Logistics terms S

Said to be (STB)

Said to be (STB) is a term used by the shipping line when describing in the bill of lading goods loaded in sealed containers or in trailers on board a sea-going ship. With this, the shipping line covers itself as regards the correct contents of those unit loads.

Said to contain (STC)

Said to contain (STC) is a remark used by the shipping line when describing in the bill of lading goods loaded in sealed containers or in trailers on board a sea-going ship, and whereby the shipping line makes the necessary reservations as regards the correct contents of those unit loads.

SASO CoC

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia operates a product conformity programme for exports entering the country. For the clearance of all products, a conformity certificate is required, namely the SASO CoC. They are needed for the clearance of shipments and constitute a confirmation that the products comply with the relevant Saudi Arabian technical regulations as well as the national, regional and/or international standards. All import shipments must be provided with a non-removable indication of origin. Import shipments without this indication are held by Saudi Arabian customs and the importer will be requested to undertake corrective actions or to promise not to repeat the offence. If this is neglected, a fine can be imposed or the goods can be returned to the country of origin.

Sea freight

Transport by sea is the most favourable way of international transport in terms of the ratio between speed, safety and price. By ship you can send almost anything; from sea containers to goods that do not fit in a container.

Seal

With a seal, a freight container is sealed. Every container loaded onto a cargo ship must have at least one seal. Every shipping line uses its own conditions for sealing the containers. Seals are available in various forms.

Seaworthiness

Seaworthiness is the declaration of the general condition of a ship (valid certificates, complete equipment and crew, and so on).

Securing

Securing is the fastening of packages on or in a container by means of dunnage or chains and the like, so that they can be transported safely and seaworthily.

Setting down

Using a special container chassis, containers can be set down on the ground. This is done either upright or tilted. Setting down upright has the major advantage that the cargo does not shift inside the container. When sliding off tilted, the cargo will slide to the rear. Sliding off is therefore never done with the container doors facing rear/down. After setting down/sliding off, the goods can be loaded/unloaded at ground level. In addition, loading/unloading can be carried out without waiting time and/or chassis rental.

SHIP BROKER

A ship broker acts as an intermediary for the shipping line and shipper, with the primary task of finding cargo for ships or aircraft. Generally, ship brokers are employed by shipping lines or airlines in order to find cargo for the relevant means of transport. A ship broker is also known as a ship's agent and supervises the stevedore on the loading and unloading of the ship or aircraft.

Shipped on board

A clean B/L is made out with the addition 'clean on board'. With this it is indicated that the goods have been received in good order and condition (as far as the shipping line can judge that). This term comes from bygone times, when every shipment was physically loaded by the crew. The cargo could then be physically checked for imperfections. With present-day containerisation, it is usually not possible to establish the condition of the goods. Therefore, from a legal point of view, the term shipped on board is often used, in combination with 'said to contain (STC)' and 'shipper's load, stowage and count'. With this, the shipping line covers itself against shortages and any damage to shipments.

Short Ton (ST)

American measure: 2,000 lbs, 907 kg.

Side loader

A forklift truck fitted on one side with a lifting device for moving containers.

Side loader

A side loader is eminently suitable for setting containers on and off quickly at any desired spot. During these operations, the container remains fully horizontal, so that the cargo does not shift.

Skids

Skids, also known as pallets, are wooden or plastic boards with blocks placed under the goods to facilitate loading/unloading and securing.

Slow Steaming

Slow Steaming means that the speed of a container ship is considerably below the maximum speed. The advantages of Slow Steaming include: - Decreasing fuel consumption of the ship (resulting in a reduction of bunker costs); - Decreasing CO2 emissions (contributing to environmental efficiency). A container ship sails at about 24 knots on average, i.e. 45 km/h (generally 85-90% of the engine power). Lowering the speed of the ship to about 18 knots, 33 km/h, is called slow steaming. A further reduction to between 12 - 15 knots (22 - 27 km/h) is called Super- or Ultra Slow Steaming. Apart from the above two advantages, Slow Steaming also enables carriers to reduce excess fleet capacity in times of lower demand for transport. The reliability of arrival and departure also increases. When delay arises due to port congestion or bad weather, one can, after all, temporarily sail a little faster to make up the lost days.

South African filing for conveyances and goods (RCG)

The South African government implemented the project Reporting for Conveyances and Goods (RCG) in April 2018. Customs in South Africa wants to know what has been loaded on board 24 hours before the ship departs from the loading port. This applies to all goods that are imported as well as to goods that are transhipped in South Africa. The RCG requires the shipping line to submit all details of the goods digitally to the authorities in South Africa 24 hours before loading at the port of departure. If the correct information has not been submitted before the deadline, it is possible that the goods will not be discharged without the express permission of customs. To meet the requirements of South African customs, it is important that we have the complete B/L instructions in our possession in good time.

Special equipment

In addition to general purpose equipment, such as a 20ft GP and 40ft GP container, most shipping lines also have containers with special properties. Think, for example, of flat rack and open top containers for oversized cargo, and reefer containers for goods that must be transported under temperature control.

Spidering

Spidering is the securing of round tanks to prevent them from rotating during transport. This is usually done with steel or wooden beams and resembles a spider where the beams are the legs and the tank the body.

Spreader

A spreader is an extendable metal frame with which containers are lifted by gantry cranes, straddle carriers, transtainers, reach stackers or forklift trucks. When there are containers of different lengths (the most common international lengths are 20ft and 40ft), the metal frame can be extended hydraulically until the appropriate length is reached. At each corner of the frame there is an oval, cone-shaped pin. By turning that pin through 90 degrees when it has been placed in the intended opening (corner post) on the container, the container can be lifted.

SSC

SSC Surcharge is the abbreviation for Sensitive Cargo Contribution Surcharge, an additional levy on goods that must be handled with extra care.

Stacking

The stacking of bags, containers and boxes on top of each other.

Statement of Facts

This abbreviation stands for Statement of Facts (SOF). This is a detailed chronological description of the activities of the ship during its stay in a port; taking the sea pilot on board, entering, the possible passage through the lock, mooring, the preparations for the loading and unloading operations, the actual loading and unloading operations, the quantity of transhipped cargo, casting off and departure. The SOF also states whether or not tugboats were used and the quantity of fuels on board on mooring and on departure. In the case of voyage chartering, the periods in which work cannot be carried out due to the weather conditions (for example in case of rain) must also be clearly stated. After all, this time does not count as lay days when the lay days are 'weather working days'.

Statistical code

See HS code.

Statistical value

The customs value or statistical value is the value of a good at the border of the EU and is used by customs in order to be able to levy duties on import, among other things. Because the border of the EU lies at an imaginary border somewhere at sea, customs sets the customs value on import equal to the CIF value. With export there is also a customs value, but this has more of a statistical function. With export, the FOB value is used. It can therefore be that, on the basis of the delivery condition used in the trade transaction, a value must be added to or deducted from the invoice value.

Stowage

The loading of cargo into ship's holds.

Stowing

Stowing goods is loading or unloading them as efficiently as possible in a space (container or ship).

Straddle carrier

Containers are unloaded from or loaded onto a trailer by means of a straddle carrier. This is a lifting device that drives over the trailer. The container is then lifted vertically. The pneumatic tyres of a straddle carrier ensure that containers, after unloading, can easily be stacked up to 3 high in the container terminal. The containers are stacked in rows in such a way that the straddle carrier can drive over each row in order to remove or add containers in that way. The lifting device is also used to bring the containers from under the gantry cranes alongside the ship, or from under a transtainer of a rail bundle, to the storage yard and vice versa.

Straddle Carrier

Truck equipment with which a container can be placed on the ground and on the truck.

Stripping

The unloading of various small consignments from a single container is called stripping.

Stuffing

The loading of various small consignments into a single container is called stuffing.

Summer freeboard

The summer freeboard is the distance from the waterline to the measurement deck or main deck of the ship, when the ship is loaded down to the summer mark of the load line. The summer freeboard mark indicates, in other words, how far the ship must minimally protrude out of the water or how deep the ship may maximally be loaded.

Surcharge

The amount to settle additional costs in maritime shipping (e.g. CSC, BAF).