A service provided by a shipping company, in which cargo ships regularly run at scheduled published loading and unloading ports. Freight is calculated according to the rate of the company's freight plan.
Features: "Four Definitions and One Responsibility"
The route, port of call, shipping schedule and freight are fixed.
The carrier is responsible for loading and unloading.
Ships transport passengers and goods between fixed ports according to fixed routes and pre-announced schedules. Liner shipping is suitable for general cargo transportation with stable cargo flow, many kinds of goods and small batch. Passenger transport is generally carried by liner.
The earliest liner transportation was the new york-Liverpool regular route opened by American Black Ball Shipping Company 18 18, which used sailboats to transport overseas immigrants, mail and goods. 1924, Britain opened liner routes operated by steamships between London, Hamburg and Rotterdam, and expanded to the Middle East, the Far East and Australia in the 1940s of 19. Since then, Japan, Germany, France and other shipping companies have operated liner shipping, with global routes spanning the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. In 1970s, China started liner shipping along the coast and the Yangtze River from 65438 to 2009. At the beginning of the 20th century, liner shipping was carried out in the Yangtze River and other inland rivers. After the establishment of People's Republic of China (PRC), Dalian-Shanghai liner freight service was opened. 196 1 year, China ocean shipping corporation was established, and China ocean shipping fleet and international liner routes were established.
Liner shipping is divided into regular liner shipping and informal liner shipping. Regular liner transportation is a scheduled liner transportation, which is based on the operation cycle, organized according to the compiled schedule and based on the departure date. Irregular liner transportation refers to regular liner transportation with irregular, uncertain ports and uncertain ships. Except for a few fixed ports, the rest of the ports rely on the supply of goods, so it is impossible to make a good schedule for a certain period of time in advance.
Liner shipping is sometimes called bill of lading transportation, because only the bill of lading issued by the shipping company with the rights and obligations of both the carrier and the shipper is used to deal with the problems in transportation. It is clearly stipulated in the terms of the bill of lading that the consignor and consignee must submit the goods for inspection according to the time of shipment, otherwise they should compensate the carrier for the losses caused thereby.
Liner shipping freight procedures
(1) receiving goods. Cargo collection refers to the behavior of shipping companies engaged in liner shipping operations in order to make full use of their liner shipping capacity and transportation capacity, strive to achieve "full load" to obtain the best operating benefits. The actual effect of cargo collection directly affects the operating efficiency of the shipping company and the success or failure of liner transportation. In order to collect goods, liner companies should first make a timetable for the liner routes they operate, the ports where ships call and their arrival and departure times, distribute them to the original customers who have established business relations, and publish them in relevant shipping journals, so that customers can understand the liner shipping routes and timetables operated by the company, so as to contact and arrange freight and strive for supply.
(2) Reservation. Booking space refers to the act that the shipper or his agent applies to the carrier, that is, the liner company or its business office or agency, and the carrier promises this application. There is no need to sign a contract of carriage between the carrier and the shipper, but through oral agreement or booking of shipping space. As long as the shipping company makes a commitment to this agreement and registers it in the shipping space register, it shows that it supports the two sides to establish a relationship about cargo transportation.
(3) shipment. Shipment means that the shipper delivers the consigned goods to the side of the ship carrying the goods at the dock, and then loads the goods onto the ship. If the ship is working at anchorage or pontoon bridge, the shipper should also be responsible for loading the goods with his own or rented barge, which is also called direct loading. For some special goods, such as dangerous goods, frozen goods, fresh goods and valuable goods, direct shipping is often used. In liner shipping, in order to improve the loading efficiency, reduce the berthing time in port and avoid delay, centralized loading is usually adopted. Centralized loading means that the shipping company appoints loading agents at each loading port, accepts the goods sent by the shipper at the designated place (usually the dock warehouse) at each loading port, handles the handover procedures, and then concentrates the goods before loading and properly classifies them according to the unloading order.
(4) Unloading. Unloading refers to unloading the goods carried by the ship from the ship at the unloading port, giving them to the consignee or on behalf of the consignee, and handling the handover procedures of the goods. According to the arrival telegram sent by the ship, the shipping company's agent at the unloading port, on the one hand, prepares relevant documents to arrange berths, prepares the import procedures of the ship, and agrees that the loading and unloading company will wait for unloading after the ship enters the port, on the other hand, informs the consignee of the scheduled arrival time of the ship, so that the consignee can make timely preparations for receiving the goods. In liner shipping, in order to make different kinds of goods belonging to multiple consignees unload quickly within the limited berthing time of the ship, the centralized unloading method is usually adopted, that is, the loading and unloading company designated by the shipping company is responsible for unloading the goods and delivering them to the consignees.
(5) Accidental discharge. When unloading, the ship and the loading and unloading company should carefully unload the goods according to the manifest and other relevant documents to avoid mistakes. However, due to various reasons, it is inevitable that the goods that should have been unloaded at other ports are not unloaded in Hong Kong, or the goods that should have been unloaded in Hong Kong are not unloaded. The former is usually called overflow, and the latter is called short discharge. Overdischarge and short discharge are collectively referred to as accidental discharge. Generally, there are provisions in the terms of the bill of lading on the damage and transfer of goods caused by delayed loss of goods or accidental unloading. Usually, the shipping company is required to bear the cost of replenishment and return caused by accidental unloading, but the shipping company will not compensate you for the delay in delivery or damage to the goods. If the accidental unloading is caused by unclear, incomplete or wrong marks and the fault of the shipowner, all expenses of re-delivery, return, unloading and storage shall be borne by the shipowner, and the shipping company shall not bear any responsibility.
(6) Delivery of goods. In actual business, the shipping company delivers the goods to the consignee by the bill of lading. The specific process is that the consignee gives the bill of lading to the shipping company's agent at the unloading port, and the agent issues the bill of lading to the consignee after checking it, and then the consignee takes the bill of lading to the dock warehouse to pick up the goods, and goes through the handover procedures with the unloading agent. Delivery methods of goods include warehouse delivery, ship delivery, cargo owner's choice of unloading port delivery, change of unloading port delivery, guaranteed delivery, etc. The shipper chooses the unloading port to deliver the goods, which means that when the goods are loaded, the shipper has not determined the specific unloading port. After the ship sails, the shipper will choose the most convenient or favorable unloading port, and then unload and deliver the goods at this port. Changing the port of discharge means unloading and delivery at a port other than the port of discharge recorded in the bill of lading. Letter of guarantee means that the consignee cannot exchange the bill of lading for the bill of lading to pick up the goods. According to the general shipping practice, the consignee often issues a letter of guarantee in exchange for the delivery of the bill of lading.
(7) Letter of guarantee. A guarantee is a guarantee. For convenience, shipping companies and banks have printed a certain format of guarantee. Its functions include delivering goods by letter of guarantee, issuing clean bills of lading by letter of guarantee and countersigning advance bills of lading by letter of guarantee. In the case of delivery by letter of guarantee, the consignee promises to return the full set of original bill of lading to the shipping company immediately after receiving the bill of lading, and bear the freight and other expenses that should be paid by the consignee, as well as all losses caused by the failure to submit the bill of lading, and indicates that the bank and the consignee are jointly and severally liable for the contents of the letter of guarantee. Issue a bill of lading with a letter of guarantee, so that the shipper can settle foreign exchange smoothly with the clean bill of lading and the on-board bill of lading. The Hague Rules and Visby Rules do not stipulate the legal effect of the letter of guarantee. Considering the practical significance of letter of guarantee in shipping business and the need to protect innocent third parties, Hamburg Rules clearly stipulated the validity of letter of guarantee for the first time. The letter of guarantee is an agreement between the carrier and the shipper, and shall not be against a third party. The letter of guarantee between the carrier and the shipper is valid only if there is no intention to deceive a third party. If the third party is found to have deliberately cheated, the carrier shall not enjoy the limitation of liability when compensating the third party, and the letter of guarantee shall be invalid.
Liner shipping charging method
The calculation standard of liner freight mainly includes the following contents:
(1) Goods are collected according to the gross weight of the goods, which is indicated by "W" in the freight table.
(2) According to the volume of the goods, the price list is indicated by "m".
(3) According to the higher standard of weight or volume, it is expressed as "w/m" on the freight table.
(4) According to the commodity value, the price list is expressed as "ad.va 1".
(5) according to the number of goods.
(6) The shipper and the shipping company reach an interim agreement.
Note: Liner freight is mainly composed of basic freight and surcharge. Basic freight refers to the fees charged for transporting goods to the basic ports of liner routes. Surcharge refers to the extra fees charged by the ship to make up for the extra expenses or expenses in transportation according to different situations.
Freight calculation formula (by weight ton or volume ton):
Freight = weight ton (or volume ton) × grade freight rate ×( 1+ additional rate)