An ocean freight quote rarely stays a single line for long. What starts as a headline rate per container grows a column of add-ons — fuel surcharges, terminal charges, documentation fees, security levies — each one a separate line item on the carrier's or forwarder's tariff. Some track the price of bunker fuel, some recover a fixed cost at a terminal, some only appear on certain lanes or during certain months. None of them are optional once triggered, and which party's invoice they land on depends on the Incoterm the shipment was booked under. This glossary defines the 18 surcharges you're most likely to see, in plain English, with a one-line note on who typically pays each.
OF — Ocean Freight
The base charge for moving a container from the origin port to the destination port, quoted per container (FCL) or per revenue ton (LCL) under the carrier's or forwarder's tariff for that lane. Every other surcharge on this page is layered on top of this figure, not folded into it.
Who pays: whichever party is responsible for the main carriage leg under the shipment's Incoterm — the seller under CFR and CIF, the buyer under FOB.
BAF — Bunker Adjustment Factor
A surcharge carriers add on top of the base ocean freight to offset swings in the price of bunker fuel — the heavy fuel oil that powers container vessels. Carriers publish and revise it periodically (commonly monthly or quarterly) as fuel costs move, rather than rebuilding their entire freight tariff every time oil prices shift. Also widely known as the Fuel Adjustment Factor (FAF) — same surcharge, different carrier branding.
Who pays: the same party that pays ocean freight under the shipment's Incoterm.
CAF — Currency Adjustment Factor
A surcharge that protects the carrier's revenue against exchange-rate movement. Freight is typically quoted in US dollars, but a carrier's port and operating costs are often incurred in local currency at each call — CAF absorbs the gap when that local currency moves against the dollar.
Who pays: the ocean freight payer, billed alongside BAF as part of the total freight charge.
LSS — Low Sulphur Surcharge
Recovers the higher cost of the low-sulphur fuel carriers are required to burn under the IMO 2020 global sulphur cap (0.50% m/m, tighter still inside designated Emission Control Areas). Low-sulphur fuel costs more to refine and buy than the heavy fuel oil vessels used to run on, and LSS passes that difference through as a separate line rather than folding it into BAF.
Who pays: the ocean freight payer.
EBS / PSS — Emergency Bunker Surcharge / Peak Season Surcharge
Two related, ad hoc surcharges bundled here because they often show up together. EBS is a carrier's response to a sharp, unplanned spike in bunker fuel prices that the standing BAF schedule hasn't caught up with yet. PSS is unrelated to fuel — it's a demand surcharge carriers apply during high-volume shipping windows (pre–Chinese New Year, pre-holiday retail season) when vessel space tightens and carriers price for the imbalance.
Who pays: the ocean freight payer; both are typically announced with short notice ahead of the sailing.
War Risk Surcharge
Charged when a vessel's routing calls at a port or transits waters designated high-risk by war risk underwriters (such as the Lloyd's Joint War Committee) — active conflict zones, piracy hotspots, or similarly flagged areas. It recovers the carrier's additional war risk insurance premium for that voyage.
Who pays: the ocean freight payer, though carriers sometimes bill it as a flat per-container add-on regardless of which party holds the freight leg.
Port Congestion Surcharge
Applied when severe vessel queuing or berth delays at a port tie up a carrier's ships and equipment far longer than scheduled. It compensates the carrier for the lost vessel and container turnaround time, and tends to appear (and disappear) with the congestion event itself rather than staying on the tariff long-term.
Who pays: the ocean freight payer.
OTHC — Origin Terminal Handling Charge
The fee the origin port terminal charges for handling the container within the port — moving it from the yard to the vessel, gate processing, and related terminal services at the load port. It's billed by the terminal operator (via the carrier or forwarder), separate from ocean freight itself.
Who pays: the seller under every Incoterm except EXW (buyer) and FAS, where the buyer bears loading at the origin terminal — it's otherwise part of getting the goods loaded and cleared for export, which is why FOB and later terms put it on the seller's side of the cost split.
DTHC — Destination Terminal Handling Charge
The mirror charge at the discharge port: the destination terminal's fee for handling the container from vessel to yard and through the gate before it can be trucked out or collected.
Who pays: the buyer under most terms, since terminal handling at destination falls after the seller's cost responsibility ends — unless the shipment is booked DAP or DDP, where the seller carries costs further downstream.
Documentation Fee
Covers the carrier's or forwarder's cost of preparing and issuing the shipment's core paperwork — the bill of lading, cargo manifest entry, and any telex release or similar instruction needed to move the shipment through the system.
Who pays: the shipper (the party that books the freight), regardless of Incoterm.
Container Seal Fee
The cost of the tamper-evident bolt seal fitted to the container doors after stuffing, which lets anyone downstream confirm the box hasn't been opened in transit. Carriers or CFS operators sometimes bill it as its own small line item rather than folding it into origin handling.
Who pays: the shipper, as part of origin handling.
Wharfage / Terminal Handling
A charge — distinct from the carrier-billed OTHC/DTHC — levied by the port or harbor authority itself for use of the wharf and dock infrastructure. Historically billed per ton or per CBM of cargo crossing the dock, it's most visible on U.S. tariffs, where port authorities bill it separately from the terminal operator's own handling charge.
Who pays: the cargo owner responsible for costs at that end of the move.
DO Fee — Delivery Order Fee
The fee the destination agent, NVOCC, or forwarder charges to issue the Delivery Order — the document that authorizes the terminal to release the container to the trucker for pickup. Without it, the container can't leave the terminal even after arrival.
Who pays: the consignee (buyer), since it's tied to collecting the goods at destination.
Customs Clearance Fee
The broker's fee for preparing and filing the customs entry that clears the shipment through import (or export) formalities — separate from any duties or taxes owed to the government.
Who pays: the importer of record on the applicable side, unless the shipment is booked DDP, where the seller clears and pays import customs on the buyer's behalf.
Demurrage
Charged by the carrier or terminal when a full, loaded container sits inside the port terminal beyond its allotted free time before the consignee picks it up. It accrues while the box is still on terminal ground — it stops the moment the container is collected.
Who pays: whichever party is responsible for pickup at that end — typically the consignee at destination.
Detention
Charged by the carrier once the container has left the terminal but isn't returned — empty, to the depot — within its free time. Where demurrage tracks time on the terminal, detention tracks time the equipment spends off it, at the consignee's warehouse or yard being unloaded.
Who pays: the party holding the container after pickup, usually the consignee.
VGM — Verified Gross Mass
A SOLAS requirement, in force since 2016, that the shipper provide the carrier with the verified total weight of a packed container — container plus cargo, dunnage, and packing — before it can be loaded aboard. It's obtained either by weighing the loaded container as a whole or by calculating cargo weight plus the container's tare using a certified method. Carriers and terminals may refuse to load a container with no VGM on file.
Who pays: the shipper bears the cost of weighing or calculating and submitting the VGM; see container weight limits and VGM for how the declaration itself works.
ISPS / Security Surcharge
Recovers the cost of complying with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code — the access control, screening, and monitoring measures ports and terminals run to secure cargo and vessels.
Who pays: the ocean freight payer, billed as a small flat fee per container or shipment.
Which of these land on the seller's invoice and which land on the buyer's isn't fixed — it's set by the Incoterm the shipment is booked under, term by term, cost by cost. Use the Incoterms 2020 chart to see exactly where the cost and risk split falls for any of the eleven rules.