Marine Bulk Liquids Transportation Use Case

Documents

Bill of Lading (B/L)

A document that establishes the terms of a contract between a shipper and a transportation company. It serves as a document of title, a contract of carriage and a receipt for goods.

Booking

Arrangements with a carrier for the acceptance and carriage of freight; i.e., a space reservation.

Charter Party

A written contract between the owner of a vessel and the person desiring to employ the vessel (charterer); sets forth the terms of the arrangement such as duration of agreement, freight rate and ports involved in the trip.

Entities

Broker

A person who arranges for transportation of loads for a percentage of the revenue from the load.

Charterer

The person desiring to employ a vessel.

Customhouse Broker

A person or firm, licensed by the treasury department of their country when required, engaged in entering and clearing goods through Customs for a client (importer).

Commodity

Article shipped. For dangerous and hazardous cargo, the correct commodity identification is critical.

Freight Forwarder

A person whose business is to act as an agent on behalf of the shipper. A freight forwarder frequently makes the booking reservation.

Ship Owner/Operator

The transportation company that owns and operates the transport vessel(s) and is responsible for the safe transport of the commodity.

Shipper

The entity that ships commodity.

Surveyor

A person whose business is to act as an agent on behalf of the shipper. A surveyor verifies the quantity of the commodity at transfer points specified by the shipper.

Transport Process

• Shipper contacts Broker to arrange for shipment of commodity, negotiates terms of transportation (the Charter Party)
• Broker arranges Booking with Ship Operator.
• At this point, Broker or Shipper can assume role of the Charterer. This is a level of service that Broker may offer.
• Third parties (Surveyor(s), Freight Forwarder, Customhouse broker) are nominated by the Charterer. Nomination includes estimated date/time for commodity handling. A third party can accept or decline the nomination. Any of these can change while commodity is in transit but change may be subject to terms of the Charter Party. Surveyors are optionally nominated for each transfer point.
• Charterer contacts ship owner/operator with details of the transport (Charter Party), which includes product to transport, ports (load, unload, transfer), customer specific product handling rules, etc., and third party contacts.
• When the commodity is loaded, the Bill of Lading is transferred to the Ship Operator.
• The Ship Operator contacts the various third parties prior to the cargo arriving at the point where third party needs to do their job. Documents are prepared and sent from ship operator to third party.
• Customhouse Broker, Ship Surveyors (transfer points), and Freight Forwarder all contact the Charterer when they complete their commitments.
• Note that commodity availability is subject to the Charter Party. For example, if the product is not available for loading at the time stated in the Charter Party, then the shipper may have to pay for the ship’s delay (demurrage).