Many different types of businesses make up the ocean freight shipping supply chain. Some of the most important types of marine freight businesses include:
OFF (Ocean Freight Forwarder)
OFFs prepare cargo for ocean transportation and book space for cargo on vessels but don’t own or operate vessels themselves. OFFs perform some functions similar to NVOCCs, but OFFs take a lower level of responsibility for cargo because they don’t ship under their own bill of lading.
NVOCC (Non Vessel Operating Common Carrier)
NVOCCs prepare cargo for international ocean freight and book space on vessels they don’t operate, much as OFFs do. NVOCCs, however, take a higher level of responsibility for cargo because they ship under a house bill of lading. They act as a “shipper to carrier and carrier to shipper,” meaning that the carrier deals with the NVOCC instead of the actual shipper and the shipper deals with the NVOCC instead of the actual carrier.
VOCC (Vessel Operating Common Carrier)
VOCCs operate vessels for ocean freight shipping. A VOCC rarely deals with shippers directly and, instead, finds cargo to ship through NVOCCs and OFFs.
The largest and most powerful businesses, which take possession of their goods at the port and move them using their first-party logistics assets, are known as beneficial cargo owners (BCOs). only the largest businesses like Amazon, Target, and Walmart are usually able to act as BCOs, and these are also usually the only businesses that VOCCs will negotiate with directly because BCOs import very large amounts of cargo.
Since most businesses aren’t BCOs, they will deal with OFFs and/or NVOCCs instead. Together, OFFs and NVOCCs are known as OTIs, or ocean transportation intermediaries. OTIs help ensure that paperwork is in order and coordinate the flow of cargo between shippers and carriers. They provide access to VOCCs for smaller importers and help negotiate more affordable rates by leveraging large amounts of cargo.
