O

OECD
Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, headquartered in Paris with membership consisting of the world's developed nations.

OPIC
Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

Object
A tangible of abstract thing of relevance to business.

Object Oriented Approach
The development of classes of business objects may support and have an impact on the developments in the area of simplification of EDI and its standards. A business object is a true representation of a tangible concept stemming from real business usage.

Obsolete Stock
The products or materials that cannot be or is unlikely to be used in future processes and which is o be sold or disposed of through the usual outlets.

Ocean Bill of Lading
Abbreviation : Ocean B/L
A contract for transportation between a shipper and a carrier. It also evidences receipt of the cargo by the carrier. A bill of lading shows ownership of the cargo and, if made negotiable, can be bought, sold or traded while the goods are in-transit.

Ocean Waybill
A document, issued by a shipping line to a shipper which serves as a receipt for the goods and evidence of the contract carriage.

OCP
Overland Common Points

ODS
See Operating Differential Subsidy

Officer
Any of the licensed members of the ship's complement.

Official Number:
A registered number given to all merchant vessels and cut in on the vessel's "main beam", together with the net registered tonnage.

Off-Hire Clause
In a time charter, the owner is entitled to a limited time for his vessel to be off hire until such time as the vessel may be repaired or dry-docked.

Off-Load
Discharge of cargo from a ship.

Offshore
Contracting work carried out at sea (e.g. drilling for oil).

Oil Bulk Ore Vessel/Ship
Abbreviation: OBO-Vessel
A vessel designed for the carriage of ore, heavy dry bulk goods and oil. Although more expensive to build, they ultimately are more economical because they can make return journeys with cargo rather than empty as single-purpose ships often must.

Oiler
An unlicensed member of the engine room staff who oils and greases bearings and moving parts of the main engine and auxiliaries. Most of this work is now done automatically and the oiler merely insures it operates correctly.

Oil Record Book
A book or log kept by the master of an oil tanker wherein every discharge or escape of oil is recorded.

Oil Tanker
A ship designed for the carriage of oil in bulk, her cargo space consisting of several or many tanks. Tankers load their cargo by gravity from the shore or by shore pumps and discharge using their own pumps.

Omnibus Clause:
A clause in a hull policy extending liability cover to embrace, in addition to the assured's legal liability, the liability of other organisations who are connected with the ship. It usually excludes liability of shipyards, repair yards and others to whom underwriters do not wish to extend cover.

On Line Charge
The charge which applies to carriage over the lines of a single carrier.

On Line Rate
See On-line Charge

On Board
A notation on a bill of lading that cargo has been loaded on board a vessel. Used to satisfy the requirements of a letter of credit, in the absence of an express requirement to the contrary.

On Carriage
The carriage of goods (containers) by any mode of transport to the place of delivery after discharge rom the ocean vessel (main means of transport) at the port (place) of discharge.

On Deck
A notation on a bill of lading that the cargo has been stowed on the open deck of the ship.

One Stop Agency
An organisation, which provides all needed requirements in one location.

One Way Pallet
Note: The addition 'One Way' has nothing to do with the number of pallet sides in which the forks of .g. a fork lift can enter, as opposed to the two and four way pallets.
See Disposable Pallet

Open Account
A trade arrangement in which goods are shipped to a foreign buyer without guarantee of payment.

Open Charter
Where the charter-party specifies neither the kind of cargo nor the ports of destination.

Open Container:
A container with sides and/or ends of bars, grilles, mesh or entirely left open, with or without roof.

Open Cover:
A form of long term cargo insurance contract. It has no aggregate limit but, subject to a limit to the amount at risk in any one vessel, and often a limit to the amount at risk in any one location prior to shipment, the contract covers all shipments forwarded by the assured during the currency of the open cover. Underwriters have the right to cancel at any time by giving the requisite notice of their intention to cancel, but shipments that have commenced transit before the notice period expires continue to be covered until final delivery within the terms of the transit clause.

Open Insurance Policy
A marine insurance policy that applies to all shipments made by an exporter over a period of time rather than to one shipment only. Unlike the floating policy it does not have an aggregate limit, but the underwriter can invoke a cancellation clause if he wishes to withdraw cover.

Open Order
See Backlog

Open Rates
Pricing systems that are flexible and not subject to conference approval. Usually applied to products in which tramps are substituted for liners.

Open Registry
A term used in place of "flag of convenience" or "flag of necessity" to denote registry in a country which offers favorable tax, regulatory, and other incentives to ship owners from other nations.

Open Sided Container
Container with frames with wire-mesh at the sides covered by means of a tarpaulin, which can be dropped down to, give unrestricted access to the sides of the container for loading or discharging.

Open Top Container
A freight container similar in all respects to a general purpose container except that it has no rigid roof but may have a flexible and movable or removable cover, for example one made of canvas or plastic or reinforced plastic material normally supported on movable or removable roof bows.

Operating Differential Subsidy
Abbreviation : ODS
An amount of money the U.S. government paid U.S. shipping companies that qualify for this subsidy. The intent was to help offset the higher subsidy. The intent was to help ofset the higher cost of operating a U.S.-flag vessel. The ODS program is administered by the U.S. Maritime Administration and is being phased out.

Operating Efficiency
A ratio of the actual output of a piece of equipment, department, or plant as compared to the planned or standard output.

Operating Ratio
A comparison of a carrier's operating expense with its net sales. The most general measure of operating efficiency.

Operations Research
The development and application of quantitative techniques to the solution of problems. More specifically, theory and methodology in mathematics, statistics, and computing are adapted and applied to the identification, formulation, solution, validation, implementation, and control of decision making problems.

Operator
The party responsible for the day to day operational management of certain premises such as warehouses, terminals and vessels.

Optimal Trim
The best calculated TRIM related to speed engine capacity, fuel consumption for a specific sailing condition.

Optimization
Achieving the best possible solution to a problem in terms of a specified objective function.

Optimum Cube
The highest level of cube utilization that can be achieved when loading cargo into a container.

Option
One of a limited range of choices or features that is offered to a customer when purchasing an otherwise basic standard product and that has to be an integral part of the product (used in commercial trading).

Optional Cargo
Cargo of which the final destination is not known at the moment of booking but will be indicated during the transport.

Optional Port
A port of which it is not known whether or not a vessel during a voyage will make a call.

Order
A request to deliver specified quantities of goods or to render specific services.

Order Line
Each line on a customer's purchase order. An order line always contains one Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) only, but the number may vary.

Order Notify
Abbreviation : ON
A bill of lading term to provide surrender of the original bill of lading before freight is released; usually associated with a shipment covered under a letter of credit.

Ordinary Breakage:
Breakage of fragile cargo which by its regularity has become accepted as inevitable loss during transit.

Ordinary Seaman
A deck crew member who is subordinate to the Able Bodied Seamen.

Ore Carrier
A large ship designed to be used for the carnage of ore. Because of the high density of ore, ore carriers have a relatively high center of gravity to prevent them being still when at sea, that is, rolling heavily with possible stress to the hull.

Ore-Bulk-Oil Carrier
A large multi-purpose ship designed to carry cargoes wither of ore or other bulk commodities or oil so as to reduce the time the ship would be in ballast if restricted to one type of commodity. This type of ship is sometimes called bulk-oil carrier.

Ore-Oil Carrier
A ship designed to carry either ore or oil in bulk.

Organisation
An identifiable social unit with a particular responsibility which endeavour to achieve multiple goals by co-ordinated activities and relationships between members and objects.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Abbreviation : OECD
The Maritime Transport Committee is part of this organization.

Origin
Location where shipment begins its movement.

Original Bill of Lading (OBL)
Abbreviation : OBL
A document which requires proper signatures for consummating carriage of contract. Must be marked as "original" by the issuing carrier.

Origin Rail Freight Station
Abbreviation : ORPS
Same as CFS at origin except an ORFS is operated by the rail carrier participating in the shipment.

Orlop
Lowest deck of a ship.

Out of Gauge Cargo
Cargo which dimensions are exceeding the normal dimensions of a 20 or 40 feet container, e.g. overlength, overwidth, overheight, or combinations thereof.

Out Gate
Transaction or interchange that occurs at the time a container leaves a rail or water terminal.

Outsider
A carrier, which operates on a route served by a liner conference but which is not a member of that conference.

Outsourcing
Subcontracting of activities.

Outturn Report
Written statement by a stevedoring company in which the condition of cargo discharged from a vessel is noted along with any discrepancies in the quantity compared with the vessel's manifest.

Outward Handling
The operations to be performed on outgoing goods from a production unit, both administrative and physical, starting at the moment forwarding orders can be executed to the moment of actual departure of the goods.

Outwards Manifest:
A report by the master of the vessel or agent or pilot of the aircraft or agent stating the cargo to be exported on an international voyage or flight. The outwards manifest contains, apart from other information, the ECNs for the cargo about the given vessel or aircraft and must be lodged before a Certificate of Clearance is issued.

Overage:
An additional premium applied to a cargo which is carried by a vessel that is over 15 years old or is outside the limits set down in the classification clause.

Overcharge
To charge more than the proper amount according to the published rates.

Over Pivot Rate
The rate per kilogram to be charged for the over pivot weight (air cargo).

Over Pivot Weight
The weight in excess of the pivot weight (air cargo).

Overcarrier
A carrier within a consortium who carries cargo beyond the allotment distributed to him.

Overheight Cargo
Cargo, exceeding the standard height.

Overheight Cargo
Cargo more than eight feet high which thus cannot fit into a standard container.

Overlength Cargo
Cargo, exceeding the standard length.

Overpack
A unit used by a single shipper to contain one or more packages and to form one handling unit for convenience of handling and stowage. Dangerous goods packages contained in the overpack must be properly packed, marked, labelled and in proper condition as required by the Regulations regarding dangerous goods (air cargo).

Overtime
Work beyond normal established working hours which usually requires a premium to be paid to the employees concerned.

Overtonnaging
A situation where there are too many ships generally or in a particular trade for the level of available cargoes.

Overwidth Cargo
Cargo, exceeding the standard width.

Owner
The legal owner of cargo, equipment or means of transport.

Owner Code (SCAC)
Standard Carrier Abbreviation Code identifying an individual common carrier. A three letter carrier code followed by a suffix identifies the carrier's equipment. A suffix of "U" is a container and "C" is a chassis.

Owner's Container Code
See Container Prefix

Oxter Plate
A plate fitted to the top of a rudder post.