Plain English on the alphabet soup of ocean freight surcharges: BAF, EBS, CAF, GRI, PSS, ISPS, THC, ISOCC, AMS, ENS, AFR, ICS2, demurrage and detention, war-risk. Who bills, when it applies, the typical range, and what to watch on the invoice.
Each surcharge below names the code, who bills it, what it covers, when it applies, a typical USD range, and the line in the invoice it usually lands on. Sourced from public carrier tariff sheets and the IMO and EU regulatory references that drive the underlying compliance cost.
THC
What: Cost of moving the container between vessel and terminal yard at origin and destination. Lift on, lift off, gate move, ground handling.
When: Always. Both ends of the lane.
Typical: Shanghai 40HC THC around 980 RMB; Yantian around 1,100 RMB; LA / Long Beach around 425 USD origin-equivalent.
BAF
What: Fuel surcharge to cover bunker (marine fuel) price volatility. Set monthly or quarterly by the carrier and stacked on top of the base ocean freight rate.
When: Almost always. Even on rates quoted as all-in, BAF is sometimes itemised separately on the invoice.
Typical: Asia to US East Coast 40HC BAF around 200 to 350 USD depending on bunker price.
EBS
What: Top-up fuel surcharge applied when bunker prices spike outside normal BAF adjustment cycles. Effectively a second BAF layer.
When: When bunker prices move sharply between BAF reset windows. Common on the Asia to Australia and Asia to US lanes during oil-price shocks.
Typical: Asia to Australia 40HC EBS around 75 to 150 USD when triggered.
CAF
What: Currency exchange surcharge between the carrier currency (often USD) and the invoicing currency at origin or destination.
When: When the carrier invoices in a non-USD currency at origin or destination. Most common on Europe-bound and Australia-bound lanes.
Typical: Europe-bound 40HC CAF around 1 to 3 percent of base ocean freight.
GRI
What: Periodic ocean freight rate increase applied across an entire lane (Asia to North America, Asia to Europe, etc). Carriers announce GRIs 30 days ahead.
When: On announced cut-over dates. Multiple GRIs per year on busy lanes.
Typical: Asia to USWC 40HC GRI of 600 to 1,200 USD per container in peak months.
PSS
What: Temporary uplift on ocean freight for peak demand months. Applied on top of base rate plus BAF.
When: June to October on Asia-Pacific to US lanes (covering pre-Christmas restocking) and around Chinese New Year on Asia outbound (covering pre-CNY demand surge).
Typical: Asia to USEC 40HC PSS around 300 to 800 USD per container in peak.
ISPS
What: Port security charge under the IMO ISPS Code (introduced 2004). Funds port-security infrastructure and personnel.
When: Always.
Typical: Around 5 to 15 USD per container at most ports.
ISOCC
What: Compliance cost surcharge for the IMO 2020 sulphur cap (0.5 percent fuel sulphur content). Sometimes called LSS (Low Sulphur Surcharge) before the cap, ISOCC after.
When: On most ocean lanes. Effectively a permanent BAF stack-up.
Typical: Around 75 to 250 USD per 40HC depending on lane distance.
AMS
What: US Customs cargo-data filing fee for ocean shipments to the US. Triggered by the carrier filing the AMS manifest 24 hours before vessel loading at origin.
When: On every ocean shipment to a US port.
Typical: 25 to 35 USD per BL for ocean. Air cargo equivalent is the AMS Air at 4 to 6 USD per AWB.
ENS
What: EU Customs cargo-data filing fee. Equivalent to AMS for shipments into the EU; triggered 24 hours before vessel loading at origin.
When: On every ocean shipment to an EU port.
Typical: 25 to 35 EUR per BL.
AFR
What: Japan Customs advance cargo-information filing fee. Triggered 24 hours before vessel loading.
When: On every ocean shipment to a Japanese port.
Typical: 25 to 30 USD per BL.
ICS2
What: EU pre-arrival cargo data filing under the new ICS2 system. Replaces ENS for many shipment types as ICS2 phases roll out.
When: On shipments into the EU. Phase rollouts ongoing 2024 to 2027 across modes and consignor types.
Typical: Around 25 to 30 EUR per filing.
D&D
What: Late-return penalties. Demurrage is for containers held inside the terminal yard past free time; Detention is for containers held outside the terminal (at the consignee yard) past free time.
When: When you exceed the free-time window the carrier grants. Usually 4 to 7 free days inside the terminal at destination.
Typical: After free time, around 100 to 200 USD per container per day, escalating after 10 days.
CRS
What: War-risk, piracy-risk, or geopolitical-risk surcharge for transit through high-risk areas (Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Strait of Hormuz, Black Sea).
When: When the routing passes a designated risk corridor.
Typical: Red Sea CRS in 2024 ranged from 500 to 2,000 USD per 40HC depending on carrier and routing.
A typical Asia to US 40HC invoice has 6 to 10 line items. Base ocean freight, THC origin, BAF, ISOCC, ISPS, BL fee, seal fee, AMS, and any lane-specific surcharge (PSS, CRS, BMSB for Australia, ENS for EU). The base ocean freight rarely carries the largest dollar value; one of the surcharges usually does, especially BAF on long lanes or PSS in peak season. Reading an invoice line by line takes five minutes and catches the bundled-into-THC trap a forwarder sometimes uses.
Two forwarders quoting the same all-in can have meaningfully different exposure to volatility. A forwarder who lumps BAF into the base rate insulates you from monthly BAF moves but charges a small premium for the certainty. A forwarder who itemises BAF passes the move through, sometimes saving you money in falling-bunker months and costing you more in rising-bunker months. There is no universally right choice; both are common. The mistake is not knowing which one the forwarder is offering.
A GRI announced 30 days ahead is the cleanest call to make: if the booking can fit before the cut-over date, ship now and avoid the increase. PSS is similar. CRS (war-risk) is harder because rerouting around the risk corridor adds 7 to 14 days; the savings on CRS may be eaten by D&D at destination if the cargo was time-sensitive.
D&D (demurrage and detention) is the surcharge most often missed at quote time and most often the largest at invoice time. A US Customs hold of 5 days past free time at the destination terminal can land 500 to 1,000 USD on a single container. Ask the forwarder for the free-time window in writing and build a buffer for customs delays into the schedule.
The booking. A buyer books a 40HC of finished chemical product from Shanghai to New York. The forwarder quotes 4,200 USD all-in. Buyer signs the booking. The invoice arrives at 4,950 USD with these lines: base ocean 2,800 USD, BAF 320 USD, ISOCC 180 USD, THC origin 145 USD, ISPS 12 USD, BL 95 USD, seal 28 USD, AMS 25 USD, PSS 600 USD, ENS not applicable, ICS2 not applicable, CRS not applicable. Buyer is 750 USD over budget.
The failure. The forwarder quote was honest at quote time. But two surcharges landed between booking and invoice: a PSS of 600 USD per 40HC went into effect 22 days after booking, and BAF moved up 50 USD with the monthly reset. The forwarder did not warn the buyer that PSS was inbound. Buyer either eats the 750 USD or pushes back. Either the forwarder honours the original all-in, or the buyer absorbs the new surcharges. The carrier-contract fine print supports the new surcharges as long as they were announced before vessel loading.
The fix. On the next booking, the buyer asks the forwarder for the carrier tariff sheet (with effective dates), a 14-day rate-validity guarantee on quoted surcharges, and a written warning if any GRI or PSS is announced before vessel loading. The forwarder accepts. The next booking lands at quote, no surprises. The buyer also locks an annual rate contract with the carrier for the highest-volume lane, which moves PSS exposure from 600 USD per 40HC to 200 USD per 40HC for the rest of the year.
BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor) is the standard fuel surcharge that adjusts on the carrier reset cycle (monthly or quarterly). EBS (Emergency Bunker Surcharge) is a top-up applied between resets when bunker prices spike. ISOCC (IMO 2020 Sulphur Compliance Charge) is the surcharge for using lower-sulphur compliant fuel post the 2020 cap. All three are fuel-related; some carriers fold them into one line item while others itemise.
Both are uplifts to the base ocean rate. A General Rate Increase (GRI) is a step-up in the base rate intended to be permanent across the entire lane; PSS (Peak Season Surcharge) is a temporary uplift that comes off again at the end of the season. Functionally, both add cost; structurally, PSS is supposed to drop off at season end while GRI is supposed to stay. In practice some PSS announcements end up baked into the next year base rate.
Whoever the BL terms allocate them to. Standard FOB shipments: the consignee at destination, since the cargo is already on the BL when the filing happens. Standard CIF or DAP shipments: the shipper, who has the carrier contract. The forwarder usually invoices the party named on the BL.
Free time is the window the carrier grants for picking up the container at destination, paying duties, returning the empty container, and so on, before demurrage and detention start clocking. Standard free time is 4 to 7 calendar days at destination, sometimes longer for difficult-to-clear cargo. Extensions are negotiated through the forwarder before the cargo arrives, not after; carriers rarely waive D&D retroactively.
Ask the forwarder for the carrier tariff sheet that backs the surcharge, with the effective date. If the surcharge is older than your booking date, the forwarder missed it in the quote and you have grounds to ask for a credit. If the surcharge was announced after your booking date, most carrier contracts protect the booked rate against post-booking changes, but watch the fine print on GRIs and CRS, which sometimes apply to vessels that have not yet departed.
Australian lanes have low cargo volumes and a high regulatory load (BMSB seasonal fumigation, AQIS biosecurity inspection, MSIC port-security clearance). Carrier surcharges (AQIS, BMSB, ISOCC) and lane-specific PSS combine to lift the all-in rate above the equivalent US lane on a per-mile basis. The lane is not commodity priced.
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