Shipping is FULL of abbreviations and acronyms, and this can really fool some people. We thought, what better way to help people out than to create a list of commonly used shipping abbreviations? Test your friends and colleagues. See if they know their maritime shipping abbreviations.
Industry Bodies:
ASBA – American Shipbrokers Association
BIMCO – The Baltic and International Maritime Council
FIATA – International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations
IACS – International Association of Classification Societies
ICS – International Chamber of Shipping
ICS – Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers
IMO – International Maritime Organisation
Classification Societies:
ABS – American Bureau of Shipping
BV – Bureau Veritas
CSS – China Classification Society
CRS – Croatian Register of Shipping
DNV – Det Norske Veritas
IRS – Indian Register of Shipping
KR – Korean Register
LR – Lloyds Register
NK – Nippon Kaiji Kyokai
PRS – Polish Register of Shipping
RINA – Rina Services S.p.A.
TL – Turk Loydu
General Shipping Abbreviations:
AWB – Air Waybill
B/L – Bill of Lading
CBM – Cubic Meter
CIF – Cost Insurance & Freight
CIP – Carriage & Insurance Paid to
C/P – Charterparty
CFR – Cost & Freight
COGSA – Carriage of Goods by Sea Act
COA – Contract of Affreightment
DAP – Delivered at Place
DAT – Delivered at Terminal
DG – Dangerous Goods
D/A – Disbursements Account
FOB – Free on Board
FEU – Forty-foot Equivalent Unit (a forty-foot container)
FCL – Full Container Load
LOI – Letter of Indemnity
L/C – Letter of Credit
LCL – Less than Container Load
LRIT – Long Range Identification Tracking
MOA – Memorandum of Agreement
MARPOL – International Convention of the Prevention of Pollution from Ships
NVOCC – Non-Vessel Owning Common Carrier
P&I – Protection and Indemnity (as in P&I club or P&I insurance)
SOLAS – Safety of Life at Sea Convention
TEU – Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (a twenty-foot container)
T/S – Transhipment
TC – Time Charter
WS – Worldscale
