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Container transport - Technical terms and abbreviations

B.A.F. | Bunker adjustment factor (compensation for changing fuel costs).

B/L | Bill of Lading (transport document, showing the sea transport from the place of departure to the place of destination).

C.A.F. | Currency adjustment factor (to compensate for exchange rate fluctuations of different currencies).

C.F.S. Container freight station (warehouse where consolidated containers are loaded or unloaded)

Conference Line | Shipping companies that are members of a conference.

C.Y. | (Container Yard) Place where loaded containers are delivered for shipment or onward carriage.

C/S | Congestion surcharge (surcharge for waiting times in ports).

C.S.C. | Container service charge (rental charges for containers in Europe).

DEMURRAG | Container rental if the container is not taken over in the port within a fixed time.

DETENTION | Container rental, if empty container is not returned in time.

E.C.B. | Express Cargo Bill of Lading (pure freight document, no bearer document).

E.T.A. | Estimated time of arrival (scheduled ship arrival).

E.T.D. | Estimated time of departure (scheduled ship departure).

F.C.L. | Full container load.

FCL/FCL | Full container service from door to door.

FEU | Fourty foot equivalent unit (40' container unit).

FCL/LCL | Shipments from one sender for several recipients in one container.

L.C.L. | Less than container load.

LCL/LCL | Partial shipments which are combined into a container at the container freight station and divided again at the destination.

LCL/FCL | Shipments of several senders for one recipient in a container.

M.V. | Motor Vessel (ocean-going vessel).

M.S. | Motor Ship (ocean-going vessel).

Non Conference Line | (Outsider) Shipping companies which are not members of a conference.

Non-Negot-Bill of Lading | Unsigned B/L copies, which are not considered original and therefore do not allow any right of disposal.

Notify | Additional address to be notified.

P.O.L. | Port of loading.

P.O.D. | Port of discharge.

Stripping | Container unloading.

Stuffing | Container loading.

T.A.A. | Trans Atlantic Agreement (Conference on Trans Atlantic Service).

T-B/L | Through Bill of Lading.

TEU | Twenty foot equivalent unit (20' container unit)

T.H.C. | Terminal handling charge (Handling charges for containers.)

T/T | transit time (transit time).

W/M | Weight or Measurement (charging of sea freight based on tonnes or cubic metres, whichever is higher).