I. Container
1. The so-called container refers to large loading container with a certain strength, stiffness and specifications specially designed for turnover. Cargos transported with containers can be directly loaded at the consignee's warehouse and shipped to the warehouse of the consignor; it is not necessary to unload the cargo midway in the process of transferring vehicles or boats. Containers are categorized according to the type of goods being shipped, which include grocery containers, bulk containers, liquid cargo containers, reefer containers, etc.; if categorized by the materials, there are wooden containers, steel containers, aluminum containers, glass steel containers, and stainless steel containers; if categorized by the structure, there are folding containers, fixed containers, and so on; the fixed containers can also be divided into enclosed containers, open-top containers, plate rack containers, and so on; if divided by the total weight, there are 30-ton containers, 20-ton containers, 10-ton containers, 5-ton containers, and 2.5-ton containers.
2. Types of containers:
(1) Categorized by dimensions: the commonly used dry containers in the world include:
Containers with outer dimensions of 20 foot× 8 foot× 8 foot 6 inches are named 20-foot containers for short;
− Containers with outer dimensions of 40 foot× 8 foot× 8 foot 6 inches, as well as the 40 foot × 8 foot× 9 foot 6 inches which are more commonly used in recent year, are named 40-foot containers for short;
− 20-foot container: the unobstructed capacity is 5.69 m × 2.13 m × 2.18 m, the gross weight is generally 17.5 tons, and the volume is 24-26 cubic meters.
− 40-foot container: the unobstructed capacity is 11.8 m × 2.13 m × 2.18 m, the gross weight is generally 22 tons, and the volume is 54 cubic meters.
− 40-foot high container: the unobstructed capacity is 11.8 meters × 2.13 m × 2.72 m, the gross weight is 22 tons, and the volume is 68 cubic meters.
− 45-foot high container: the unobstructed capacity is 13.58 m × 2.34 m × 2.71 m, the gross weight is 29 tons gross weight, and the volume is 86 cubic meters
− 20-foot open-top container: the unobstructed capacity is 5.89 m × 2.32 m × 2.31 m, the gross weight is 20 tons gross weight, and the volume is 31.5 cubic meters.
− 40-foot open-top container: content plot is 12.01 m × 2.33 m × 2.15 m, the gross weight is 30.4 tons, and the volume is 65 cubic meters.
− 20-foot flat-bottomed container: the unobstructed capacity is 5.85 m × 2.23 m × 2.15 m, the gross weight is 23 tons, and the volume is 28 cubic meters.
− 40-foot flat-bottomed container: the unobstructed capacity is 12.05 m × 2.12 m × 1.96 m, the gross weight is 36 tons, and the volume is 50 cubic meters.
(2) Categorized by materials: aluminum containers, steel containers, fibreboard containers, glass steel containers
(3) Categorized by purposes: dry containers; reefer containers; dress hanger containers; open-top containers; flat rack
containers; tank containers. Parties involved in container transport are mainly non-vessel operating common carrier, actual container carrier,
container leasing company, container yard, and container freight station.
(1) NON-VESSEL OPERATING COMMON CARRIER (NVOCC): they specialize in the canvassing, devanning and inland transportation of container cargos as well as the operation of transit station or inland station services; they can either have the actual means of transport or not have them; as far as the true consignor is concerned, he is the carrier, but for the actual carrier, he is the shipper. Usually, the NVOCC shall be governed by the laws of the host country and register in the relevant governmental department.
(2) ACTUAL CARRIER: the carrier owning the means of transport and being involved in the transport of containers. They usually own a large quantity of containers, in order to facilitate the turnover, allocation and management of containers, as well as the convergence of containers with vehicle-vessel machines.
(3) CONTAINER LEASING COMPANY: a new type of companies specializing container rental.
(4) CONTAINER YARD (CY): refers to the places for handling, transshipment, storage and transfer of heavy or empty containers.
(5) CONTAINER FREIGHT STATION (CFS): places for handling LCLs. After finishing the handover and stowage of LCLs, the containers are sent to CY, and the imported containers handed over from CY are accepted. And then, unpacking, tallying and custody are carried out. In the end, the goods are allocated to each consignee. At the same time, CFS can also provide other services such as sealing and issuing the receipts of stations after receiving commissions from carriers.

II. Container's overall external dimensions
The maximum outer dimensions of a container including the permanent attachments. It is the main parameters for determining whether a container can go through reloading among ships, chassis cars, trucks, and rail cars vehicles, as well as an important technical data that the transport sectors have to grasp.
III.. Container's internal dimensions
The maximum inner dimensions of a container. The height is the distance from bottom plate of the container to the lowermost point of the top plate; the width is the distance between both inner liners, and the length is the distance from the inner plate of the container door to the lining plate of the end wall. It determines the maximum size of the unobstructed capacity of the container and that of the cargo.
IV. Container's unobstructed capacity

V. Twenty-feet Equivalent Units (TEU)
It is also named 20-foot equivalent units, which is the conversion unit for calculating the quantity of containers. Most of the containers used in different countries for transportation are 20-foot and 40-foot containers. In order to unify the method for calculating the quantity of containers, the 20-foot container is deemed as one unit for calculation, and the 40-foot container is regarded as two units to facilitate the unified calculation of the operating capacity of containers.

VI. Container leasing 

It is a service in which the owner leases containers to the user. The owner of containers is the leaser, and the users are generally shipping companies or cargo owners, who are the lessees. Both sides sign a lease contract, under which the leaser provides qualified containers for the lessee to use within the agreed terms. There are a number of internationally adopted ways of container leasing, which are, in general, voyage charters, time charters, current leasing and leasing within navigation areas.

VII. Container terminal

It is the specific sector responsible for handling, exchanging and taking care of containers or cargos during transportation. Entrusted by carriers or its agents, it is involved in the following business: exchange and custody of FCL cargos, LCL handover (if container freight station is available), arrangement of the berthing of container ships, loading and unloading of containers, preparation of stowage plans for each voyage, issuance of relevant shipping documents, preparation and issuance of relevant documents for the access and transfer of means for delivering containers,
inspection and maintenance of containers, delivery means, and handling tools, cleaning and fumigation of empty containers, receiving and delivery, storage and custody of empty containers;
arrangement of stacking empty containers and heavy containers in the yard, preparation of site distribution plans, and other related work.
A container terminal is generally composed of dedicated wharf, frontier, yard, freight station, control tower, repair department, gate and office. Sometimes the yard or the freight station can be extended to the transit station located 5-15 km from downtown.

VIII. Marshalling yard

It is the site located in the front of the container terminal, which serves for temporarily stacking containers in order to speed up the loading and unloading of ships. The function of a marshaling yard is that before a container ship arrives at the port, the exporting containers are stacked neatly systematically and orderly according to the requirements of stowage; in the unloading process, the imported containers are piled temporarily in front of the pier, to speed up the loading and unloading of the ship.

IX. Container yard

It is the place for the handover, custody and stacking of container heavy boxes or empty containers. In some countries, there is no distinction between the front yard or the rear yard; both are called the yard. The rear yard is part of the container terminal, which is the place for handling the handover of whole-containers in the “yard-to-yard” handover mode (in fact, the handover is carried out at the “gate” of the container terminal).

X. Van pool

A place specially designed for handling the collection, storage, stockpiling or transfer of empty containers. It is specially set up to handle the problem of insufficient spaces at container terminals or freight stations. This kind of place does not accept heavy containers or cargo handover. It can be operated separately, or created specially outside the container terminal. In some countries, it is required to declare at the Maritime Conference in order to operate a van pool.

XI. Container depot or inland depot

It is the container shipping transit station or distribution center outside the harbor. Except the loading and unloading operations for dedicated container ships, all the rest functions are the same as those of container terminals. The measurement of transit stations or inland stations includes the urban transit stations of container terminals, inland cities, and inland stations of inland river ports.

XII. Container freight station (CFS)

It is a place for the handover between the ship owner and the cargo owner for loading and devanning LCLs. The carrier can only commission one operator of the container freight station at one port or an inland city, who will handle the following principal activities on behalf of the carrier:
LCL cargo handling and handover, endorsement in the case of abnormality in cargo appearance, stowage and vanning of LCLs, devanning and custody of imported goods, sealing and issuing receipts of the station on behalf of the carrier, handling and preparing all kinds of documents, and so on

XIII. Shipper's liabilities

The due responsibilities of the shipper in the process of transporting containers, which are not exactly the same as those in the traditional maritime transport; the liabilities of LCL shippers are the same as those in the traditional maritime transport. The liabilities of the FCL shippers are different from the traditional transportation in that they should ensure the correctness and integrity of the reported freight information; the carrier has the right to check the goods in the containers. The checking costs are borne by the shipper; the costs incurred in unpacking and inspection by customs or other authorities as well as those caused by cargo damages should be borne by the shipper; if a container is damaged due to such facts as incomplete loading, poor underlay, improper stowage, or being loaded with cargo container not suitable for transport, the costs shall be borne by the shipper; if the shipper’s own containers which are not suitable for shipping are used, the cargo damages caused thereby shall be borne by the shipper; the damages to properties or life of a third party caused by the use of the carrier’s containers and equipment shall be compensated by the shipper.

XIV. Limits of liability

The carrier should bear the highest compensation for cargo damages or errors during container transport. The limits of liability in the case of LCLs are the same as those in the traditional transportation. The compensations for FCLs are made in accordance with the current international precedents: if the number of cargo pieces loaded in the containers is not specified on the bill of lading, each container will be regarded as a unit for compensation claims; if the number of cargo pieces loaded in the containers is specified on the bill of lading, the number of pieces will be used for the calculation; if the damage or lose of the cargo occurred in the inland transportation rather than the marine transportation, the case shall be handled according to the highest amount of compensation for land transport; if the containers are owned or provided by the shipper, in the event of loss or damage, if the liability is indeed upon the carrier, the container should be also treated as a unit for the claim.

XV. Uniform liability system

It is a compensation liability system in which the combined transport operator (CTO) is liable for the damage to the goods; according to this system, the carrier issuing the bill of lading for combined transport is responsible for the cargo owner in the whole process of the transport; namely, no matter in which stage of the transport process the cargo damage or error occurs, the liabilities shall be assumed according to the same content of liabilities. If the stage of transport in which the damage occurred can be found out, the CTO can claim the compensation from the actual carrier responsible for this stage of transport.

XVI. Network liability system

It is a liability system in which the CTO is liable for the damage to the goods. According to this system, the carrier issuing the bill of lading for combined transport is responsible for the cargo owner in the whole process of the transport, but the compensation for damages is unlike the case of uniform liability system; rather, the liabilities are subject to the content of the liabilities in the transport stage where the damage occurred. For example, if the damage occurred in the maritime transport, it should be handled in line with the international freight regulations; if the damage occurred in the rail or road transport stage, it should be handled according to the international or domestic laws.