B
B/B: (See Break-Bulk Cargo)
B/D: Banker's Draft
B/E: Bill of Exchange
B/S: Bill of Sale
BAA: British Airports Authority
BACA: Baltic Air Charter Association
BACS: Banker's Automated Clearingwee System
BAF: Bunker adjustment factor: A fuel surcharge expressed as a percentage added or subtracted from the freight rate reflecting the movement in the market price for bunkers.
Balance of Trade:The difference bet
n a country's total imports and exports; if exports exceed imports, favorable balance of trade exists, if not, a trade deficit is said to exist.
Ballast: Heavy weight, often sea water, necessary for the stability and safety of a ship at sea.
Barter: Trade in which merchandise is exchanged directly for other merchandise without use of money. Barter is an important means of trade with countries using currency that is not readily convertible.
BCN: Banker's Cover Note
BEA: British Exporters Association
Beam: The maximum breadth of a ship.
Belly Cargo: Freight accommodation below the main deck.
Beneficiary: A firm or person on whom a letter of credit has been drawn. The beneficiary is usually the seller or exporter.
Bermuda Agreement: An agreement concluded in 1946 between the U.K. and the U.S., designed to regulate future international air traffic. Most governments accept its principles and follow it inter alia by limiting traffic rights on international routes to one or two carriers.
Berth: Place alongside a quay where a ship loads or discharges cargo.
Berth Liner Service: Is a regular scheduled steamship line with regular published schedules port of call ) from and to defined trade areas.
Berth or Liner Terms: Is an expression covering assessment of ocean freight rates generally implying that loading and discharging expenses will be for ship owner's account, and usually apply from the end of ship's tackle in port of loading to the end of ship's tackle in port of discharge.
Berth: Is the place beside a pier, quay or wharf where a vessel can be loaded or discharged.
BIFA: British International Freight Association
Bill of Entry: A shipper's detailed statement for Customs purposes of the nature and value of goods in a consignment.
Bill of Exchange (B/E): Legally defined as "an unconditional order in writing, addressed by one person to another, signed by the person giving it, requiring the person to whom it is addressed to pay on demand or at a fixed or determinable future time, a sum certain in money to or to the order of a specified person, or to bearer". It is the most general method of obtaining payment for goods shipped abroad.
Bill of Lading: A document that establishes the terms of a contract between a shipper and a transportation company under which freight is to be moved between specified points for a specified charge. Usually prepared by the shipper on forms issued by the carrier, it serves as a document of title, contract of carriage, and a receipt for goods. Also see Air Waybill and Ocean Bill of Lading.
Bolster: This is a piece of equipment equivalent to the bottom of a container without sides. Often used for stacking parcels of sawn timber and bags of cocoa. Otherwise known as a flat or pontoon
Bonded Warehouse: A warehouse storage area or manufacturing facility in which imported goods may be stored or processed without payment of customs duties.
BOTB: British Overseas Trade Board
Bottle screws, container shoes, twist locks, chains and chain tensioners: All pieces of lashing equipment for securing cargo (twist locks and container shoes are used only on containers, pontoons and stackmasters).
Boules: A boule is a log that has been sliced through into at least 12 pieces. The bark is left intact.
Breakbulk: Another term for general cargo, i.e. non unitised cargoes.
Brussels Tariff Nomenclature Number (BTN): The customs tariff number used by most European nations. The United States does not use the BTN, but a similar system known as the Harmonize Tariff Schedule.
BSC: British Shippers Council
BSI: British Standards Institution
BSS: British Standard Specification
Bunkers: Name given for vessel’s fuel and diesel oil supplies (originates from coal bunkers).
BV: Bureau Veritas
