FCL Shipping to Aqaba — A Full Container for Your Cargo Alone.
MASA books full containers from China and other origins to Aqaba, Jordan's only seaport, and stays on the file through the port, customs and delivery, with one point of contact from booking to gate.
FCL means Full Container Load: the container is booked for your goods and nothing else. It is packed and sealed at origin, and the seal is normally not broken again until customs or the consignee opens it. There is no consolidation before loading and no deconsolidation after discharge, so the extra handling and the waiting that come with sharing a box both disappear.
This page covers what decides whether FCL is right, which container to book, what happens between booking and sailing, what happens at Aqaba, and how a full container is priced. Into Jordan, containers are discharged at Aqaba, where MASA's own operations team is on the ground.
When FCL Fits
When a Full Container Is the Right Call.
Volume decides most of the time, but not always, and weight can decide it faster than volume does.
- The order fills, or nearly fills, a boxPast that point you are paying shared-space rates for a volume that would cost less as a whole container, and still paying for the consolidation and unpacking that sharing brings.
- The cargo is denseShared space is charged on weight or measure, whichever is greater, so dense cargo reaches the crossover at a much smaller volume than the cubic metres alone suggest. Check CBM and W/M on the calculator
- The cargo should not be sharedFragile, high-value, strongly scented or handling-sensitive goods travel better in a box sealed at loading, even before the volume justifies it.
- Fewer handling stages matterWith no consolidation before loading and no deconsolidation after discharge, the cargo goes through fewer handling stages between your supplier and your door.
- Smaller than a box? Take LCLWhile the cargo is well under a container, shared space charges for what it measures or weighs rather than for a whole box. LCL from China to Jordan
Choosing the Box
Which Container to Book.
A standard dry container is the default. Where the load will not sit inside one, specialised equipment is quoted instead.
- 20' Standard33.2 m³ capacity and 28,130 kg max payload in Hapag-Lloyd's published specification, with an inside of 5,900 × 2,352 × 2,395 mm. Usually the box for heavy, compact cargo.
- 40' Standard67.7 m³ and 28,750 kg max payload (Hapag-Lloyd). Twice the length of a 20' with a similar weight limit, so it suits lighter, bulkier cargo.
- 40' High Cube76.3 m³ and 28,600 kg max payload (Hapag-Lloyd), about 30 cm taller inside than a standard 40', for tall or voluminous loads.
- Reefer, open top and flat rackTemperature-controlled cargo goes in a reefer, cargo too tall for the door in an open top, and over-width or over-height loads on a flat rack. These are quoted case by case. Full container dimensions
- Weight limits beyond the boxPayload is capped by the equipment, by the carrier and by the road rules at each end, so the working figure is confirmed against your actual cargo at booking rather than assumed.
Booking to Sailing
What Happens Between Booking and Sailing.
A sea booking is a place on a named vessel, and it arrives with dates attached.
- Space, equipment and cut-offsMASA secures space and equipment with the carrier and confirms the cut-offs: one for the documentation the carrier needs, one for getting the container into the terminal. Miss either and the booking normally moves to the next sailing.
- Positioning and loadingThe empty container is positioned at the loading point and the load plan is agreed for a sea passage rather than a truck ride. Once packed, the container is sealed.
- Verified gross mass (VGM)Before a packed container is loaded, the shipper declares its verified gross mass: cargo, pallets, dunnage and securing material plus the container's tare. Carriers normally will not load a box without it.
- Shipping instructions and the bill of ladingShipper, consignee, notify party, marks, piece count, description and weights go to the carrier in the same window. They become the bill of lading and reappear on the customs entry, so an error made here follows the shipment to the border. How the bill of lading works
- Rolled bookingsA carrier can roll a booking that made every cut-off simply because the vessel loaded full. That is why a sailing date is a plan rather than a promise.
- Transit on the China laneOn the China lane, sea transit to Aqaba runs 18–28 days, route dependent. A transit time is not a delivery date: it moves with the service, the transhipments and the season. The China–Jordan lane, stage by stage
At Aqaba
Discharge, Clearance and Delivery.
Jordan's only seaport is Aqaba, on the Red Sea. MASA keeps an office there alongside the head office in Amman.
- Clearance at Aqaba or inlandClearance is made at Aqaba itself or, where it suits the consignee, after the container moves inland under customs transit to a customs centre nearer the delivery point. Customs clearance in Jordan
- Free time, demurrage and detentionEach booking carries free time set by the carrier and the terminal. After it, demurrage runs while the container is still in the terminal and detention while it is out and not yet returned empty, per container per day. The free time on your booking is confirmed with the carrier up front. Demurrage and detention explained
- Clearance prepared before arrivalDocuments are completed and the entry prepared before the vessel arrives, not when the arrival notice lands. It cannot remove every delay, but it removes the days that are ours and yours to remove.
- Delivery to your doorFrom the port or the customs centre, the cargo moves on to the delivery point under the same file. Door-to-door terms, with duties and taxes included, are available under DDP. Door-to-door DDP shipping
- Cargo continuing to IraqA container bound for Iraq crosses Jordan in transit without entering the Jordanian market, then continues overland to the Karameh–Trebil crossing. China to Iraq through Aqaba
Pricing
How a Full Container Is Priced.
One box, one rate, with the charges at each end alongside it.
- A rate per containerA full container is priced as a unit, whatever is inside it, with the carrier's and the terminals' charges at each end alongside the freight.
- What the freight rate does not includeHandling at each end, duties and taxes, and inland delivery belong in the same quotation. No single figure among them is the landed cost on its own.
- What we need to quoteOrigin, a cargo description, the number and size of containers or the total volume and weight, the Incoterm agreed with your supplier, and the delivery point in Jordan. Incoterms 2020 guide
FAQ
FCL Questions.
What does FCL mean?
Full Container Load: a container booked for one shipper's cargo alone, packed and sealed at origin, and normally not opened again until customs or the consignee opens it.
When is FCL cheaper than LCL?
Once the cargo fills, or nearly fills, a container, the shared-space charge overtakes the price of the box. Dense cargo reaches that point at a smaller volume, because shared space is charged on weight or measure, whichever is greater. Send us the volume and weight and our recommendation will follow the cargo.
How long does FCL take from China to Aqaba?
Sea transit on the China lane runs 18–28 days, route dependent. The time before sailing and the clearance and delivery stages after discharge come on top, so a transit time is not a delivery date.
What is the difference between demurrage and detention?
Demurrage runs while the container is still inside the terminal after its free time. Detention runs after the container has left the terminal and until it is returned empty. Carriers do not use the words identically, so the definition in your booking is the one that governs.
Which container size should I book?
Heavy, compact cargo usually fits a 20' standard; lighter, bulkier cargo a 40' or 40' high cube, whose weight limits are close to a 20' but whose capacity is about double. The container dimensions page lists inside sizes, door openings and payloads for each type.
Can the container be cleared inland instead of at Aqaba?
Yes, where it suits the consignee: the container can move inland under customs transit and be cleared at a customs centre nearer the delivery point.
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