Shipping Glossary

Bunker Adjustment Factor.

The BAF is reviewed on a monthly basis and the level is based on the average price for the range between the 15th and 14th of the two preceding months.

See how Unifeeder calculates BAF.

Baltic Sea Region

Unifeeder has several routes to and from the Baltic countries. See our feeder and shortsea routes.

Globalisation of production and consumption patterns have been greatly facilitated by the increased use of container transportation. This is largely because of the numerous technical and economic advantages containerisation possesses over traditional methods of transportation.

Integrated Electronic Data Inter-change.

A powerful way of business communication. To ensure fast and efficient communication, Unifeeder has direct EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) connections with most customers, ports, terminals, and authorities throughout the region. 

On transoceanic routes, international container shipping lines use large container ships with capacities of up to 18,000 TEU. The cargo is discharged at large transshipment ports (hubs) and reloaded on smaller vessels (feeders) for further transport to the actual port of destination. Read more about Unifeeder's feeder operations.

Health, Safety, Security and Environment

Unifeeder has formulated clear Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) policies that address these risks. The policies reflect Unifeeder’s aim to provide stringent health and safety information throughout the organization as well as to partners in the transport industries.

International Maritime Dangerous Goods

A code regulating the transport of dangerous goods at sea. At Unifeeder we transport both hazardous and non-hazardous cargo.

International Maritime Organisation

IMO – the International Maritime Organization – is the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships

Movement of goods (in one and the same loading unit or a vehicle) by successive modes of transport without handling of the goods themselves when changing modes. Intermodal transport is, therefore, a particular type of multimodal transport.

International Organisation for Standardisation

ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, develops and publishes International Standards.

International Ship and Port Security

The International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS Code) is a comprehensive set of measures to enhance the security of ships and port facilities, developed in response to the perceived threats to ships and port facilities in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in the United States.

Marine pollution.

MARPOL is the main international convention aimed at the prevention of pollution from ships caused by operational or accidental causes. MARPOL conventions are negotiated within the IMO framework.

Multimodal transportation is a process of moving cargo in a single container from door to door by combining land transport (road or rail) and maritime or river transport (vessel or barge) in one transportation chain.

See 6 ways to optimize your supply chain with multimodal transportation.

Particularly Sensitive Sea Area

A Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) is an area that needs special protection through action by IMO because of its significance for recognized ecological or socio-economic or scientific reasons and which may be vulnerable to damage by international maritime activities.

Sulphur Emission Control Area

Sulfur Emission Control Areas (SECAs), are sea areas in which stricter controls were established to minimize airborne emissions from ships as defined by Annex VI of the 1997 MARPOL Protocol.

When intra-European cargoes are carried from door-to-door, seaborne transport is combined with rail and/or road into an integrated multimodal transport chain that optimizes the whole supply chain rather than each individual link.

Read more about Unifeeder's shortsea operations.

One TEU represents the cargo capacity of a standard intermodal container, 20 feet long and 8 feet wide.

See the varieties of containers Unifeeder handle.