Plain-English guides

Shipping terms, in plain English.

Sea freight has its own jargon. Here are the terms you're most likely to meet, explained simply. You don't need to memorise them, we'll tell you what applies to your shipment as it comes up.

Freight forwarder: The company that organises your whole shipment, booking space, paperwork, customs and delivery. That's us.
FCL full container load: A whole container booked just for your goods. Best for larger or heavier loads.
LCL / groupage less than container load: Your goods share a container with others and you pay only for the space you use. Best for smaller consignments.
Bill of lading B/L: The shipping document that acts as your cargo's receipt and the contract of carriage for the sea voyage.
Incoterms: Standard international rules that set who pays for what, and where responsibility passes from seller to buyer.
EORI number: The identifier UK businesses need to export. We help first-time exporters get set up.
Commercial invoice: States what the goods are and their value; used by customs at each end.
Packing list: Details exactly what's inside the shipment, item by item.
Export declaration: The customs filing that registers your goods leaving the UK.
ATR certificate: A movement certificate that lets qualifying UK–Turkey goods clear at a reduced or zero duty rate.
EUR1 certificate: A certificate of origin used to claim preferential duty under a trade agreement.
CBM cubic metre: How sea freight volume is measured. A 20ft container holds about 33 CBM.
TEU: Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit, the standard way to count containers. A 20ft is 1 TEU, a 40ft is 2.
RoRo roll-on, roll-off: A vessel that vehicles are driven straight on and off, rather than containerised. Maya ships full containers (FCL) only.
Tare weight: The empty weight of the container itself.
Payload: The maximum weight of cargo you can load, once the container's tare weight is taken off.
Demurrage: A charge that applies if a container sits at the port longer than the free time allowed.
THC terminal handling charge: A port charge for loading, unloading and moving your container at the terminal.
BAF bunker adjustment factor: A surcharge reflecting the changing cost of ship fuel.
Port of loading / port of discharge: Where your cargo is loaded onto the ship, and where it's unloaded at the other end.
Customs clearance: Getting goods released by customs at each end. We arrange and manage it through trusted partners.
Door to door: We collect from your address and deliver to the destination address, handling everything in between.
Green list waste: Non-hazardous recyclable material, such as scrap metal, paper and clean plastics, approved for international trade without extra consent under international waste-shipment rules. It still needs correct export paperwork, which we arrange through trusted partners.

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