Shipping and logistics
Releasing your cargo.
Arrival is not release. The carrier releases against the transport document, customs releases against the entry, and the terminal releases against payment. Three separate gates, and a delay at any one of them starts the demurrage clock.
The three gates.
The carrier. They hand over the cargo against the correct transport document and payment of their charges. If originals are required and yours are in a courier bag, nothing moves.
Customs. The entry has to be lodged, duty and tax settled or deferred, and any inspection completed. Missing certificates stop this and cannot always be fixed afterwards.
The terminal. Storage and handling charges have to be settled, and an appointment for collection has to exist.
Where it stalls.
Original documents in transit. If the transport document requires originals and they are still in a courier bag, the cargo waits for paper. This is the classic delay and it is avoidable.
A certificate that names the wrong party or the wrong consignment. Some cannot be reissued after shipment.
An inspection selected by customs, which is not negotiable and not predictable.
Unpaid charges nobody knew about, particularly origin charges that were not in the freight quote.
Avoiding the paper delay.
Agree the release method before shipment. A telex or express release removes the courier from the critical path entirely, and it is available on most shipments where payment is settled.
Where originals are genuinely required, courier them early and track them. Sending them with the goods defeats the purpose.
Give your broker the full document set as soon as it exists rather than when the vessel arrives.
The clock.
Demurrage runs on the container inside the terminal and detention runs on it outside. Free time is short and both accrue daily.
Every day of a document problem is a charge, which is why release is a planning subject rather than an arrival subject.
Ask what free time you have at booking, because it varies by carrier and by port and it is negotiable on regular volume.
Questions buyers ask.
What is a telex release?
An instruction from the origin office that the cargo may be released without presenting original paper documents. It removes the courier from the critical path and it is standard where payment is already settled.
Why is the terminal charging me?
Because the container occupied space beyond the free time, or because handling charges were not included in your freight quote. Both are avoidable with a clear all-in quotation and a fast release.
Can customs release before the carrier?
They are independent gates and both have to open. Clearing customs on a container the carrier will not release does not get you the goods.
Read next.
What happens at customs
Who does what between the ship arriving and the goods leaving the port, and the four things that hold a container.
Demurrage and detention
Two different charges buyers confuse, both on a clock that does not care whose fault the delay was.
Original, telex or seaway bill
Three ways to release a container, with completely different consequences if payment goes wrong. What each gives up.
Why freight rates move
The rate from last quarter is gone. What drives container rates and how to buy against that.
Agent or forwarder
Two different jobs that buyers routinely confuse. What each one is responsible for and where the gap sits.
When a port is congested
Vessels waiting, containers stacked, nobody able to give a date. What helps and what does not.
Reading a health certificate
An official document with no room for error. What each part says and which errors are fatal.
At the border control post
Documentary, identity and physical checks, in that order. What each looks at and how long.
Sourcing from Indonesia?
Tell us the product, the quantity and the destination. We come back with what it involves before anyone talks about money.