Scope facts
| Channel confirmation | We recommend a routing and name the carrier and service; if you specify a carrier or string, we confirm whether it takes your cargo, whether it calls your ports and what it costs before quoting. |
What does this cover?
The delivery scope decides who is responsible for what. Each scope below states the steps included, the steps that remain with you, the charges that can arise and the point at which responsibility transfers.
Who is this for?
- Importers with their own customs broker and haulage at destination
- Buyers who want the lowest freight cost and will manage the destination side
- Experienced shippers who already hold an importing entity
What is included in the service?
- Booking and space with the carrier
- Origin export declaration where the scope includes it
- Ocean transport between the agreed ports
- The transport document needed for release
What do you need from us to quote?
- Commodity, piece count, weight and volume
- China origin port or city
- Destination port
- Whether you hold an importing entity and a broker at destination
- Required sailing window
Who is responsible for what?
| Scope | Company | Customer | Responsibility transfers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port to port |
|
| Responsibility for the cargo passes at the agreed destination port once the container is discharged and released. |
What does the quotation cover?
The quotation states the total for the scope described in it. It is built from the cargo data, the origin and destination, the transport mode and the delivery scope agreed at that time.
What is included?
- Booking and space with the carrier
- Origin export declaration where the scope includes it
- Ocean freight between the agreed ports
- The transport document needed for release
What is not included?
- Import clearance, duty and tax at destination
- Destination port and terminal handling charges
- Onward transport from the destination port
- Detention and demurrage after free time
What might cost extra?
- Remote or difficult-access delivery beyond the standard service area
- Customs inspection, holds or revaluation at either end
- Storage where cargo cannot be dispatched inside the agreed free period
- Detention and demurrage when a container or vehicle is held beyond free time
- Oversized, overweight or special loading equipment
- Cargo that arrives without the documents required for the confirmed route
- Special cargo approved after review but requiring extra handling or documentation
- Address change, re-delivery or a failed delivery appointment after dispatch
- Peak-season or fuel surcharges applied by the carrier
- Duty or tax reassessment where customs does not accept the declared value
Freight rates and space change with the market, so each quotation carries its own validity period. Once it expires, or if the rate or space changes before booking, the price is reconfirmed before dispatch.
Cargo is weighed and measured after it reaches the warehouse. If the piece count, weight, volume, packing, cargo attributes or delivery address differ from the original inquiry, the charge is recalculated and sent to you for confirmation before payment and dispatch.
How long does each stage take?
- Booking and space: 1-3 days after the cargo data and payment are confirmed
- Export declaration: 1-2 days where the scope includes it
- Ocean transit: The sea leg only: 15-25 days to Mombasa or 5-12 to Port Klang on published direct services
- Arrival and release: 1-2 days for the carrier to release against the transport document
Typical ranges, not commitments. Each one is reconfirmed when the booking is placed.
What must be confirmed before booking?
- This scope ends at the destination port. Import clearance, duty and onward transport are yours.
- Destination port and terminal charges are outside the quoted scope unless stated.
- Container detention and demurrage after free time are charged by the carrier.
What mistakes should we avoid?
- Comparing a port-to-port rate against a delivered price without checking what the other quote includes
- Forgetting destination terminal handling charges
- Returning the container late and incurring detention