"Freight" is a word that came into Russian from German. Literally translated as “cargo”. Initially, it had several meanings: transportation of goods by sea; payment for it; transported objects themselves. Nowadays, the definition of freight is understood much more widely. The reason for this phenomenon is that the transportation of goods began to be carried out not only by water.
Freight - a fee for using transport when moving a large consignment of goods at certain distances. Such a means of transportation may be a truck, plane, ship, and so on. Sea freight is still the most common form of transportation. It includes not only payment for the transportation of passengers and goods, but also in certain cases for loading and delivery to the right place.
Freight is a service that is provided after the conclusion of the contract. It must be in writing. This document should agree on such details as cost, location, loading time and delivery route. The service is paid most often after the end of the transportation. The transportation price may depend on the tariff established by the contract for one unit of mass or volume or may be charged a lump sum for the use of all or part of the vehicle. In the latter case, we are talking about lumpsum - a fixed amount of payment. Usually it is charged when a diverse product is loaded, the mass and volume of which is difficult to establish.
Payment is determined by agreement of the parties. The size of the freight, as well as the price, is also set by agreement. If, however, nothing is mentioned in the contract about the number of transported objects, it is determined based on the rates applied at the place of loading.
The so-called “dead” freight is the payment for the goods that the client had to present for transportation, but did not. In practice, this means that the consignor indicated in the contract the number of transported objects, but could not provide them in full. However, he is not exempted from the full payment specified in the document.
There is also such a thing as reverse freight. Suppose the goods cannot be sent to the port of destination for any reason that is independent of the carrier. In this case, the cargo is transported back.
The ship's freight is paid either at the port of departure, or at the place of delivery, or in parts. However, most often this is done after cargo transportation. After all, the right to receive freight arises from the shipowner at the time he fulfills the terms of the contract. Being a carrier, it carries commercial risks and is fully responsible for the safety of the cargo. If the goods were not delivered, then, regardless of the reason for this (for example, the loss of the ship), any obligations given by the client do not entitle the shipowner to receive freight. The terms of payment and the time of their implementation may not coincide due to certain objective reasons. The marine insurance contract gives the shipowner a guarantee of remuneration. In certain cases, the consignee may become a payer.