B.D.I.

Both Days Inclusive.

B/L

Bill of Lading

Back Letter

1. Back letters are drawn up in addition to a contract in order to lay down rights and/or obligations between both contracting parties, which, for various possible reasons, cannot be included in the original contract.
2. This expression is sometimes used for letters of indemnity.

Back Order

Customer order or commitment, which is unfilled due to insufficient stock.

Backlog

1. The quantity of goods still to be delivered, received, produced, issued, etc., for which the planned or agreed date has expired. 2. The total number of customer orders which have been received but not yet been shipped.
Synonym: Open Order

BAF

Bunker Adjustment Factor

Balance of Trade

Difference between a country’s total imports and exports. If exports exceed imports, a favorable balance of trade exists; if not, a trade deficit is said to exist.

Balespace

The capacity of cargo spaces under the deck of a vessel (including hatchways but excluding void spaces behind cargo battens and beams) expressed in cubic meters or cubic feet.

Ballast

Materials carried to improve the trim and the stability of the vessel. Vessels usually carry water in tanks as ballast. The tanks are specially designed for this purpose.

Bank Draft

Check issued by a bank.

Bank Guarantee

Undertaking by a bank to effect payment of a sum of money in the event of non performance by the party on whose behalf the guarantee is issued.

Bank Release

Negotiable time draft drawn on and accepted by a bank that adds its credit to that of an importer of merchandise.

Banker’s Acceptance

“Time draft” drawn on a bank and bearing the bank’s promise to pay at a future date.

Banking System

For marine purposes the practice of always keeping more than one piece of cargo on the quay or in the vessel ready for loading or discharging in order to avoid delays and to obtain optimal use of the loading gear.

Bar Coding

Method of encoding data for fast and accurate electronic readability. Bar codes are a series of alternating bars and spaces printed or stamped on products, labels, or other media, representing encoded information which can be read by electronic readers, used to facilitate timely and accurate input of data to a computer system.

Bareboat Charter

Charter whereby the charterer leases the bare ship and appoints the master and crew itself.

Barge

Flat-bottomed cargo transport vessel designed for canals, rivers and shallow waters with or without its own propulsion.
Synonym: Lighter

Barratry

Unlawful act or fraudulent breach of duty on the part of a master of a ship or of the mariners resulting in the injury of the owner of the ship or cargo.

Barter

Trade in which merchandise is exchanged directly for other merchandise without use of money.
Countertrade

Basic Stock

Items of an inventory intended for issue against demand during the re-supply lead time.
Lead Time

Batch

Collection of products or data which is treated as one entity with respect to certain operations (e.g. processing and production).

Batch Production

Production process where products/components are produced in batches and where each separate batch consists of a number of the same products/components.

Bay

Vertical division of a container vessel from stem to stern, used to indicate stowage places for containers. The numbers run from stem to stern; odd numbers indicate a 20-foot position, even numbers indicate a 40-foot position.
Cell Position Grid Number

Bay Plan

Stowage plan which shows the locations of all the containers on the vessel.

BC Code

Bulk Cargo Code Segregation

Belly

Under-floor area of an aircraft.
Hold Space

Benchmarking

Measurement and comparison against a standard, of efforts and results in the business process (e.g. input, output, reliability, quality and customer satisfaction).

Beneficiary

Entity or person on whom a Letter of Credit has been opened or a draft has been drawn.
Assignment of Proceeds Transferable Letter of Credit

Benefit of Insurance Clause

Clause by which the bailee of goods claims the benefit of any insurance policy effected by the cargo owner on the goods in care of the bailee. Such a clause in a contract of carriage issued in accordance with the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act is void at law.

Berth

Location in a port where a vessel can be moored, often indicated by a code or name.
Wharf Quay Pier

Bilateral Trade

Commerce between two countries, usually in accordance with specific agreements.

Bilateral Transport Agreement

Agreement between two nations concerning transport relations.

Bill of Exchange

Draft

Bill of Lading

Abbreviation: B/L. Document that establishes the terms of a contract between a shipper and a transportation company under which freight is to be moved between specified points for a specified charge. Usually prepared by the shipper on forms issued by the carrier, it serves as a document of title, a contract of carriage, and a receipt for goods.
Air Waybill Ocean Bill of Lading Through Bill of Lading

Bill of Lading Clause

Particular article, stipulation or single provision in a Bill of Lading.

Bill of Material

List of all parts, sub-assemblies and raw materials that constitute a particular assembly, showing the quantity of each required item.

Bimodal Trailer

1. Road semi-trailer with retractable running gear to allow mounting on a pair of rail boogies.
Synonym: Road-Rail Trailer 2. Trailer which is able to carry different types of standardized unit loads (e.g. a chassis which is appropriate for the carriage of one FEU or two TEUs).

Block Train

Complete train moving straight from origin station to destination station without marshalling or decoupling of wagons.
Double Stack Train

Boatman

Member of the vessel’s crew.

Bollard

Post, fixed on a quay to lash mooring ropes.

Bolster

Container Bolster

Bona Fide

In good faith; without dishonesty, fraud or deceit.

Bonded Shipments

Shipments which are permitted to travel to inland destinations before customs clearance.

Bonded Transit Warehouse

Warehouse under customs control holding cargo in transit to further destination.

Bonded Warehouse

Warehouse authorized by customs authorities for storage of uncleared goods.
In Bond

Booking

Space reservation, conclusion of contract of carriage.
Synonym for Air Cargo: Reservation
Allotment

Booking Reference Number

Number assigned to a certain booking by the carrier or its agent.

Bordereau

Waybill

Bottom Fittings

Special conical-shaped devices to avoid the container moving during the voyage.

Bottom Lift

Handling of containers with equipment attached to the four bottom corner fittings (castings).

Bottom Limit

Maximum value at risk per shipment/sending/aircraft.

Box Pallet

Pallet with at least three fixed, removable or collapsible, vertical sides.

Break Bulk

1. Physical discharge of unitized cargo. 2. Administration procedure of document splitting at destination.

Break Bulk Cargo

General cargo conventionally stowed as opposed to unitized, containerized and Roll-on/Roll-off cargo.
Synonym: Conventional Cargo

Break-Even Weight

Weight at which it is cheaper to charge the lower rate for the next higher weight-break multiplied by the minimum weight indicated, than to charge the higher rate for the actual weight of the shipment (air cargo).

Broken Stowage

Cargo space that is unavoidably lost when stowing cargo. The percentage of wasted space depends upon the kind of cargo, the packing and the used spaces.

Broker

Person who acts as an agent or intermediary in negotiating contracts.

Brussels Tariff Nomenclature

Abbreviation: BTN. Old Customs Cooperation Council Nomenclature for the classification of goods. Now replaced by the Harmonized System.
Harmonized System (HS)

BSI

British Standards Institution.

BTN

Brussels Tariff Nomenclature

Buffer Stock

Quantity of goods or articles kept in store to safeguard against unforeseen shortages or demands.

Bulk Cargo

Unpacked cargo loaded directly into the vessel’s holds. Examples of commodities that can be shipped in bulk are ores, coal, scrap iron, grain, rice, vegetable oil, tallow, fuel oil, fertilizers and similar commodities.

Bulk Cargo Code

Abbreviation: BC Code. Safe working practice code for solid bulk cargo.

Bulk Carrier

Single-deck vessel designed to carry homogeneous unpacked dry cargo such as grain, iron ore and coal.

Bulk Container

Container designed for the carriage of free-flowing dry cargo, which are loaded through hatchways in the roof of the container and discharged through hatchways at one end of the container.

Bulk Shipments

Bulk Cargo

Bulk Unitization Charge

Charge which applies to consignments carried from airport of departure to airport of arrival, entirely in Unit Load Devices (air cargo).

Bulkhead

1. Upright partition dividing compartments on board a vessel. 2. A vertically mounted board to provide front wall protection against shifting cargo and commonly seen on platform trailers (road cargo). 3. Partition in a container, providing a plenum chamber and/or air passage for either return or supply air. 4. Vertically mounted wall separating the fore respectively aft compartment from the rest of the aircraft (air cargo).

Bull Rings

Rings for lashing the cargo in containers.

Bunker

Spaces on board a vessel to store fuel.
Synonym: Tank

Bunker Adjustment Factor
Abbreviation: BAF. Adjustment applied by shipping lines or liner conferences to offset the effect of fluctuations in the cost of bunkers.

Bureau veritas

French classification society.