​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Export Procedures

​​ For Rate Inquiry, please click here to complete a rate request form. Our Sales Dept will respond to your request within 48 business hours.

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e-Service Enquiry

No log in is required to access our service information including interactive or PDF version of our sailing schedule or to view our service route maps.

You can track Vessel & Rail Information or access non-confidential cargo tracking information by Booking Number, B/L Number or Container Number from our home page. You can also view particulars including registry, flag and age of a vessel. Registered users can obtain complete shipment details which please refer to the Shipment Management section below.

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Place a Booking

Customers can place bookings with us through several different modes. Booking acknowledgements will be sent within two business hours for general cargo and one business hour for refrigerated cargo:

1. Registered customers can book on-line via My OOCL Center.
2. EDI Bookings: We can handle both the EDIFACT as well as X.12 formats. For details information please refer to our EDI implementation guide.
3. Booking requests can also be e-mailed to our Customer Service staff located throughout North America​ (USA, Canada and Mexico).

• OOCL Demurrage Free Receiving Date (DFRD):  The DFRD date is the first date that you may tender an export container without incurring OOCL demurrage.  Delivering containers too early will result in OOCL outbound demurrage being charged per our tariff rules, regardless of the marine terminal's earliest receiving date.  Outbound demurrage applies equally to merchant and carrier haulage. 
• It is the responsibility of the shipper of record to confirm empty equipment availability and empty pickup facility with OOCL prior to dispatching vendor for empty pickup.
• All advanced shipments booked more than three weeks prior to cutoff are subject to equipment availability at origin and may be cancelled or transferred to a later sailing if no empty unit is available by cutoff time.
• Empty equipment cannot be picked up more than five calendar days before first receiving date.
• First receiving date for loaded containers to be received at OOCL origin facility as follows:
  • Intermodal origin shipments:
    • US gateway cargo:  six calendar days prior to and inclusive of cargo cutoff date.
      • Export containers tendered earlier than six calendar days prior to and inclusive of cargo cutoff date at origin rail ramps, for shipment via USA gateway ports, will be subject to OOCL's Tariff for Outbound Demurrage at the marine terminal.
      • Example - If the cargo cutoff date at the origin rail ramp is on Monday the 10th, cargo may be tendered starting on Wednesday the 5th.
    • Canada gateway cargo:  five calendar days prior to and inclusive of cargo cutoff date.
    • CNR (Canadian National Railroad) please refer to CNRR cut off schedule.
    • CPR (Canadian Pacific Rail) : Please refer to the CPR cut off schedule.
      
    • CPR ​Example - If the cargo cutoff date a​t the origin rail ramp is on Monday the 10th, cargo may be tendered starting on the previous week on ​Thursday the 6th.​​
  • Local port shipments:
    • To avoid motor carrier dry runs on export containers delivered directly to marine terminals, please verify receiving window with the marine terminal before making delivery.
    • Generally, first receiving commences five working days inclusive of cargo cutoff date unless the terminal has advised otherwise. For load port terminals with exceptions to the five working day receiving window kindly refer to our Earliest Terminal Receiving Date link.
• Cargo Cutoff - In the event that the cargo cutoff date on the most recent OOCL Booking Confirmation does not match the cargo cutoff date on either the Terminal or Rail Websites:
  • Intermodal Origin Shipments:
    • As the Rail Line ultimately controls the in-gate of cargo for carriage to the port, use the Rail Website cutoff information.
  • Local port shipments:
    • As the Terminal ultimately controls the in-gate of cargo to their facility, use the Terminal Website cutoff information.
  • Commodity Specific Cutoffs:
    • Many terminals have unique cargo cutoffs for commodity specific cargo, use the Terminal Website to determine the appropriate cutoff regardless of origin location to ensure your cargo gets to the terminal on time.

• Seal Requirements- It is the responsibility of the shipper of record to affix a High Security Seal/Lock (Bottle Seal) to each OOCL container tendered for export from the United States and Canada. For full details on high security seal requirements, please refer to the tariff details he​re.
  

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Intermodal Rail Billing

• Request for rail billing is not accepted prior to the DFRD on the booking request. Email Rail billing must be made at least two business hours prior to delivery of loaded container back to ramp and no later than 1600CST.
• Rail billing for hazardous and reefer cargo must be made at least two business hours prior to delivery back to rail terminal and no later than 1600CST, Monday to Friday.
• Rail billing for general cargo (FAK) must be submitted on-line via  https://n2c3-s.home.oocl.com/
• To register for our E-bill system, please fill out the form under the “Get Started" link via https://n2c3-s.home.oocl.com/. For account issues, please email EBILLSETUP@oocl.com for assistance.
• On-line rail billing is available 24/7, and rail billing status is available on-line.​
  
• Your driver can deliver the container to rail terminal within 1 hour of rail billing acceptance.
  

​IMPORTANT NOTE: Final hazardous documentation must be received one business day prior to rail billing submission to avoid any potential delay in billing.

• For hazardous cargo email: hazbill@oocl.com
  
• For reefer cargo email: rfrbill@o​ocl.com
• Subject line in emails to state: Rail Bill Request along with booking number
  
  IMPORTANT:
• To avoid potential cargo delay at receiving rail ramp please ensure the commodity description provided at time of booking registration matches drayman's paperwork.
• Any cancellation must also be e-mailed to rbassist@oocl.com prior to requesting a new rail billing or attempting to deliver the container against a different booking. Rail billing cancellation must be confirmed by OOCL prior to requesting new rail billing.​
  
• Please note our Overweight Rail Surcharge​ (Click here)​ for the United States and Canada which is assessed based on Cargo Weight on Container Rail Bill.
  

• All hazardous shipments are subject to acceptance by vessel operator, port of loading, port of discharge, transship port and final destination approval prior to container delivery at point of origin.
• Documents related to Hazardous (Dangerous Goods) shipments must be uploaded via My OOCL Centre (MOC) at www.oocl.com.
• Preliminary DG documentation must:
• Be provided same day as booking registration.
  
• Be uploaded to MOC as “Preliminary DG Certificate".​
  
• Final DG documentation including container number information must:
  
• Be uploaded to MOC as “DG Certificate for International Transportation".
• Be received no later than two business hours prior to receipt of cargo at origin and one business day in advance of dispatch and rail billing request*
• *Los Angeles – YTI Terminal requires the final DG document 24 hours prior to arrival.
• *New York - Maher Terminal requires shippers to send all hazardous documentation to the following Maher Terminals email address, hazdoc@maherterminals.com prior to the arrival of the container.  The subject line must include the vessel name and container number.
• *Houston has specific requirements prior to container receipt which can be found: Hazardous Documentation Requests - Port Houston.
  
• Material Safety Data Sheets/Safety Data Sheets to be uploaded to MOC as “Material Safety Data Sheet".
• Special Certificates of approval to be uploaded to MOC as “Certificate of Conformance".​
  
• Tank Certification/Tank Container Periodic Inspection Report must be provided for DG tank containers indicating tank is under current certification.
• Rail Road DG Placarding Requirements: Click here. ​
  

• Shipper shall comply with all rules, laws and regulations of any national or local government and/or other authorities relating to the Goods, including but not limited to weight limit, weight declaration requirements, blocking and bracing requirements, and hazardous cargo declarations, and shall indemnify OOCL for any liability, loss, damage or expenses of whatsoever nature as a result of any non-compliance. Customer is also reminded on the applicable Tariff Rules available at www.oocl.com about mis-declaration for which administration fee and/or re-handling charge will be billed.
  
  
• The following services are considered as FROB by US CBP and, therefore, require complete shipping instruction submission by the required due date:
  • PNW1 W (VAN POL)
    
  • PNW2 W (VAN POL starting from 01/01/2025)​
    
  • ECX1 W (CLO POL)
  • ECC2 E/W (CLO POL)​
    
  • SEAP N (HAL POL)
  • PCN1 W (PRR POL)
  • ECC1 W (CLO POL)
  • ATG1 W/E (VER/ALT POL)
    
    
• Advance Manifest Regulations
  • The following are US pre-manifesting services (CFR 19 4.75) which means the vessel manifest must be filed 24 hours prior to vessel departure from US POL:
    • PCC2 W (LGB/SEA POL)
    • PCN1 W (LGB/OAK POL)
    • ECC1 W (NYC/BAL/ORF POL)
    • PCS1 W (LAS/OAK POL)
  • European Union (EU) 24 Hour Advanced Manifest Regulation requires complete shipping instructions (including AES or Proof of Report information with container and seal number information) by the required due date. The EU 24 Hour Advanced Manifest Regulation applies to all North America laden export cargo on vessels destined to EU ports of call.
  • Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) requires advance manifest submission for all U.S. loaded cargo transiting Canada at time of container loading at origin facility. Any container(s) missing AES/ITN number will be held at origin rail ramp and charges incurred will be to the account of cargo. Shipping instructions are required to be submitted to OOCL by the required due date for the NP2, PA1 and the AZX services.
  • Japan's (JP) 24 Hour Advanced Manifest Regulation requires our customers to provide complete and accurate shipping instructions, including Shipper/Consignee/Notify Party telephone numbers by the required due date. The regulation is applicable to all cargo loaded in North America intending to enter a port in Japan, while empty containers, cargo on platform containers and cargo not to be discharged in Japan are exempted.
  • China’s (CN) 24 Hour Advanced Manifest Regulation requires that the export pre-manifest must be submitted for the customer's Customs Declaration and Clearance purpose. In order to meet the China Customs rule requirements, and to ensure smooth shipment handling, we appreciate your kind cooperation to provide OOCL your shipping instructions, with container and seal information, at least 2 working days prior to the load port cargo cutoff.
  • More information on all Customs Advance Manifest requirements throughout all of our service areas can be found here and specific North America export information is listed on these announcements forJP24, CN24.
  • All information here is subject to change without notice.
    
    
• Cargo that exceeds the last free day will be subject to export demurrage as per the tariff rules.
  
• For shipments loading out of a US port OOCL is enforcing a no AES information, no load policy. Booking Party is solely responsible for providing AES information via shipping instruction or service request in My OOCL Center by the required due date. USA exports routed via Canadian ports will require the AES ITN # prior to receipt of container by railroad or trucker transiting to Canada Seaport.
  
• For shipments loading out of a Canada port, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) requires carriers to confirm filing of proof of report information with CBSA. Booking party is solely responsible for providing proof of report information via shipping instruction of service request in My OOCL Center by the required due date.
  
• For any shipments loading from Canadian or Mexican ports, and which will transit US ports, shipping instructions are required to be submitted to OOCL no later than 2 working days prior to vessel arrival at Canadian or Mexican origin load port.
  
• All shipments to Australia must have the 6 digit Harmonized System (HS) commodity tariff code included on your shipping instructions and OOCL bill of lading. More information is included in this Customer Advisory.

• Submit a Service Request to amend shipment information
• View a To Do list of upcoming due dates for document or cut off submission
• Upload all required documents into our Shipment Folder instead of having to remember all those email codes! Retrieval, sharing and printing of any document during the life of the shipment also eliminates the need to keep a duplicate archive of the document.

We also provide 24/7 automated cargo status information by dialing our toll free customer service number 1-888-388-6625.
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Specialized Services

OOCL has dedicated ​staff to assist with your specialized cargo needs. Click on the respective link to obtain additional information on our services.

In Gauge Cargo

Out of Gauge Cargo