FAC - Fast as Can - Term used in a contract of carriage, particularly in those of shipping lines, to denote that the shipper must supply the cargo as fast as the ship can load or that the receiver must take delivery as fast as the ship can discharge.
FACCOP - Fast as Can Custom of the Port - see FAC - Fast as Can and COP - Custom of the Port.
FAF - Fuel Adjustment Factor - see bunker surcharge.
FAK - Freight All Kinds - Single freight rate which is charged irrespective of the commodity.
FAS - Free Alongside - Under this term the seller's obligations are fulfilled when the goods have been placed alongside the ship on the quay or in lighters. This means that the buyer has to bear all costs and risks of toss or damage to the goods from that moment. It should be noted that unlike fob, the present term requires the buyer to clear the goods for export
F/C - Full and Complete Cargo - This expression characterizes a full cargo, in accordance with the custom of the port, which will either bring the vessel down to her maximum permissible draft or fill the vessel cubically as the case may be.
FCC - First Class Charterers - a commonly used, meaningless phrase, which should be avoided. Better to say, if you need to keep the name undisclosed: "local charterers or a similar phrase".
FCL - Full Container Load - Quantity of cargo, which fills a shipping container to capacity, either by weight or cubic measurement.
FCL Allowance - Deduction from the FCL freight provided by a shipping line or liner conference to a shipper who loads a minimum number of tons or cubic meters of cargo into a shipping container. There may be various allowances depending on the degree of utilization of the container. Also known as utilization allowance.
FCL/FCL - Term used to describe a container freight rate whereby the shipper is responsible for packing of the container and the shipper or receiver, as the case may be, is responsible for the unpacking.
FCL/ LCL - Term used to describe a freight rate whereby the shipper is responsible for packing of the container and the shipper or receiver, as the case may be, is responsible for the unpacking.
FD - Free Despatch - Provision in a voyage Charter-Party that despatch money is not payable when loading and/or discharging has been completed in less than the time allowed.
Ferticon - Voyage Charter-Party used for shipments of fertilizer, published by the Chamber of Shipping.
Fertivoy - Voyage Charter-Party used for shipments of fertilizer from the United States of America and Canada. The full name of this Charter-Party is the North American fertilizer Charter-Party.
FEU - Forty Foot Equivalent Unit - Unit of measurement equivalent to one 40-foot container. Thus two 20-foot containers comprise an FEU. This measurement is used to quantify, for example, the container capacity of a ship, the number of containers carried on a particular voyage or over a period of time, or it may be the unit on which freight is based.
FHEX - Fridays and Holidays Excepted - Charter-Party term, which provides that Fridays and holidays do not count in the calculation of laytime. This term applies to those countries where Friday is the Sabbath, notably in the Middle East
Fl - Free In - Free of expense to the shipowner of cargo handling at the loading port.
FILO /FILTD - Free in Liner Out / Free in Liner Terms Discharge - Qualification to a freight rate denoting that it is inclusive of the sea carriage and the cost of discharging. It excludes the cost of loading and, if appropriate to the type of cargo, stowing, dunnaging, lashing and securing or trimming, all of which are payable by the charterer or shipper. This type of freight rate may have a provision for laytime and demurrage at the port of loading since the carrier has no control over the loading.
FIO - Free In and Out - Term qualifying a freight rate which signifies that it excludes the cost of loading and discharging and if appropriate to the type of cargo, stowing, dunnaging, lashing and securing or trimming, all of which are paid by the charterer or shipper or receiver, as the case may be. This type of rate is typically found in voyage charter-parties and, since the shipowner has no control over loading and discharging, these generally have suitable clauses for laytime and demurrage to allow for delays at the loading and discharging ports.
FIOLS & D - Free In and Out, Lashed, Secured and Dunnaged - Qualification to a freight rate, which is equivalent to free in and out, but which avoids any ambiguity by specifying that the cost of lashing, securing and dunnaging is not for the account of the shipowner. It is normally payable by the charterer or the shipper.
FIOS - Free In and Out and Stowed - Qualification to a freight rate which is equivalent to free in and out but which avoids any ambiguity by specifying that the cost of stowage is not for the account of the shipowner. It is normally payable by the charterer or the shipper. It is used in carriage of general cargo.
FIOT - Free In and Out and Trimmed - Qualification to a freight rate which is equivalent to free in and out but which avoids any ambiguity by specifying that the cost of trimming is not for the account of the shipowner. It is normally payable by the charterer or the shipper. it is used in carriage of bulk cargo.
Firm Offer - An offer that is not conditional in any way and is binding on the party making it, provided that it is accepted in full and within any time limit specified in it.
First Class Ship - Ship to which the highest class has been given by a classification society in accordance with its rules concerning construction and maintenance.
Fix (to) - To conclude successfully negotiations resulting in the charter of a ship or cargo.
Fix Best Possible - Situation where the broker is given leeway to negotiate the Charter-Party if terms of original instructions cannot be met in the market. Very rarely happens. Usually, the broker is given a set of instructions by the principal, and if he cannot find a counter to meet those terms, he must return to his principal for a new set of instructions.
Fixed on Subjects - Said of a ship, when the terms and conditions of chartering her have been agreed except for a few, normally minor, details.
Fixed Operating Expense - The daily or monthly out-of-pocket costs of operating a vessel, which may include amortization and interest, but does not include fuel or any other variable costs.
Fixture - Successful conclusion of the negotiations between shipowner and charterer, generally through shipbrokers, resulting in the charter of a ship.
FLT - Full Liner Terms - Qualification to a freight rate, which signifies that it consists of the ocean carriage and the cost of cargo handling at the loading and discharging ports, according to the custom of those ports. This varies widely from country to country and, within countries, from port to port: in some ports, the freight excludes all cargo handling costs while in others, the costs of handling between the hold and the ship's rail or quay is included in the freight.
FO - Free Out - Qualification to a freight rate denoting that the cost of discharging of the cargo from the ship's hold is not included in the freight but is payable by the charterer or shipper or Bill of Lading holder, as the case may be. When qualifying a term of sale, it denotes that the purchase price of the goods does not include this cost that is borne by the buyer. Often, daily rates of discharging and demurrage are incorporated into such contracts.
FOB - Free on Board - Sales term denoting that the seller is responsible for delivering the goods to the port of loading agreed in the contract and for loading them on to the ship nominated by the buyer. The risk of loss or damage to the goods generally passes from the seller to the buyer when the goods pass ship's rail at the port of loading.
FOB Charges - Are cargo handling charges levied on the shipper by the shipping line at the port of loading.
Force Majeure - Circumstance which is beyond the control of one of the parties to a contract and which may, according to the terms and conditions, relieve that party of liability for failing to execute the contract.
Forwarding Agent or Forwarder - Person or company who arranges the carriage of goods and the associated formalities on behalf of a shipper. The duties of a forwarding agent include booking space on a ship, providing all the necessary documentation and arranging Export Customs clearance. Also referred to as freight forwarder.
Foul Bill of Ladinq - See dirty Bill of Lading.
FOW - First Open Water - Time in Spring or early Summer when rivers, lakes, or seas are unfrozen and sufficiently free of ice to be open to navigation. The term is normally used in the Great lakes or Baltic trades and usually refers to sometime in April.
Free Time - Period between the time a ship is ready to load or discharge, having given notice of readiness, and the time that laytime commences in accordance with the Charter-Party, during which the charterer or receiver is not obliged to load or discharge. It is important to make provision in the Charter-Party for the effect of laytime should the charterer or receiver elect to load or discharge during this period.
Freight Broker - Is the broker who is always successful in contracting somewhat above the market level, but who will never risk the loss of business due to the details of a particular Charter-Party clause.
Freight Collect - Freight payable at destination, also referred to as freight forward.
Freight Conference - See conference.
Freight Forward - See freight collect.
Freight forwarder - See forwarding agent.
Freight Payable at Destination - Method of paying the freight often used for shipments of bulk cargoes whose weight is established on discharge from the ship.
Freight Prepaid - Freight which is payable before the contract has been performed. Very often, the bills of lading are signed and exchanged with the shipper for his payment of freight.
Freight Quotation - Freight quoted by a shipping line or liner conference, which may be given as an indication only.
Freight Rate - Amount of money paid to a shipowner or shipping line for the carriage of each unit of cargo, such as a ton, a cubic meter or container load. Also referred to as rate of freight.
Freight Tariff - Schedule, published by a liner conference or shipping line, containing freight rates for a variety of commodities likely to he carried by the lines and whether these are payable on the weight of commodity or its cubic measurement. The tariff also contains details of charges for heavy lifts and long length cargoes, and terminal charges. Apart from matters of rating, the tariff of a liner conference states the geographical areas served, the names of the member lines and the conference's general regulations.
Freight Ton - Unit of cargo on which a freight rate is based, generally one ton or one cubic meter whichever is greater. Also called revenue ton.
FRT - Freight - Amount of money paid by a shipowner or shipping line for the carriage of cargo. Depending on the type of contract, the particular terms and, in some cases, the custom of the ports involved, the freight may include the cost of loading and/or discharging the cargo or may simply cover the ocean carriage.