Sea Freight Terms — A Complete UK Reference

A document issued by a carrier to a shipper that serves three roles: a receipt for the goods, a contract of carriage, and (crucially) a document of title. Whoever holds the original negotiable B/L can claim the goods at destination. The B/L's title function is what distinguishes sea freight from airfreight — and it's why "originals lost in transit" is one of the most common causes of stuck containers at UK ports.

A non-negotiable sea freight document. Functionally similar to an Air Waybill — the named consignee identifies themselves at destination and collects the goods, no original document required. Faster and simpler than an Original B/L but offers no title protection. Increasingly common on UK trade lanes under settled supplier relationships.

A Master B/L (MBL) is issued by the shipping line to the freight forwarder. A House B/L (HBL) is issued by the freight forwarder to the individual shipper. For UK importers using a forwarder, the HBL is your operational document; the MBL appears on the customs entry alongside.

A notification sent by the carrier (or its agent) to the consignee and notify party advising that the shipment has arrived or is about to arrive at the destination port. Typically includes vessel name, voyage, ETA, and any charges due. Important to monitor — destination charges and demurrage clocks reference these dates.

A document listing all cargo on board a vessel, compiled by the shipping line. The vessel manifest is provided to destination customs authorities (in the UK, via ENS/ICS2) for pre-arrival risk assessment. Discrepancies between the manifest and the B/Ls can hold up clearance.

The standard ISO containers used in sea freight come in a defined range of sizes and types. The two most common UK import containers are the 20ft dry and 40ft High Cube. Specialist equipment (reefer, open top, flat rack, tank) carries higher rates and lower availability.

The standard unit of container measurement. A 20ft container is 1 TEU; a 40ft container is 2 TEU. Used by shipping lines and ports to measure vessel capacity and throughput. A modern Ultra Large Container Vessel (ULCV) carries 18,000–24,000 TEU. Felixstowe handles around 3.8 million TEU per year — the UK's busiest container port.

Each container has a unique 11-character identifier — 4 letters (the owner prefix) + 7 digits. The last digit is a check digit. Each loaded container also carries a numbered seal applied at origin; the seal must be intact on arrival and the number must match the B/L. A broken or mismatched seal triggers HMRC investigation.

A vessel designed exclusively to carry intermodal containers. Sizes range from Feeder (1,000–3,000 TEU, serving smaller ports), Panamax (up to 5,000 TEU), Post-Panamax, New Panamax, ULCV, and the largest 24,000+ TEU. The UK is served primarily by Post-Panamax and New Panamax vessels on Asia–Europe loops, with feeder services connecting to Felixstowe and Southampton.

A vessel designed to carry wheeled cargo — trailers, cars, trucks, construction equipment — that is driven on and off under its own power. RoRo is the dominant mode for cross-Channel UK–EU trade, with hundreds of thousands of trailers moving via Dover, Folkestone (Channel Tunnel rail), Hull, Immingham, and Liverpool each year.

A vessel that carries individual items of cargo — steel coils, timber, project pieces, machinery — rather than containers. Cargo is loaded one piece at a time using the vessel's own gear or shoreside cranes. Slower and more labour-intensive than container shipping; used where cargo can't fit in standard containers.

A vessel designed for unpackaged dry bulk cargo such as grain, coal, iron ore, cement, or fertiliser. Cargo is loaded directly into the holds. Not relevant to most UK SME importers but important for commodity trade.

The practice of operating container vessels at reduced speed (typically 14–17 knots rather than 20–24) to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Has added 1–4 days to typical Asia–UK transit times since widespread adoption from 2008 onwards. Now standard industry practice.

A shipment that fills an entire container, booked exclusively by one shipper. FCL is typically more cost-effective than LCL above approximately 12–15 cubic metres of cargo, and offers faster transit times because the container moves directly origin-to-destination without consolidation or deconsolidation. Most UK SME imports above pallet-sized loads ship FCL.

A shipment that does not fill an entire container. The cargo is consolidated with other shippers' goods at a CFS (Container Freight Station) at origin, shipped as one container, then deconsolidated at destination. LCL is typically charged per cubic metre (per CBM) and suits smaller, less frequent shipments. Below approximately 12 CBM, LCL usually wins on total cost.

Used interchangeably with LCL in sea freight, and more commonly with European road freight. The principle is the same: combining multiple smaller consignments from different shippers into a single shipping unit.

The named-place convention for sea freight contracts. "Door-to-door" means pickup at shipper's premises and delivery to consignee's premises (full logistics service). "Port-to-port" means origin loading port to destination discharge port only. "CY-CY" (Container Yard to Container Yard) is the most common FCL arrangement — shipper delivers to origin terminal, consignee collects from destination terminal.

Shipping lines apply a wide range of surcharges on top of the base ocean freight rate. Understanding these is essential when comparing quotes — two quotes with the same "freight" line can produce very different invoices.

Demurrage is charged when a container stays at the port beyond the agreed free days. Detention is charged when a container is held outside the port (at your warehouse) beyond free days. Both accumulate daily and escalate in tiers — a stuck container can rack up four-figure bills inside two weeks.

The number of calendar days a container can stay at the port (and/or at your premises) before demurrage and detention start to accrue. Standard UK import free time is 5–7 days for dry containers, 3–5 days for reefer. Some lines combine port + off-port free time into a single pool of 10–14 combined days.

The UK's largest container port, handling around 40% of all UK deep-sea container traffic. Located in Suffolk, served by all major shipping lines on Asia–Europe and transatlantic loops. Key issues: road congestion (particularly the A14), and seasonal capacity strain.

The UK's second-largest container port. Served by Maersk, MSC, OOCL, and Hapag-Lloyd. Often used as an alternative to Felixstowe for Asia–UK trade, with onward rail and road distribution to the Midlands and the North.

A modern deep-sea container port on the Thames Estuary in Essex, operated by DP World. Opened 2013. Direct access to the M25 and London distribution. Increasingly used by Asia–UK importers serving London and the South East.

The UK's main western container gateway, including the Liverpool2 deepwater terminal. Used heavily for transatlantic trade and for distribution into the North West and Midlands. Strong rail connectivity.

An older Thames port, owned by Forth Ports. Handles containers, bulk, and RoRo. Sits in the inner London distribution belt.

The dominant UK–EU RoRo crossing points, plus the Channel Tunnel rail freight service from Folkestone (operated by Eurotunnel). The default route for UK–EU road freight, with multiple ferries per hour from each port at peak times.

North-East UK ports serving Scandinavian, Baltic, and Continental European trade. Strong RoRo and shortsea presence. Often the most efficient route for goods to/from northern Europe destined for the North of England.

The time taken for goods to move from origin port to destination port. Indicative sea freight transit times to UK: Shanghai 30–40 days, Hong Kong 30–35 days, Singapore 25–32 days, Mumbai 25–30 days, US East Coast 9–14 days, Northern Europe 1–3 days. Add 5–10 days for end-to-end (door-to-door) transit.

The deadline by which cargo must be delivered to the terminal to make a specific vessel sailing. Missing the cut-off — typically 1–3 days before vessel departure — means rolling to the next sailing, with potentially 7–14 days' delay.

When a container booked on a specific vessel is moved to a later sailing — typically because the vessel is overbooked, the cargo missed cut-off, or there's an operational issue. Rolled containers are a significant cause of supply chain disruption, particularly in peak season.

When cargo is transferred from one vessel to another during transit, typically at a major hub port (e.g. Rotterdam, Singapore, Algeciras, Salalah). Most Asia–UK cargo is trans-shipped at least once. Adds time and a small risk of damage/loss during the transfer.