3) Any property carried on an aircraft, other than mail,stores and accompanied or mishandled baggage Also referred to as ‘goods’ (ICAO)

Cargo Handling
All procedures necessary to enable the physical handling of goods.

Cargo Tracer
A document sent by the agent to all relevant parties, stating that certain cargo is either missing or over-landed.

Cargo Unit
A vehicle, container, pallet, flat, portable tank or any other entity or any part thereof which belongs to the ship but is not permanently attached to that ship.

Carriage
The process of transporting (conveying) cargo, from one point to another.

Carriage and Insurance Paid 
…named place of destination)
Abbreviation: CIP

Carriage Paid To
(…named place of destination)
Abbreviation: CPT

Carrier
The party undertaking transport of goods from one point to another.

Carrier Haulage
The inland transport service, which is performed by the sea-carrier under the terms and conditions of the tariff and of the relevant transport document.

Carriers Bill of Lading Ports
Terminal, Pre-terminal port or Post-terminal Port as per tariff, indicated on the Bill of Lading and which is not the port physically called at by Carriers’ ocean vessels.
Note: Under normal circumstances in the B/L only ports should be mentioned which are actually called at.

Carriers Lien
When the shipper ships goods ‘collect’, the carrier has a possessory claim on these goods, which means that the carrier can retain possession of the goods as security for the charges due.

Cartage
Abbreviation: CAD
Terms of payment: if the buyer of goods pays for the goods against transfer of the documents, entitling him to obtain delivery of the goods from the carrier.

Cash On Delivery
Abbreviation: COD
Terms of payment: if the carrier collects a payment from the consignee and remits the amount to the shipper (air cargo).

Caveat Emptor
Let the buyer beware, purchaser must ascertain the condition of the goods to be purchased prior to the purchase.

Cellular Vessel
A vessel, specially designed and equipped for the carriage of containers.

CENSA
Council of European and Japanese National Shipowner’s Associations.

Certificate of Classification
A certificate, issued by the classification society and stating the class under which a vessel is registered.

Certificate of Origin
A certificate, showing the country of original production of goods. Frequently used by customs in ascertaining duties under preferential tariff programmes or in connection with regulating imports from specific sources.

Charge
An amount to be paid for carriage of goods based on the applicable rate of such carriage, or an amount to be paid for a special or incidental service in connection with the carriage of goods.

Charge Type
A separate, identifiable element of charges to be used in the pricing/rating of common services rendered to customers.

Charter Party
1) A contract in which the shipowner agrees to place his vessel or a part of it at the disposal of a third party, the charterer, for the carriage of goods for which he receives a freight per ton cargo, or to let his vessel for a definite period or trip for which a hire is paid.
2) synonym: Charter Contract

Charterer
The legal person who has signed a charter party with the owner of a vessel or an aircraft and thus hires or leases a vessel or an aircraft or a part of the capacity thereof.

Chassis
1) A wheeled carriage onto which an ocean container is mounted for inland conveyance.
2) The part of a motor vehicle that includes the engine, the frame, suspension system, wheels, steering mechanism etc., but not the body.

Claim
A charge made against a carrier for loss, damage or delay.

Classification
Arrangement according to a systematic division of a number of objects into groups, based on some likeness or some common traits.

Classification Society
An Organisation, whose main function is to carry out surveys of vessels, its purpose being to set and maintain standards of construction and upkeep for vessels, their engines and their safety equipment. A classification society also inspects and approves the construction of containers.

Clean Bill of Lading
A Bill of Lading which does not contain any qualification about the apparent order and condition of the goods to be transported (it bears no stamped clauses on the front of the B/L). It bears no superimposed clauses expressly declaring a defective condition of the goods or packaging (resolution of the ICS 1951).

Clean on Board
When goods are loaded on board and the document issued in respect to these goods is clean.
Note:Through the usage of the UCP 500 rules the term has now become superfluous.

Client
A party with which a company has a commercial relationship concerning the transport of e.g. cargo or concerning certain services of the company concerned, either directly or through an agent.

Co-loading
The loading, on the way, of cargo from another shipper, having the same final destination as the cargo loaded earlier.

Combined Transport
Intermodal transport where the major part of the journey is by one mode such as rail, inland waterway or sea and any initial and/or final leg carried out by another mode such as road.

Combined Transport 
Abbreviation: CTD

Document
Negotiable or non-negotiable document evidencing a contract for the performance and/or procurement of performance of combined transport of goods.
Thus a combined transport document is a document issued by a Carrier who contracts as a principal with the Merchant to effect a combined transport often on a door-to-door basis.

Combined Transport Operator
Abbreviation: CTO
A party who undertakes to carry goods with different modes of transport.

Commercial Invoice
A document showing commercial values of the transaction between the buyer and seller.

Commodity
Indication of the type of goods. Commodities are coded according to the harmonised system.

Conditions
1) Anything called for as requirements before the performance or completion of something else
2) Contractual stipulations which are printed on a document or provided separately

Conditions of Carriage
The general terms and conditions established by a carrier in respect of the carriage (air cargo).

Conditions of Contract
Terms and conditions shown on the Air Waybill (air cargo).

Conference
Accumulation of vessels at a port to the extent that vessels arriving to load or discharge are obliged to wait for a vacant berth.

Consignee
The party such as mentioned in the transport document by whom the goods, cargo or containers are to be received.

Consignment
A separate identifiable number of goods (available to be) transported from one consignor to one consignee via one or more than one modes of transport and specified in one single transport document.

Consignment Instructions
Instructions from either the seller/consignor or the buyer/consignee to a freight forwarder, carrier or his agent, or other provider of a service, enabling the movement of goods and associated activities. The following functions can be covered:
i) Movement and handling of goods (shipping, forwarding and stowage)
ii) Customs formalities
iii) Distribution of documents
iii) Allocation of documents (freight and charges for the connected operations).
iv) Special instructions (insurance, dangerous goods, goods release, additional documents required).

Consignment Note
A document prepared by the shipper and comprising a transport contract. It contains details of the consignment to be carried to the port of loading and it is signed by the inland carrier as proof of receipt.

Consignor
To group and stuff several shipments together in one container.

Consolidated Container
Container stuffed with several shipments (consignments) from different shippers for delivery to one or more consignees.

Consolidation
The grouping together of smaller consignments of goods into a large consignment for carriage as a larger unit in order to obtain a reduced rate.

Consolidation Point
Location where consolidation of consignments takes place.

Consolidator
A firm or company which consolidates cargo.

Consortium
Consortium is a form of co-operation between two or more carriers to operate in a particular trade.

Container
An item of equipment as defined by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) for transport purposes. It must be of:
i) a permanent character and accordingly strong enough to be suitable for repeated use.
ii) specially designed to facilitate the carriage of goods, by one or more modes of transport without intermediate reloading.
iii) fitted with devices permitting its ready handling, particularly from one mode of transport to another
iv) so designed as to be easy to fill and empty
v) having an internal volume of 1 m3 or more
The term container includes neither vehicles nor conventional packing.

Container Check Digit
The 7th digit of the serial number of a container used to check whether prefix and serial number are correct.

Container Depot
Storage area for empty containers.

Container Freight Station
Abbreviation: CFS
A facility at which (export) LCL cargo is received from merchants for loading (stuffing) into containers or at which (import) LCL cargo is unloaded (stripped) from containers and delivered to merchants.

Container Lease
The contract by which the owner of containers (lessor) gives the use of containers to a lessee for a specified period of time and for fixed payments.

Container Load Plan (CLP)
A list of items loaded in a specific container and where appropriate their sequence of loading.

Container Manifest
The document specifying the contents of particular freight containers or other transport units, prepared by the party responsible for their loading into the container or unit.

Container Number
Identification number of a container consisting of prefix and serial number and check digit. (e.g. KNLU 123456-7)

Container Prefix
A four letter code that forms the first part of a container identification number indicating the owner of a container.

Container Size Code
An indication of 2 digits of the nominal length and nominal height.

Container Terminal
Place where loaded and/or empty containers are loaded or discharged into or from a means of transport.
Container Yard
Abbreviation: CY
A facility at which FCL traffic and empty containers are received from or delivered to the Merchant by or on behalf of the Carrier.
Note: Often this yard is used to receive goods on behalf of the merchant and pack these in containers for FCL traffic.

Containerised
Indication that goods have been stowed in a container.

Contraband
Goods forbidden by national law to be imported or exported.

Contract
An agreement enforceable by law between two or more parties stipulating their rights and obligations which are required by one or both parties to acts or forbearance by the other or both.

Conventional Cargo
General cargo conventionally stowed as opposed to unitised, containerised and Roll On-Roll Off cargo.

Cost and Freight
(…named port of destination)
Abbreviation: CFR

Cost, Insurance and Freight
(…named port of destination)
Abbreviation: CIF

Crew Member
Any person actually employed for duties on board during a voyage in the working or service of a ship and included in the crew list (IMO).

Cruise Ship
A ship on an international voyage carrying passengers participating in a group program and accommodated on board, for the purpose of making scheduled temporary tourist visits at one or more different ports, and which during the voyage does not normally:
(a) embark or disembark any other passengers

(b) load or discharge any cargo.

Currency Adjustment Factor
Abbreviation: CAF
Adjustment applied by lines or liner conferences on freight rates to offset losses or gains for carriers resulting from fluctuations in exchange rates of tariff currencies.

Customs
The department of the Civil Service that deals with the levying of duties and taxes on imported goods from foreign countries and the control over the export and import of goods e.g. allowed quota prohibited goods.

Customs Broker
An authorised agent specialised in customs clearance procedures on account of importers/exporters.

Customs Clearance Agent
Customs broker or other agent of the consignee designated to perform customs clearance services for the consignee.

Customs Invoice
Document required by the customs in an importing country in which an exporter states the invoice or other price (e.g.selling price, price of identical goods), and specifies costs for freight, insurance and packing etc., terms of delivery and payment, for the purpose of determining the customs value in the importing country of goods consigned to that country.

Customs Value
The worth of an item or group of items expressed in a monetary amount, within a consignment declared to Customs for duty and statistical reasons.

Damaged Cargo Report
Written statement concerning established damages to cargo and/or equipment.

Dangerous Goods
Goods are to be considered dangerous if the transport of such goods might cause harm, risk, peril, or other evil to people, environment, equipment or any property whatsoever.

Dangerous Goods Declaration
Document issued by a consignor in accordance with applicable conventions or regulations, describing hazardous goods or materials for transport purposes, and stating that the latter have been packed and labelled in accordance with the provisions of the relevant conventions or regulations.

Dangerous Goods Packing Certificate
A document as part of the dangerous goods declaration in which the responsible party declares that the cargo has been stowed in accordance with the rules in a clean container in compliance with the IMDG regulations and properly secured.

Deadfreight
Slots paid for but not used.

Deadweight
Abbreviation: DWT
The total weight of cargo, cargo equipment, bunkers, provisions,
water, stores and spare parts which a vessel can lift when loaded to her maximum draught as applicable under the circumstances. The dead-weight is expressed in tons.

Degroupage
Splitting up shipments into small consignments.

Delivered Duty Paid
(…named place of destination)
Abbreviation: DDP

Delivered Duty Unpaid
(…named place of destination) Abbreviation: DDU

Delivered Ex Quay
(…named port of destination)
Abbreviation: DEQ

Delivered Ex Ship
(…named port of destination)
Abbreviation: DES

Delivery Instruction
Document issued by a buyer giving instructions regarding the details of the delivery of goods ordered.

Delivery Note
A document recording the delivery of products to a consignee (customer).

Delivery Order
i) A carrier’s delivery order (negotiable document) is used for splitting a B/L (after surrender) in different parcels and have the same function as a B/L.
ii) The authorisation of the entitled party for the shipment to a party other than the consignee showed on the Air Waybill (air cargo)

Demurrage
i) A variable fee charged to carriers and/or customers for the use of Unit Load Devices (ULD’s) owned by a carrier beyond the free time of shipment
ii) Additional charge imposed for exceeding the free time, which is included in the rate and allowed for the use of certain equipment at the terminal

Despatch Advice
Information send by shippers to the recipient of goods informing that specified goods are sent or ready to be sent advising the detailed contents of the consignment.

Destination
i) Place for which goods or a vehicle is bound
ii) The ultimate stopping place according to the contract of carriage (air cargo)

Detention
Keeping equipment beyond the time allowed.

Detention Charge
Charges levied on usage of equipment exceeding free time period as stipulated in the pertinent inland rules and conditions.

Devanning
See Stripping, UnpackingDeviation from a Route A divergence from the agreed or customary route.

Dimensions
Measurements in length, width and height, regarding cargo.

Direct Delivery
i) The conveyance of goods directly from the vendor to the buyer. Frequently used if a third party acts as intermediary agent between vendor and buyer.
ii) Direct discharge from vessel onto railroad car, road vehicle or barge with the purpose of immediate transport from the port area (usually occurs when ports lack adequate storage space or when ports are not equipped to handle a specific cargo).

Direct Interchange
Transfer of leased equipment from one lessee to another (container).

Direct Route
The shortest operated route between two points.

Discharge
i) The unloading of a vehicle, a vessel or an aircraft
ii) The anding of cargo

Discrepancy
Difference between the particulars given and the particulars found.

Distribution Centre
A warehouse for the receipt, the storage and the dispersal of goods among customers.

Distribution Channel
The route by which a company distributes goods.

Door to Door Transport
The transport of cargo from the premises of the consignor to the premises of the consignee.
Note: In the United States the term ‘Point to Point Transport’ is used instead of the term ‘Door to Door Transport’, because the term ‘house’ may mean ‘customs house’ or ‘brokers house’,which are usually located in the port.

Double Stack Train
A number of railway wagons, usually a block train, on which containers can be stacked two- high.

Draft
The draft of a vessel is the vertical distance between the waterline and the underside of the keel of the vessel. During the construction of a vessel the marks showing the draft are welded on each side of the vessel near the stem, the stern and amidships.

Drawback
Repayment of any part of customs or excise duties previously collected on imported goods, when those goods are exported again.

Drayage
i) The hauling of a load by a cart with detachable sides (dray).
ii) Road transportation between the nearest railway terminal and the stuffing place

Drop off Charge
Charge made by container owner and/or terminal operators for delivery of a leased, or pool container into depot stock.The drop-off charge may be a combination of actual handling and storage charges with surcharges.

Dunnage
Stowage material, mainly timber or board, used to prevent damage to cargo during carriage.

Duty Free Zone
An area where goods or cargo can be stored without paying import customs duties awaiting further transport or manufacturing.

Said to Contain
Abbreviation: STC
Term in a Bill of Lading signifying that the master and the carrier are unaware of the nature or quantity of the contents of e.g. a carton, crate, container or bundle and are relying on the description furnished by the shipper.

Salvage
The saving or rescue of a vessel and/or the cargo from loss and/or damage at sea.

Schedule
A timetable including arrival/departure times of ocean- and feeder vessels and also inland transportation. It refers to named ports in a specific voyage (journey) within a certain trade indicating the voyage number(s). In general: The plan of times for starting and/or finishing activities.

Seal
A device used for containers, lockers, trucks or lorries to proof relevant parties that they have remained closed during transport.

Seaworthiness
Fitness of a vessel to travel in open sea mostly related to a particular voyage with a particular cargo.

Seller
Party selling merchandise to a buyer.

Sender
A service Bill (of Lading) is a contract of carriage issued by one carrier to another for documentary and internal control purposes
For internal documentary and control purposes a so-called participating agent in a consortium uses some kind of document which, depending on the trade, is referred to as ‘Memo Bill’ which will among others state:
i) Name of Carrier on whose behalf the original document (Way Bill, Bill of Lading, etc.) was issued
ii) Name of Carrier on whose behalf the original document (Way Bill, Bill of Lading, etc.) was issued
iii) The original document number. The agent who issued the original document and his opponent at the discharging side
iv) The number of packages, weight and measurement, marks and numbers and goods description
Further mandatory details in case of special cargo
No freight details will be mentioned and the Memo Bill is not a contract of carriage.
Acts as intermediary between shipowners or carriers by sea on the one hand and cargo interests on the other. The functions are to act as forwarding agent or custom broker, fixing of charters, and acting as chartering agent.

Ship Operator
A ship operator is either the shipowner or the (legal) person responsible for the actual management of the vessel and its crew.

Ship’s Protest
Statement of the master of a vessel before (in the presence of) competent authorities, concerning exceptional events which occurred during a voyage.

ShipLeasing Company
The company from which property or equipment is taken on lease.

Shipment
A separately identifiable collection of goods to be carried.
Note: In the United States of America the word shipment is used instead of the word consignment.
The (legal) person officially registered as such in the certificate of registry where the following particulars are contained:
i) Name of vessel and port of registry.
ii) Details contained in surveyors certificate.
iii) The particulars respecting the origin stated in the declaration of ownership.
iv) The name and description of the registered owner, if more than one owner the proportionate share of each.

Shipper
The merchant (person) by whom, in whose name or on whose behalf a contract of carriage of goods has been concluded with a carrier or any party by whom, in whose name or on whose behalf the goods are actually delivered to the carrier in relation to the contract of carriage.

Shipper’s Export Declaration
Abbreviation: SED
A United States customs form to be completed for all exports to assist the government in compiling export statistics.

Shipper’s Letter of Instruction
Abbreviation: SLI
A document containing instructions given by the shipper or the shipper’s agent for preparing documents and forwarding (air cargo).

Shipping Documents
Documents required for the carriage of goods.

Shipping Instruction
Document advising details of cargo and exporter’s requirements of its physical movement.

Shipping Label
A label attached to a unit, containing certain data.

Shipping Marks
The identification shown on individual packages in order to help in moving it without delay or confusion to its final destination and to enable the checking of cargo against documents.

Shipping Note
Document provided by the shipper or his agent to the carrier, multimodal transport operator, terminal or other receiving authority, giving information about export consignments offered for transport, and providing for the necessary receipts and declarations of liability.

Shortage
The negative difference between actual available or delivered quantity and the required quantity.

Shrink Wrapping
Heat treatment that shrinks an envelope of polyethylene or similar substance around several units, thus forming one unit. It is used e.g. to secure packages on a pallet.

Slot
The space on board a vessel, required by one TEU, mainly used for administrative purposes.

Slot Charter
A voyage charter whereby the shipowner agrees to place a certain number of container slots (TEU and/or FEU) at the charterer’s disposal.

Special Drawing Rights
Abbreviation: SDR
Unit of account from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), i.a. used to express the amount of the limitations of a carrier’s liability.

Special Rate
A rate other than a normal rate.

Stability
The capacity of a vessel to return to its original position after having been displaced by external forces. The stability of a vessel depends on the meta-centric height.

Stack
An identifiable amount of containers stowed in a orderly way in one specified place on an (ocean) terminal, container freight station, container yard or depot.

Storage
The activity of placing goods into a store or the state of being in store (e.g. a warehouse).

Storage Charge
The fee for keeping goods in a warehouse.

Stowage
The placing and securing of cargo or containers on board a vessel or an aircraft or of cargo in a container.

Stowage Factor
Ratio of a cargo’s cubic measurement to its weight, expressed in cubic feet to the ton or cubic metres to the tonne, used in order to determine the total quantity of cargo which can be loaded in a certain space.

Stowage Instructions
mperative details about the way certain cargo is to be stowed, given by the shipper or his agent.

Stowage Plan
A plan indicating the locations on the vessel of all the consignments for the benefit of stevedores and vessel’s officers.

Stripping
The unloading of cargo out of a container.

Stuffing
The loading of cargo into a container.

Supply Chain
A sequence of events in a goods flow which adds to the value of a specific good. These events may include:
conversion
assembling and/or disassembling
movements and placements

Supply Vessel
Vessel which carries stock and stores to offshore drilling rigs, platforms.

Surcharge
An additional charge added to the usual or customary freight.

Survey
An inspection of a certain item or object by a recognised specialist.

Surveyor
A specialist who carries out surveys.
Note: A surveyor is often representing a classification bureau or a governmental body.