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Shipping Glossary

Shipping Glossary

ABS
American classification society which has established rules and regulations for the classification of seagoing vessels or equipment.
ACEP
An agreement between the owners of the equipment and the responsible governmental body to allow continuous examination of the equipment (e.g. containers).
ADR
A European agreement concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by road.
AGVS
Automated guided vehicle system.
ASYCUDA
Automated System for Customs Data. This program dealing with customs declarations has been developed by UNCTAD and is presently used by some 75 countries.

Abeam

Automated System for Customs Data. This Alongside, near amidships. For navigational purposes in the direction of a right angle to the ship’s heading.
Absorption
Acceptance by the carrier of a portion of a joint rate or charge which is less than the amount which it would receive for the service in the absence of such joint rate or charge.
Acceptance of Goods
The process of receiving a consignment from a consignor, usually against the issue of a receipt. As from this moment and on this place the carrier’s responsibility for the consignment begins.
Accommodation ladder
Movable steps arranged temporary alongside e.g. a quay to allow access on board for officials, crew or passengers.
Accompanied Transport
The transport of complete road vehicles by another means of transport (e.g. train, ferry accompanied by the driver).
Accord Relatif aux Transports Internationaux de Denrees Perissables et aux Engins Speciaux a Utiliser pour ces Transports Abbreviation: ATP Agreement on the international carriage of perishable foodstuffs and on the special equipment to be used for such carriage.
Acknowledgement of Receipt
A notification relating to the receipt of e.g. goods, messages and documents.
Act of God
Accidents of a nature beyond human control such as flood, lightning or hurricane usually quoted as ‘force majeure’.
Active Inventory
Covers raw material, work in progress, finished products, which will be used or sold within a given period without extra cost or loss. This term does not cover the so-called reserve inventory.
Actual Demand
Customer orders and often also the allocation of items, ingredients and/or raw materials to production or distribution.
Actual Voyage Number  
A code for identification purposes of the voyage and vessel which actually transports the container/cargo.
Ad Valorem
In proportion to the value: A phrase applied to certain freight or customs duties levied on goods, property, etc. set as a percentage of their value.
Advance Arrangement
An agreement between the shipper and the carrier, concerning contacts between those parties prior to tendering the consignment.
Advanced Amount
Quantity of cash or cash equivalents expressed in a monetary amount given to a driver to cover expenses during a trip.
Advanced Charge
A charge paid by a carrier to an agent or to another carrier, which the delivering carrier then collects from the consignee. Such charges are usually for agents’ forwarding fees and incidental expenses paid out of pocket for account of the shipment by an agent or other carrier.
Advanced Interline
An interline carrier that picks up cargo from the shipper and delivers it to another carrier for shipment to the consignee.
Advice Note
A written piece of information e.g. about the status of the goods.
Aeroquip System
Special accessories in a container consisting of among others the attachment rails on the inside walls to provide facilities for lashing and separation of the cargo.
B/L –
Sea Bill of Lading
BC Code –
Safe working practice code for solid bulk cargo.
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.
Damage Report
Form on which physical damage is recorded (e.g. containers)
Damaged Cargo Report
Written statement concerning established damages to cargo and/or equipment.
EDI For Administration, Commerce and Transport
Abbreviation: UN/EDIFACT The ISO application level syntax rules for the structuring of user data and of the associated service data in the interchange of messages in an open environment.
Econometric Models
A system of simultaneous equations for forecasting, based on mutual dependency among the variables used.
FAL
Facilitation Committee of the IMO.
FMC
Federal Maritime Commission (Control of Shipping acts USA)
Gang
A number of workmen acting together especially for loading and/or discharging operations of a vessel in combination with the necessary gear. (On a vessel for instance 6 gangs can be ordered to discharge or load.)
Hague Protocol
Amendment of the Warsaw convention at The Hague, September 28, 1955 (air cargo).
Hague Rules
International convention for the unification of certain rules, relating to Bills of Lading (1924). These Rules include the description of responsibilities of Shipping Lines.
Identification
The unique data, e.g. name, number or code, determining a certain object or person.
Idle Time
The amount of ineffective time whereby the available resources are not used e.g. a container in a yard.
Jetsam
Goods thrown or lost.
Jettison
The act of intentionally throwing cargo overboard e.g. with the objective of lightening a vessel, which has run aground, such for the common good of all interests: vessel, crew and remaining cargo.
Kanban
A method which during storage uses standard units or lot sizes with a single card attached to each. A pull system used at a stock point in which a supply batch is ordered only when a previous batch is withdrawn. Note: Kanban in Japanese means loosely translated ‘card or sign’.
Keel
Longitudinal girder at the lowest point of a vessel from which the framework is built.
Label
A slip of e.g. paper or metal attached to an object to indicate the nature, ownership, destination, contents and/or other particulars of the object.
Laden Vessel
Vessel where cargo has been put on board.
Mafi Trailer
German brand name of a roll trailer used for RoRo purposes.
Maiden Trip
First voyage of a vessel or aircraft after delivery from new-building to her owner(s).
Navigation
The act of determining position, location and course to the destination of an aircraft or a vessel.
Negligence
Imprudent action or omission which may cause injury, damage or loss
Object
A tangible of abstract thing of relevance to business.
Object Oriented Approach
The development of classes of business objects may support and have an impact on the developments in the area of simplification of EDI and its standards. A business object is a true representation of a tangible concept stemming from real business usage.
P & I Club
Abbreviation: P & I club A mutual association of shipowners who provide protection against liabilities by means of contributions.
Package
1. Any physical piece of cargo in relation to transport consisting of the contents and its packing for the purpose of ease of handling by manual or mechanical means.

2. The final product of the packing operation consisting of the packing and its contents to facilitate manual or mechanical handling.

Qualifier
A data element whose value shall be expressed as a code that gives specific meaning to the function of another data element or a segment.
Quality (ISO8402)
The totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.
Note: The ISO9000 standards on quality management and quality assurance consists of 4 standards: 9000 guidelines for selection and use, 9001 model for quality assurance in design/development 9002 model for quality assurance in production and installation, 9003 model for quality assurance in final inspection and test, and 9004 guidelines for quality management and quality system elements, part 2 are guidelines for services.
Rail Car
A wheeled wagon used for the carriage of cargo by rail.
Rail Consignment Note
A document evidencing a contract for the transport of goods by rail.
SITPRO
National organisation for the Simplification of International Trade Procedures in the United Kingdom (e.g. in The Netherlands SITPRO is called ‘Sitproneth’, in France ‘Simprofrance’ and in Japan ‘Jastpro’).
Safe Working Load
Abbreviation: SWL The maximum load any lifting appliance may handle.
(TARIC)
The integrated customs tariff of the community.
TIR
Transport International des Merchandises par la Route.
Ullage
Free space above a liquid contained in a tank, drum or tank-container, expressed as a percentage of the total capacity. Ullage is often used to leave room for possible expansion of the liquid.
Ultimate Consignee
Party who has been designated on the invoice or packing list as the final recipient of the stated merchandise.
Vacuum Packing
A packaging technique that sucks all the air and moisture from a product, packing the goods in a vacuum. This reduces the size of the product, allowing more goods to be packed.
Validation Rule
The validation rules are a subset of the business rules defining constraints on the logical data model. They are expressed in the definitions of entities, domains and attributes.
Waiting Time
The period of time between the moment at which one is ready for an activity to start and the moment at which this activity can actually begin.
Waiver Clause
Clause in a marine insurance policy stating that no acts of the insurer or insured in recovering, saving or preserving the property insured, shall be considered a dismissal from or acceptance of abandonment.
Yard
Fenced off, outdoor storage and repair area.
Yaw
Variation of the course of a ship to port or starboard caused by the action of waves or wind.
Zodiac
A rubber dinghy. An inflatable craft for the transport of people.
Zone
Area, belt or district extending about a certain point defined for transport and/or charge purpose.

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