FAS (Free Alongside Ship) is an Incoterm restricted to sea and inland waterway shipments. The seller delivers the goods alongside the vessel at the named port of shipment, cleared for export. Risk transfers to the buyer at that alongside point — before the goods are loaded on board. The buyer then arranges and pays for loading, ocean freight, insurance, and everything to destination.

What is the difference between FAS and FOB?

Under FAS, risk transfers when goods are placed alongside the vessel — before loading. Under FOB, risk transfers once goods are loaded on board. That single distinction determines who bears the risk of loading damage and who typically pays for stevedoring, crane, or vessel-loading costs. FAS is used for bulk, breakbulk and project cargo where loading is a separate, often significant, cost. FOB dominates containerised trades.

Is FAS suitable for container shipments?

No, not really. FAS assumes the seller physically delivers cargo to the quayside alongside a named vessel. For containers, the seller typically hands the sealed unit to a terminal days before vessel loading — no one places a container alongside a specific ship. For containers use FCA (recommended by the ICC) or FOB (historically dominant despite technical mismatch).

When is FAS actually used?

FAS is common in bulk commodity trades (grain, ore, coal, fertiliser), breakbulk (steel coils, timber, machinery, wind-turbine components), and project cargo (heavy plant, out-of-gauge equipment) where the cargo is physically delivered to the quay and loaded onto a nominated vessel or barge by the buyer's arrangements.

What is FAS? Free Alongside Ship, Explained

Last reviewed: August 2026. Written by a UK freight forwarding professional with 32 years of international logistics experience.

FAS (Free Alongside Ship) is one of the four sea-only Incoterms — used almost exclusively for bulk, breakbulk and project cargo where the seller physically delivers the goods to the quay, and the buyer takes over from that alongside point. It's a niche term for containerised trade but crucial to get right when it applies.

In one sentence

Under FAS, the seller's obligation ends when the goods are placed alongside the buyer's nominated vessel at the named port of shipment, cleared for export. The buyer then bears the risk and pays for loading onto the vessel, the ocean freight, insurance, destination charges, import clearance, duty, VAT and delivery to door.

Key nuance: "Alongside" means placed on the quay next to the ship, in a barge alongside, or in another agreed pre-loading position. It does not mean loaded on board. That distinction — one word — is what separates FAS from FOB, and it decides who is exposed to loading damage, crane fees, stevedoring costs and vessel waiting time.

FAS responsibility — who does what

Activity	Seller	Buyer
Goods, packing, commercial invoice	Yes	—
Inland transport to named port	Yes	—
Export clearance	Yes	—
Delivery alongside the vessel at named port	Yes	—
Loading onto the vessel (stevedoring, cranes)	—	Yes
Ocean freight	—	Yes
Marine cargo insurance	—	Yes (strongly recommended)
Destination port charges	—	Yes
Import clearance, duty, VAT	—	Yes
Delivery from UK port to door	—	Yes

Where FAS is actually used

FAS is rarely the right choice for containerised consumer goods — but it has a real, active place in the world of bulk, breakbulk and project cargo. Typical examples:

Bulk commodities: grain, ore, coal, cement, fertiliser — cargo delivered to the quay in loose form, then loaded by ship's own gear or shoreside cranes into the vessel's holds.
Breakbulk cargo: steel coils, timber, palletised bagged goods, machinery, tractor units, industrial pipework — items too large or oddly shaped for standard containers, delivered piece-by-piece and loaded individually.
Project cargo: wind turbine components (blades, towers, nacelles), transformers, large steel structures, oil and gas modules — often on flat-rack, breakbulk vessel, or heavy-lift ship arrangements.
Steel from Europe and Turkey: traditional FAS lane. Seller delivers to the quay at Antwerp, Rotterdam, Genoa or Iskenderun; buyer's charter or breakbulk service handles loading.
Timber from the Baltic: historic FAS trade. Cargo delivered alongside at the Baltic ports for onward shipment.
Vehicle exports (RoRo alternative): occasionally used for used cars or trucks delivered to a port for loading on a RoRo vessel by the buyer's stevedores.

Where FAS is the wrong choice

Do not use FAS for:

Standard containerised cargo. Sealed containers are handed to a terminal days before vessel loading — no one places a container alongside a specific vessel. Use FCA (technically correct) or FOB (traditional and widely accepted).
Airfreight, road or rail. FAS is sea/inland-waterway only. For air, use FCA. For road, use FCA or DAP.
Small consignments where the loading logistics are trivial. FAS's whole point is that "alongside" is meaningfully different from "on board" because loading is a real cost — for a single pallet, it's not.
Trades where the buyer has no vessel arrangement. FAS assumes the buyer has organised the vessel or space; if not, the goods will sit on the quay accruing storage.

Worked example — FAS Antwerp, steel to UK

A UK importer buys 240 tonnes of steel structural sections on FAS Antwerp terms.

Goods FAS Antwerp: £142,000 (seller's price includes truck delivery to quay, export clearance, quayside placement)
Buyer arranges charter or spot booking on a shortsea breakbulk vessel Antwerp → Immingham: £16,500
Buyer arranges stevedoring at Antwerp for loading on board: £2,800
Buyer's marine cargo insurance (Institute Cargo Clauses A, from alongside): £180
UK port charges at Immingham (unloading, port dues, doc fee): £3,900
UK customs entry via broker: £85
UK duty on structural steel sections (varies by commodity code, assume 0% under UK-EU TCA with valid statement on origin): £0
Import VAT: 20% via PVA (net zero cash effect)
Onward road delivery Immingham → buyer's yard in Sheffield: £680
Total landed cost: ~£166,145

The loading cost matters: Under FOB, the £2,800 stevedoring at Antwerp would have been the seller's cost (already included in the FOB price). Under FAS, it's an explicit line the buyer has to arrange, book, contract and manage. On a straightforward stevedoring lane like Antwerp this is manageable. On less predictable lanes (project cargo, remote ports) it can produce nasty surprises.

When FAS makes sense as a buyer

You control the vessel or charter. If your business books charters, part-cargoes, or has strong stevedoring relationships at the load port, FAS lets you keep control of loading arrangements — often at better rates than the seller would negotiate.
You have marine cargo insurance from the alongside point. Your policy should be checked to confirm it attaches when goods are placed alongside, not just when loaded aboard.
The seller has quayside expertise but no vessel loading capability. Common for smaller mills, yards and manufacturers who can truck cargo to the port but don't manage vessel loading themselves.
Bulk or breakbulk consolidations where you're consolidating cargo from multiple sellers at the same port before loading a single vessel.

Where FAS commonly goes wrong

Vague named place. "FAS Belgium" or "FAS Europe" is meaningless. Specify the port, the berth, and the loading position: "FAS berth 218, Antwerp Port, Incoterms 2020".
Assuming the seller loads. Under FAS, loading onto the vessel is the buyer's responsibility. Contract disputes over "who was supposed to book the crane" are common on first-time FAS deals.
Insurance not attaching from alongside. Some policies attach only when the goods are on board or in transit. Under FAS, the risk is yours from alongside — check your policy wording.
Vessel delay. If the buyer's nominated vessel is delayed by a week, cargo sits on the quay accruing storage. The FAS contract should specify who bears storage costs during unforeseen delays.
Missing packing declarations. Some destinations (e.g. Australia, US) require ISPM-15 fumigation declarations for wooden packaging. Under FAS the seller usually provides these, but the buyer should confirm before quay handover.
Using FAS for containers. If the "vessel" is actually a container ship, FAS is a mismatch. Switch to FCA or FOB.

FAS vs FOB — the key comparison

These two sea-freight Incoterms look almost identical on paper, but the difference matters in bulk and breakbulk:

	FAS	FOB
Seller delivers to	Alongside the vessel	On board the vessel
Loading cost paid by	Buyer	Seller
Risk during loading	Buyer	Seller
Typical trades	Bulk, breakbulk, project	Historically containers; also breakbulk
Named place format	FAS [port + berth]	FOB [port]
Buyer needs	Vessel + loading arrangement	Vessel booking only

For most UK importers, FOB is the more familiar and safer default unless there's a specific commercial reason to use FAS. When in doubt, ask your freight forwarder to review the underlying loading arrangement before agreeing to FAS.

Questions to settle before agreeing FAS

Exact named place: port, berth, loading position, and the vessel or vessel-type expected.
Who books and pays for: stevedores, cranes, dockers' labour, vessel loading time, port pass fees.
Cargo insurance: attaches from the moment goods are alongside; ICC (A) all-risks cover recommended for higher-value cargo.
Vessel delay: who pays for storage, demurrage, and any deterioration if the vessel is delayed?
Export documents: commercial invoice, packing list, ISPM-15 for wooden packaging, certificate of origin if preferential duty is being claimed.
Charter party interaction: if the buyer has a charter party with a shipowner, how does FAS interact with the charter party terms (laytime, notice of readiness, etc.)?
Damaged cargo protocol: if cargo is damaged during loading, who is on hook — buyer (risk from alongside), or seller (contractually if the damage arose before alongside handover)?

FAS documentation checklist

For a smooth FAS shipment, the buyer should ensure they receive from the seller:

Commercial invoice specifying FAS terms, port, berth
Packing list with weights, dimensions, marks and numbers
Export clearance evidence (customs declaration reference)
Any required certificates: origin, phytosanitary, health, radiation, ISPM-15
Advice of readiness at quay (date, time, exact position)
Photos of cargo condition at alongside handover (helpful for later disputes)

And the buyer should have in place:

Vessel booking or charter party
Stevedoring contract at the load port
Marine cargo insurance certificate covering from alongside
Bill of Lading or Mate's Receipt process agreed with the shipowner

Practical shipment example — steel coils from Genoa

A UK stockholder buys 6 x 22-tonne steel coils from a mill in Northern Italy on FAS Genoa terms.

The seller trucks the coils to Genoa, clears them for export, and places them on the quay alongside the buyer's nominated breakbulk vessel. From that alongside point, the buyer's stevedoring contractor takes over — using shoreside cranes to lift the coils into the vessel's holds. The buyer's marine cargo policy attaches from the moment the coils are alongside.

Vessel loading takes 6 hours. During loading, one coil is dropped by the crane, damaging the outer wrap and 40 tonnes of underlying coils. Because risk transferred at alongside handover, the loss is the buyer's — recovered through their marine cargo insurance policy, which pays under the ICC (A) clauses. Had this been FOB, the seller's insurance would have responded because risk wouldn't have transferred until the coils were safely on board.

That real-world scenario is why the FAS vs FOB distinction matters commercially. For a UK buyer regularly importing breakbulk cargo, either choice can work — but the marine insurance policy needs to be sized and worded appropriately for the term.

Verdict

Bottom line: FAS is a specialist term for bulk, breakbulk and project cargo where loading is a meaningful commercial variable. For containers, use FCA. For most containerised sea freight from the Far East, use FOB. If your business regularly imports steel, timber, machinery, or project cargo through European or Mediterranean ports, FAS is a term you need to understand — including the insurance implications and the loading cost allocation.