The shipper is the party named on the bill of lading as the one contracting with the carrier to ship the goods, typically the exporter or seller. The shipper delivers the cargo, provides the shipping instruction and declared details, and receives the issued bill of lading.
Shipper is a document role, not necessarily the cargo’s owner: under many Incoterms the seller ships goods the buyer already bears risk for, and in NVOCC arrangements the NVOCC appears as shipper on the master bill while the real exporter is shipper on the house bill.
The role carries obligations: accurate cargo description, correct verified gross mass, proper dangerous-goods declaration, and meeting the cut-offs. Mis-declarations by shippers are the root of many safety incidents and fines.
For the shipper, tracking is proof and early warning: the load event confirms the goods actually sailed (and feeds documents like the on-board B/L date), while rollovers and schedule slips show up before the buyer calls. Export-side milestones, gate-in through vessel departure, are all visible per container in TrackingMCP.
The shipper is the party named on the bill of lading as the one contracting with the carrier to ship the goods, typically the exporter or seller. The shipper delivers the cargo, provides the shipping instruction and declared details, and receives the issued bill of lading.
No. Shipper is the contractual role toward the carrier. Ownership and risk sit with whoever the sales contract and Incoterm say, which can be the buyer well before loading.
Yes. When a forwarder or NVOCC books as principal, it is the shipper on the carrier’s bill, and the exporter takes the shipper role on the house bill instead.
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More in Parties & roles: Freight forwarder · NVOCC · Forwarder vs NVOCC vs carrier · Customs broker · Consignee · Notify party · Beneficial cargo owner (BCO) · Browse all 106 terms →