Hello and welcome to my blog. If you’re not involved in international logistics, you’ve probably never heard of the term NVOCC. It’s a simple acronym that stands for “Non Vessel Operating Common Carrier.” In layman’s terms, that means it’s a freight company that does not have its own ships.
NVOCCs basically sign contracts with steamship lines to move a minimum volume of shipping containers, helping importers/exporters with their supply chain based on the requirements and services available. As you might have guessed, I work for an NVOCC and I’ll be chronicling my “adventures” here. I was with the steamship lines before my life in this industry.
What’s the point of blogging about life at an NVOCC? I haven’t really seen any blogs specifically about this industry, plus it will be a good outlet for writing. I haven’t kept a blog since I lived overseas.
I appreciate all my guests and hope you can enjoy the posts I put up here. There will not be a scheduled update timeframe, but I will definitely try to keep it up-to-date based on my experiences.
2 responses so far ↓
Goerge // August 2, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Hi there i saw your page tottaly by accident, been searching on how to apply for an NVOCC license.
Tell me if i haven’t worked for an actual NVOCC but been shipping cars overseas for over 3 years, been doing my own AES filing, and custom clearance, can i use that as experiance to apply for a license?
bsmonster // August 11, 2008 at 6:00 am
George (Go Erge?):
It’s hard for me to answer your question because I don’t know about your background. Basically the FMC has a defined set of rules for applying for OTI licenses. You can get more info here:
http://www.dpiusa.com/fmcdoc2.html
Credit goes to Distribution Publications, Inc. for their details. The official documentation from the FMC is here:
http://www.fmc.gov/bureaus/OfficeofTransportationIntermediaries.asp
If you’re planning to start your own company I suggest becoming just a forwarder first, then worrying about your OTI license afterwards. You wouldn’t be able to sign any contracts wth steamship lines without on-hand cargo, anyway.
I know another fellow who’s in the business of shipping cars overseas, as well; if it’s as lucrative as he described, not sure why you’re interested in starting an NVOCC (there are thousands, with the majority of market share taken up by about 8 different companies if you’re talking about the transpacific market).
Good luck!