Pier to pier

Pier to Pier maritime transport

What is Pier to Pier ?

In maritime transport, Pier to Pier (or P/P) is a goods management method applied in the ports. In French, this is known as "Quai à Quai (Q/Q)" maritime transport.

In the context of a Pier to Pier maritime transport service, goods are managed from the departure pier to the arrival pier.

With this mode of transport, the maritime carrier is responsible for:

• loading costs and operations of the goods on board the freight ship, on embarkation ;
• the transport of goods by sea, from the departure pier to the arrival pier ;
• unloading costs and operations of the goods on board the freight ship, on disembarkation.

The characteristics of Pier to Pier

Pier to Pier maritime transport allows principals to free themselves from loading and unloading costs and operations for goods in departure and arrival ports.

In Pier to Pier, the transport of goods to the loading pier, and from the unloading pier is not carried out by the carrier but is the responsibility of the shipper and the recipient. This maritime transport service differs from House to House which consists of the shipper loading the goods directly at the sender's site to transport them to the recipient.

Depending on the needs of the companies, two freight services may be offered in parallel by international carriers carrying out the maritime transport of goods:

• House to Pier transport corresponding to management of goods directly from the sender's site for deposit on the pier at the destination port ;
• Pier to House transport consisting of collecting goods from the pier, in a port chosen by the sender, and transporting them to the recipient.

House to Pier and Pier to House transport services are multimodal transport operations.

Examples and application

On embarkation and disembarkation, the tariffing of handling operations (loading and unloading) differs based on goods management conditions known as "liner terms". These liner terms must be defined in the transport contract proposed by the carrier.

Depending on needs, the transport contract may cover:

• loading/unloading of goods at the pier ;
• an under-tackle deposit, that is to say under the crane which loads and unloads the ship's cargo ;
• management on board the ship (Free In or Out depending on if it is the departure or the arrival port).

Therefore, there are various combinations for the management of goods in ports:

• Free In/Free Out (FIO);
• Free In/Under tackle or Under tackle/Free Out ;
• Under tackle/Under tackle ;
• Under tackle/Ex pier or Ex Pier/Under tackle ;
• Pier to Pier (P/P).

This maritime transport contract criteria must be considered for a good cost estimate. Similarly, the type of transport proposed (by full or partial lot) may affect the transport cost and must be indicated in the transport contract.

Pier to Pier in figures

Regulatory framework

In the maritime transport sector, the United Nations Convention on the transport of goods by sea entered into force in November 1992 and defines the rights and obligations of shippers, carriers and recipients in the context of a contract for goods transport by sea. >https://undocs.org/pdf?symbol=fr/A/CN.9/306