ETA and ETD words are very famous words when you are dealing with international trade, here going to explain the meaning of ETD and ETA in simple words.
What is the meaning of ETD?
ETD stands for Expected Time of Arrival or Estimated Time of Arrival
It is a predicted time not real-time. It is the time the vessel is expecting to leave from the report of origin.
Importance of the ETD
ETD is important to plan and arranging the services and equipment to the port. such as,
Berth planning process
Pilotage and tug boat service arrangement
Cargo Loading and unloading facilities arranging
Stores and warehouses process
all the port operations facilities arranged including cargo operation
Ship bunkering and ship channeling services arrangement
and also other services and facilities regarding ship operation and cargo handling
What are the factors affecting ETD?
- vessel’s schedule
- Cargo availability and cargo operations efficiency
- labor availability at the port
- traffic congestion at the port
- Port surveys and port inspections efficiency
- time durations for ship bunkering and maintenance
- weather conditions
Why ETD is important?
for the prior planning for berth planning and operations, arranging tugs, terminal machines, and equipment for cargo operation, and arranging bunker and ship maintenance.
What is the meaning of ETA?
ETA stands for Expected Time of Arrival or Estimated Time of Arrival
Importance of ETA
Estimated time of arrival is used for arranging below services and goods, equipment of port operation, and cargo operation.
for the purpose of cargo readiness
pilotage and tug boat arrangement
Berth planning process
Where use the words ETD and ETA commonly used?
ETA and ETD are commonly used in ocean carriers or ocean cargo.
Why is real-time arrival or departure not mentioned?
Due to more reasons vessel arrival and departure times vary. Most of the time vessel occurs delays and early arrivals. Therefore can not predict real-time ship or cargo arrival and departure time.
usually, ETA and ETD are mentioned as the Expected date of arrival and Expected date of departure.
How can I find ETD and ETA for my shipment?
ETA and ETA are mentioned in the booking confirmation document. A booking confirmation note is issued by the shipping line/carrier/freight forwarder. A booking confirmation note is considered an acknowledgment of the booking for cargo transporting by a ship or other modes of transport.
what is a booking confirmation note?
The booking confirmation note has included below details of the shipment.
What are the details including a booking confirmation note?
- booking confirmation number
- Date of the booking
- Description of the cargo
- Booking party
- shipper’s name
- Name of the vessel
- Marks and numbers -for Dangerous cargo
- Returning place of empty container
- Port of discharge
- Transshipment ports for transshipment cargo
- Container details-number and description
- ETD and ETA
- Authorized signature
What are the factors affecting ETA?
- vessel’s schedule
- conditions of the ports(berthing congestion, labor issues at port and terminals, etc. )
- weather condition
- route distance between the origin port and the destination port
- time durations for ship bunkering and maintenance
- time for terminal handling or cargo operation time
- Piracy areas may incur delays
FAQ
What is ATD?
ATD term stands for Actual time of Departure. It is the actual time of departure from the port of origin. It is not the predicted time it is real-time of the vessel’s departure from the port.
ETD vs ATD?
ETD stands for Expected Time of Arrival or Estimated Time of Arrival
It is a predicted time not real-time. It is the time the vessel is expecting to leave from the report of origin.
ATD term stands for Actual time of Departure. It is the actual time of departure from the port of origin. It is not the predicted time it is real-time of the vessel’s departure/exit from the port.
What is ATA?
ATA stands for Actual Time of Arrival.ATA is the actual time of the destination port. It is a real-time of the vessel’s arrival.
What benefits of Accurate time prediction in shipping?
- Supply chain efficiency improving
- port congestion reducing
- the timely arrival of goods and services
- shipping routes optimization
- unnecessary fuel consumption decreasing
- reduce carbon emissions
How can I know the ship’s ETA?
In the past years, shipping lines or freight forwarders contact shipment owners directly to update the ETA once they have to know the shipping updates.
But nowadays tracking software is playing a major role in the updating of shipment details. With the help of Shipping lines websites or mobile apps or other tracking software, anyone can track shipment updates and current situations easily.
Technology involvement in the ETA and ETD accuracy
Automated tracking system-use to track the location and updates of the shipment
GPS-Global positioning system for observing the right location of the vessel or container
VMS-Vessel monitoring system
Artificial Intelligence system for data collecting from various sources and analysis and, create modeling for the understanding of the shipping patterns, identify bottlenecks and it will use to route optimization process.
You may like to read,
Master Bill of Lading(MBL) and House Bill of Lading(HBL): Everything you need to know
Freight forwarder: Everything you need to know
Entrepot Trading: Everything You need to Know
(MCC) Multi Country Consolidation: Everything you need to know
2 thoughts on “ETA and ETD in shipping: Everything you need to know”
Your detailing is very nice.
Even experienced person can learn from the article.
Thanks