There are many reasons for containers to be stranded or detained. Here are the six most common situations:
1. Delay due to incorrect documents;
2. Delay due to delay in receiving documents;
3. Delay due to file loss;
4. Delays due to customs clearance or commodity inspection;
5. Delays due to the release of destination goods;
6. Delay due to the inability of the recipient to contact.
1. Delay due to incorrect file
For example, the bill of lading arrives at the consignee or its bank, but there are differences in address details, flight details, cargo details or shipping details. Or, the trade documents submitted to the customs of the destination, such as commercial invoices and proof of origin, are incorrect. Customs requires modification of the documents before allowing customs clearance.
When correcting these documents with the shipping company or customs, the detention and demurrage may have occurred.
At this point, the container may have arrived at the destination port but has not yet cleared the customs. Since the receiving party can get the bill of lading after the problem is solved, the container may start to generate port detention fees, demurrage fees and even port storage fees.
2. Delay due to delayed receipt of documents
Documents such as bills of lading, certificates of origin, packing lists, etc., may not be able to arrive at the consignee in time. These problems are usually caused by the shipper not processing the original documents in advance and waiting until the last minute to collect all the documents.
For various reasons, the shipping company delayed issuing bills of lading to the shipper (such as system problems); the customs did not receive the shipper’s export documents or port documents at customs clearance; the container loading confirmation was not received from the port; the shipping company has not received the customer’s payment. Freight; in the case of a designated bank (seller's bank) involving a letter of credit, the document did not arrive at the issuing bank (buyer bank) in time and was postponed.
Due to the short range of the ocean route, the cargo can quickly reach the port, so the delay in receiving documents affects the ocean route far more than the ocean route.
3. Delay due to file loss
This is a very common problem in detention and demurrage. There are many cases of file loss during the delivery process. The most troublesome thing is that the original bill of lading is lost.
After the original bill of lading is lost, it takes many steps to resolve. Some of the steps may take several days to sort out, especially if there is a bank guarantee. Sometimes, the customer may not have 200% or 300% of the value of the goods required by the shipping company as a guarantee.
Therefore, if this happens, it is very likely that the subsequent delay in port and demurrage will be incurred.
4. Delays due to customs clearance or commodity inspection
For example, the receiving party initiates customs clearance. In all countries, the recipient must submit customs documents to provide detailed information on the goods being imported.
The details of the customs documents need to be submitted with the details on the commercial invoice and the customs clearance documents.
One of the key items of customs inspection is to ensure that goods are properly classified and declared HS code. Different HS codes are related to different tariff rates, and the recipient is responsible for ensuring that they correctly state these details.
Misrepresentation of the HS code may not only result in penalties, but may also cause the authorities to be suspicious of the consignee's activities. In any case, in most parts of the world, customs are particularly wary of importing retail goods such as clothing, shoes, accessories, electronic products, etc. This is part of the WTO anti-dumping measures.
Therefore, it is not uncommon for these goods to be pulled down by the customs.
In this case, delays due to customs inspections are very common, and there are no fixed time limits for inspections, and the lengths vary widely. Different countries may experience different degrees of delay in customs inspections, which may result in delays in port and demurrage.
5. Delay due to release of destination goods
Although the shipping company received the bill of lading, it did not properly approve the bill of lading, so the release of the goods at the destination may also be delayed. This is a very common phenomenon.
For example, suppose a bill of lading is a bill of lading indicating that the bill of lading is not endorsed by the shipper and is not noticed when the original bill of lading is submitted to the destination. This means that the original bill of lading must be sent back to the shipper and sent back after they have endorsed it.
Another common reason for delayed delivery of destination goods is because the shipping company did not receive their money from the destination’s recipient.
This is usually because the recipient lacks an understanding of the international trade terms used for shipping, and they mistakenly believe that the shipper needs to pay some or all of the local fees.
Therefore, at this time, there will inevitably be a delay in port charges, demurrage charges and even port storage fees, waiting for customs clearance.
6, delay due to the inability to contact the consignee
Put it last, but it doesn't mean the least. The shipping company cannot contact the consignee or the notifier on the bill of lading. In most cases, it may be that the goods have been abandoned by the shipper or the consignee, or both, but the shipping company has not been informed.
However, the shipping company will still wait for the consignee to pick up the goods based on the arrival notification of the goods that have been sent to the notifying party. And calculate the detention fee and demurrage fee.