Shipper-owned container
SOC
A shipper-owned container is a container supplied by the shipper or its forwarder rather than by the carrier. The carrier only provides the slot on the vessel.
What it is
A shipper-owned container, or SOC, is a container that belongs to or is leased by the shipper, consignee or forwarder instead of the ocean carrier. The carrier provides only the space on the vessel. The opposite is a carrier-owned container, or COC, where the line supplies the equipment as part of the freight. Whether a box is SOC or COC is stated on the booking and the bill of lading.
How it works in practice
With an SOC, the shipper arranges the empty container, confirms that it is seaworthy and carries a valid safety approval plate, and decides what happens to it at destination. Freight is quoted on a slot basis, without the equipment element. The carrier's detention tariff does not apply to the box, because the carrier has no equipment to recover, although terminal storage and demurrage on the cargo can still arise.
Why it matters
SOCs are used where carriers are short of equipment, for destinations where a line does not want its containers to go, for one-way moves of containers being sold, and for specialized units such as tank containers. For an NVOCC or agent, the ownership flag changes how a box is treated: an SOC is not part of the line's stock, is not billed for detention, and must not be confused with fleet equipment.
In Sailix
How Sailix handles it
Sailix records container ownership as SOC or COC on an inquiry, and the line booking carries it forward from the quotation. Container movement statuses include SOC in, SOC out and SOC picked up, the Container Drop Confirm screen has an SOC drop type for taking a box out of inventory, and the manual CSN form carries an SOC flag for each container.
- Inquiry managementCapture each export inquiry with customer, route, containers and sales owner, and follow it into negotiation and quotation.
- Liner bookingGroup bookings under an export master job for each line and vessel voyage, and book accepted quotations with containers, revenue and cost.
- Container inventoryOne screen for container stock across ports, terminals, CFS, ICD and depots, with masters for containers, types and locations.
Related terms
- DetentionDetention is a charge for keeping a carrier's container outside the port or terminal beyond the free time. It runs until the empty is returned or the full is gated in.
- NVOCCAn NVOCC is a carrier that sells ocean freight under its own bills of lading without operating ships. It buys space from vessel operators instead.
- TEUA TEU is a twenty-foot equivalent unit, the standard measure of container volume. One 20-foot container counts as one TEU and a 40-foot as two.
Get started
Put your whole shipping desk on one system.
Create your workspace and run your first job from booking to settlement.