Shipping Procedures: Full Container Load (FCL)

When shipping goods by ocean freight it is helpful to follow a set of procedures which together help to achieve the best results in the most cost-efficient manner. Following is our recommended process for shipping goods by ocean freight as FCL – Full Container Load:

Shipper contacts their agent to move the goods
Agent arranges to have a shipping line place an empty container at the shipper’s premises to be loaded and book space on the next vessel to the destination port
Bill of Lading instructions are sent to the shipping line for them to produce the Ocean Bill of Lading. This is the point at which the agent will tell the shipping line what type of Bill of Lading to raise
The shipping line will raise an Ocean Bill of Lading with the shipper being the agent at the originating port and the consignee being his agent at the destination port, or
The shipping line will raise Ocean Bill of Lading with shipper being the exporter at the originating port and the consignee being the importer at the destination port, and will notify the party being the agent at the destination port
If first option is used then the agent will raise a House Bill of Lading with the shipper being his client and the consignee being the importer at the destination port
Once the shipment has sailed, the agent will send to his agent at the destination port a pre-alert consisting of: Ocean Bill of Lading, House Bill of Lading, if used, an invoice and any other supporting documents
The shipping line may send arrival notice to agent or consignee
The agent in the port of destination will take control of the shipment and customs clear and arrange for delivery to the importer
The agent may use line haulage or merchant haulage to get the container delivered.

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Shipping Procedures: Full Container Load (FCL)

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