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A container is a standardized reusable package designed for the transportation of goods by road, rail, sea, and air, adapted for mechanized handling from one mode of transport to another. It can be made from various materials and come in diverse shapes. The so-called universal containers have found the most significant application in transportation.
For the convenience of container identification, the ISO 6346:1995 standard introduced "group codes," consisting of two Latin letters:

• GP (General Purpose) — standard (general-purpose, universal) container;
• DC (Dry Cube) — dry container, often used instead of GP;
• RE, RT, RS (Reefer) — refrigerated container;
• HI, HR — insulated;
• VH — container with a non-mechanical ventilation system in the lower and upper parts of the cargo space;
• UT (OT — Open Top) — container with an open top;
• PF, PS, PC — platform container;
• TN, TG, TD — tank container;
• BU — container for bulk cargo;
• HC (High Cube) — increased height container (height increased by one foot compared to a standard container);
• PW (Pallet Wide) — increased width container (242—245 cm, allows placing two standard pallets side by side, each measuring 120 cm);
• HT (Hard Top) — container with an opening metal top, sometimes used to denote a 20-foot container with increased capacity (Heavy Tested).

Technical specifications of universal containers: 20-foot container External dimensions (length/width/height): 6.058 m / 2.438 m / 2.591 m Internal dimensions (length/width/height): 5.758 m / 2.352 m / 2.385 m Door opening (width/height): 2.343 m / 2.280 m Volume: 33.1 m³ Maximum gross weight: 30,400 kg Own weight: 2,200 kg Cargo weight: 28,200 kg
40-foot container External dimensions (length/width/height): 12.192 m / 2.438 m / 2.591 m Internal dimensions (length/width/height): 12.032 m / 2.352 m / 2.385 m Door opening (width/height): 2.343 m / 2.280 m Volume: 67.5 m³ Maximum gross weight: 30,400 kg Own weight: 3,800 kg Cargo weight: 26,600 kg
40-foot "High-Cube" container External dimensions (length/width/height): 12.190 m / 2.438 m / 2.896 m Internal dimensions (length/width/height): 12.000 m / 2.311 m / 2.650 m Door opening (width/height): 2.280 m / 2.560 m Volume: 75.3 m³ Maximum gross weight: 30,848 kg Own weight: 3,900 kg Cargo weight: 26,580 kg

• 45-foot "High-Cube" container External dimensions (length/width/height): 13.716 m / 2.438 m / 2.896 m Internal dimensions (length/width/height): 13.556 m / 2.311 m / 2.650 m Door opening (width/height): 2.343 m / 2.585 m Volume: 86.1 m³ Maximum gross weight: 30,400 kg Own weight: 4,800 kg Cargo weight: 25,600 kg

A bill of lading (French: le connaissement; English: bill of lading, B/L, BOL) is a document issued by the carrier of goods to the shipper, certifying the ownership rights to the shipped goods.
The bill of lading serves several functions simultaneously:

• Receipt from the carrier for receiving the cargo for transportation, with a simultaneous description of the visible condition of the cargo.
• Freight document.
• Confirmation of the cargo transportation contract.
• Cargo disposition document.
• Can serve as collateral for a loan secured by shipped goods.

Bills of lading differ in the way ownership rights to goods are transferred. Here are some types of these documents:

• On Board Bill of Lading (Board B/L): Certifies that the cargo accepted for transportation has been actually loaded onto the ship.
• Delivery Order (D/O): Cargo disposition document issued by the carrier or consignee with confirmation by the ship's captain. Used in the case of partial sale of the cargo by the consignee before taking delivery. It is an order to transfer a specific part of the transported cargo at the destination port to another party.
• Insured Bill of Lading: Combines a transport document with an insurance policy, serving as evidence of both cargo acceptance for transportation and its insurance. Applied when transporting goods in containers.
• Straight Bill of Lading (Straight B/L): Issued in the name of a specific consignee. With a straight bill of lading, the cargo is delivered at the destination port to the consignee specified in the bill of lading. Delivering the cargo to another party is possible only based on a transaction executed in accordance with the rules established for the transfer of a receivable.
• Bearer Bill of Lading: Transferred by handing over the cargo.
• Received for Shipment Bill of Lading (Received for Shipment B/L): A bill of lading for cargo accepted for shipment at the port, awaiting the arrival of the ship.
• Liner Bill of Lading (Liner B/L): Issued by a shipping company or on its behalf, covering the carriage on vessels operating on regular routes according to an established and published schedule.
• Claused Bill of Lading (Claused B/L; Unclean Bill of Lading): A bill of lading on which marks are made about the damage to the cargo and/or packaging.
• Local Bill of Lading: Refers to a through bill of lading, under which the cargo is accepted for transportation. Local bills of lading have service significance for the reporting of the carrier, port, and are not cargo disposition documents.
• Order Bill of Lading; Negotiable Bill of Lading (Negotiable B/L): The cargo is transferred either to the order of the shipper, the order of the consignee, the order of the bank, or by a transfer endorsement to whomever it is made out. If the order bill of lading does not indicate that it is made out to the order of the consignee, it is considered to be made out to the order of the shipper. "Order" is a note indicating the person to whom the cargo is transferred. For example, if the consignee cannot handle the cargo at the destination port, the freight forwarder accepts the cargo, who will be the designated recipient in this case.
• Direct Bill of Lading: A bill of lading covering shipment between direct loading and unloading ports on the same ship.
• Combined (Collapsible) Bill of Lading: Covers several cargoes intended for different consignees.
• Through Bill of Lading (Through B/L, TBL): Involves the transshipment of cargo to another ship at an intermediate point and covers the entire transportation of cargo from the loading port to the final destination. Such shipments are possible if the carrier has multiple regular lines in different directions or by agreement between two carriers—one receiving the cargo at the departure port and the other delivering it further from the transshipment port. Typically, carriers jointly transporting cargo under a through bill of lading stipulate their mutual obligations—each carrier is responsible only for the portion of the route on which it carries out the transportation. For a through bill of lading, clear markings indicating the transfer of cargo from one carrier to another are important.
• Sea Waybill: An electronic document confirming ownership rights to the cargo, a simplified bill of lading transferred by the shipper to the consignee after issuing the mentioned document. It is a simplified form of documentation primarily used for long-term transactions between regular partners or branches of large firms when there is a high degree of trust between the shipper and the consignee.

Incoterms (International Commercial Terms) are international rules in dictionary format, providing clear definitions of the most widely used trade terms in the field of international trade, primarily regarding the transfer of responsibility from the seller to the buyer, especially concerning the delivery point. International trade terms are standardized contract conditions for international sales, predetermined by an internationally recognized document.
The fundamental principles regulated by Incoterms include:

1. Distribution of Transportation Costs: Specifies which transportation costs the seller and the buyer bear. It defines the expenses borne by the seller and those taken on by the buyer, starting from a certain point.
2. Transfer of Risks: Specifies the moment when the risk of damage, loss, or accidental loss of the cargo shifts from the seller to the buyer.
3. Delivery Date: Determines the moment of the actual transfer of the goods by the seller to the buyer or their representative—for example, a transportation organization. This, consequently, signifies the fulfillment or non-fulfillment of the seller's first commitments regarding delivery times.

Outside Incoterms, rules regarding the transfer of ownership from the seller to the buyer, as well as the consequences of non-compliance by the parties with the obligations under the sales contract, including grounds for exemption from liability, remain beyond the scope of Incoterms, as they are regulated by the provisions of applicable law or the Vienna Convention.
Each defined term is a three-letter abbreviation, with the first letter indicating the point of transfer of obligations from the seller to the buyer:

• EXW (Ex Works): The buyer picks up the goods from the seller's specified warehouse. Payment of export duties is the buyer's responsibility.
• FCA (Free Carrier): The goods are delivered to the buyer's main carrier at the seller's specified departure terminal. The seller pays the export duties.
• CPT (Carriage Paid To): The goods are delivered to the buyer's main carrier. The seller pays for the main carriage to the specified destination terminal. The buyer bears insurance costs, import customs clearance, and delivery from the arrival terminal of the main carrier.
• CIP (Carriage and Insurance Paid To): Similar to CPT, but the main carriage is insured by the seller.
• DAT (Delivered at Terminal): Delivery to the specified import customs terminal is paid for. Export payments and main carriage, including insurance, are paid by the seller. Import customs clearance is done by the buyer.
• DAP (Delivered at Place): Delivery to the place specified in the contract. Import duties and local taxes are paid by the buyer.
• DDP (Delivered Duty Paid): The goods are delivered to the buyer at the specified destination, cleared of all duties and risks.

Additionally, Incoterms-2010 defines 4 terms exclusively applicable to maritime transport and transport in territorial waters:

• FOB (Free On Board): The goods are loaded onto the buyer's ship, and the transshipment is paid by the seller.
• FAS (Free Alongside Ship): The goods are delivered to the buyer's ship. The loading and unloading costs are paid by the buyer.
• CFR (Cost and Freight): The goods are delivered to the buyer's specified destination port. The buyer pays for the insurance of the main carriage, unloading, and transshipment.
• CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight): Similar to CFR, but the seller insures the main carriage.

The content of Incoterms changes in different revisions. For instance, in Incoterms-2010, the term DAP was introduced to replace the excluded terms DAF, DES, and DDU. Additionally, the more general term DAT was introduced to replace DEQ, and DDU was replaced.