Hague Rules, The: A
multilateral maritime treaty
adopted 1921 at the Hague,
Netherlands. Standardizes
liability of an international
carrier under the Ocean Bill of
Lading. Establishes a legal
"floor" for the bill of lading.
Harbor Master: An officer
who attends to the berthing,
etc. of ships in a harbor and
related duties.
Hard-Top Container: A
closed container fitted with a
roof that can be opened or
lifted off.
Harmonized System of Codes
(HS): An international goods
classification system for
describing cargo in
international trade under a
single commodity coding scheme.
Developed under the auspices of
the Customs Cooperations Council
(CCC), an international Customs
organization in Brussels, this
code is a hierarchically
structured product nomenclature
containing approximately 5,000
headings and subheadings. It is
organized into 99 chapters
arranged into 22 sections.
Sections encompass an industry;
chapters encompass the various
materials and products of the
industry. The basic code
contains 44 headings and 6 digit
subheadings. Many countries add
digits for Customs tariff and
statistical purposes. In the US,
duty rates will be 8 digit
level; statistical suffixes will
be at the 10 digit level. The
Harmonized System (HS) is the
current US tariff schedule (TSUSA)
for imports and is the basis for
the 10 digit Schedule B export
code.
Hatch: The opening in the
deck of a vessel. It gives
access to the cargo hold.
HAZ MAT: Abbreviation for
hazardous material.
Heavy-Lift Charge: A
charge made for lifting articles
that are too heavy for a ship's
tackle.
High Cube: Any container
which exceeds 8 feet 6 inches
(102 inches) in height.
Hitchment: The marrying
of two or more portions of one
shipment that originate at
different locations, moving
under one bill of lading, from
one shipper to one consignee.
Authority for this service must
be granted by tariff
publication.
Humping: The process of
connecting a moving rail car
with a motionless rail car
within a rail classification
yard in order to make up a
train. The cars move by gravity
from an incline or "hump" onto
the appropriate track.
