In the field of logistics, the two terms 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞 and 𝐍𝐕𝐎𝐂𝐂 are often mentioned and sometimes confused. Understanding the nature and role of each party will help businesses choose the most optimal shipping partner.
Let's distinguish these two concepts with Vietsun Logistics.
🚢 WHAT IS A SHIPPING LINE?
These are companies that own and operate huge fleets of container ships.
🔹 Features:
– Own large assets: Ships, containers, private seaports,…
– Operate on fixed sea routes.
– Issuance of Master Bill of Lading (MBL) – Master bill of lading issued by the shipping line.
🔹 For example: Maersk, MSC, ONE, Evergreen, Vietsun….
🚢 WHAT IS NVOCC?
🔹 NVOCC stands for Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier.
🔹 Features:
– They do not own ships. They operate by buying a large number of slots on ships from Shipping Lines and then reselling them to shippers.
– They act as “Carrier” for the shipper and “Shipper” for the shipping line.
– Issuance of House Bill of Lading (HBL) – House bill of lading issued by NVOCC.
– Providing LCL consolidation service.
🚢 QUICK COMPARISON: SHIPPING LINE and NVOCC
To make it easier to differentiate, consider the following key differences:
🔹 About Property Ownership:
– Shipping Line: Owns ships, containers and large physical assets.
– NVOCC: Non-vessel owner.
🔹 About the issued Bill of Lading:
– Shipping Line: Issue Master Bill of Lading (MBL).
– NVOCC: Issuing House Bill of Lading (HBL).
🔹 About Service Scope:
– Shipping Line: Focus on port-to-port (CY-CY) transportation, mainly full container load (FCL).
– NVOCC: Provides a wide range of flexible and diverse services, including FCL, LCL (less than container load), Door-to-Door services, customs clearance, domestic transportation and complete solutions.
🔹 About the fare:
– Shipping Line: Usually has good prices for very large, stable shipments.
– NVOCC: Able to provide more competitive and flexible prices, especially for small, retail shipments or when customers need many accompanying services.
💡 SO WHO SHOULD BUSINESSES CHOOSE?
➡️ Choose to work directly with SHIPPING LINE when:
– You have a large and stable quantity of goods (several dozen to several hundred containers/month).
– You have a strong logistics/import-export team that can handle domestic procedures and transportation yourself.
– You only need to transport FCL on fixed routes.
➡️ Choose NVOCC when:
– You have a large amount of goods, LCL or irregular.
– You want more flexible and competitive rates.
– You need a single point of contact to handle all the services in one package: from picking, packing, customs declaration, domestic transportation, to door-to-door delivery.
– You need in-depth advice and logistics solutions for each shipment.
Hotline: 028 3826 9539
📧 Email: admin@vietsunlogistic.com
🌍 Website: www.vietsunlogistic.com
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