A dictionary of the terms used in short sea shipping and in the REALISE Reports is provided below.

Accessorial Charges

Charges that are applied to the base tariff rate or base contract rate, e.g., bunkers, container, currency, destination/delivery.

Agent (Agt.)

A person authorized to transact business for and in the name of another person or company. Types of agent are:
(1) brokers,
(2) commission merchants,
(3) resident buyers,
(4) sales agents,
5) manufacturer's representatives.

All In

The total price to move cargo from origin to destination, inclusive of all charges.

Bill of Lading (B/L)

A document that establishes the terms of a contract between a shipper and a transportation company. It serves as a document of title, a contract of carriage and a receipt for goods.

Broker

A person who arranges for transportation of loads for a percentage of the revenue from the load.

Cabotage

Water transportation term applicable to shipments between ports of a nation; commonly refers to coast-wise or inter-coastal navigation or trade. Many nations, including the United States, have cabotage laws which require national flag vessels to provide domestic interport service.

Capital Costs
Capital costs comprise the consumption of fixed capital and interest payments, and often represent a high share of total infrastructure costs. They are different from annual capital expenditure, which may or may not cover all the costs. (If expenditure is less than the costs, the quality and value of the infrastructure will deteriorate.

Congestion

Congestion arises when traffic exceeds infrastructure capacity and the speed of traffic declines. It can be defined as a situation where traffic is slower than it would be if traffic flows were at low levels. The definition of these “low levels” (reference level) is complicated and varies from country to country.

Congestion Costs

Congestion costs comprise direct costs (time costs, operating costs) and indirect costs (the opportunity cost of the time lost, costs occurred to third parties due to delayed deliveries of goods, environmental costs).

Container

A truck trailer body that can be detached from the chassis for loading into a vessel, a rail car or stacked in a container depot. Containers may be ventilated, insulated, refrigerated, flat rack, vehicle rack, open top, bulk liquid or equipped with interior devices. A container may be 20 feet, 40 feet, 45 feet, 48 feet or 53 feet in length, 8'0" or 8'6" in width, and 8'6" or 9'6" in height.

Door-to-Door

Through transportation of a container and its contents from consignor to consignee. Also known as House to House. Not necessarily a through rate.
 
External costs
Are defined as those emerging as a consequence of changes of welfare of an individual or organisation caused by economic activities performed by others, and which are not reflected in the market prices.

Externalities 
Arise when the social economic activities of one economic agent have an impact on the welfare of another economic agent, without that impact having been taken into account by the first agent. Specifically, they occur when changes in welfare resulting from economic activities are not reflected in market prices. If monetary values can be placed upon externalities then they can, at least in theory, be incorporated into the pricing mechanism; in this way they will then be taken into account by all economic agents. Monetary valuation of externalities is therefore directly relevant for transport pricing purposes.

Feeder Service

Cargo to/from regional ports are transferred to/from a central hub port for a long-haul ocean voyage.

Feeder Vessel

A short-sea vessel which transfers cargo between a central   "hub" port and smaller "spoke" ports.

Flat Rate Charge
A charge for the use of infrastructure, often used in conjunction with variable charges, which does not vary with use. Annual license fees, entrance fees or access charges are all examples of flat rate charges. (Synonymous with fixed rate charge).
 

Freight Forwarder

A person whose business is to act as an agent on behalf of the shipper. A freight forwarder frequently makes the booking reservation.

ILU
Intermodal Loading Unit.
 

Intermodality

Intermodal transport is defined as “the movement of goods in one loading unit, which uses successively several modes of transport without handling of the goods themselves in transhipment between the modes”.

This entails that:

-  two or more different transport modes are deployed, and therefore at least one transhipment takes place

-  the main haulage is not carried out by road, but by rail or water, while trucks/lorries are used for the initial and final legs of the goods movement (pre and post haulage).

Marginal costs (short-run)

These are specific variable costs, referring to the vehicle-km/train-km driven on existing infrastructure (without considering a capacity increase). They reflect the additional cost of an additional vehicle/train imposes. As long cost functions can be assumed to be linear, marginal costs are equal to variable costs.

Marginal costs (long-term)
Additionally to short term marginal infrastructure costs, long term costs do consider possible new investments or capacity increases. The calculation of these cost is rather difficult since it has to be known which future infrastructure are necessary and appropriate. To find an optimal path for capacity increases, an infrastructure operator has to compare marginal congestion costs and marginal investment costs for future capacity increases.
 

Multipurpose ship

Any ship capable of carrying different types of cargo which require different methods of handling. There are several types of ships falling into this category, for example, ships which can carry roll on/roll off cargo together with containers.

Pallet

A platform with or without sides, on which a number of packages or pieces may be loaded to facilitate handling by a lift truck.

Port of Call

Port where a ship discharges or receives traffic.

Port of Entry

Port where cargo is unloaded and enters a country.

Port of Exit

Place where cargo is loaded and leaves a country.

Ramp

Railroad terminal where containers are received or delivered and trains loaded or discharged. Originally, trailers moved onto the rearmost flatcar via a ramp and driven into position in a technique known as "circus loading." Most modern rail facilities use lifting equipment to position containers onto the flatcars.

Ro/Ro

A shortening of the term, "Roll On/Roll Off." A method of ocean cargo service using a vessel with ramps which allows wheeled vehicles to be loaded and discharged without cranes.

Running Costs
The costs necessary to keep a particular asset in operation, but which do not enhance the value of the asset. For infrastructure, running cost expenditures will be those annual expenditures necessary to ensure that the infrastructure provides an acceptable quality of service (including operating costs), but do not maintain that quality beyond a limited period of time. They include items such as: sweeping and cleaning; cutting of grass verges; winter maintenance (snow clearing and gritting); lighting; and policing.

Shipment

The tender of one lot of cargo at one time from one shipper to one consignee on one bill of lading.
 
Shipowner

Owner of the ship, often he is also terminalist

Shipper

The person or company who is usually the supplier or owner of commodities shipped. Also called Consignor.

Ships:

  - Bulk Carriers:
All vessels designed to carry bulk cargo such as grain, fertilizers, ore, and oil.

  - Combination Passenger and Cargo Ships:
Ships with a capacity for 13 or more passengers.

  - Freighters:
Breakbulk vessels both refrigerated and unrefrigerated, containerships, partial containerships, roll-on/roll-off vessels, and barge carriers.