What is the difference between a booking request and a booking confirmation?

The request asks the carrier for space and equipment on a vessel and voyage. The confirmation is the carrier's reply, confirming the rate, space, transport plan and empty release under a carrier booking reference.

What does a booking confirmation contain?

The booking reference, the vessel and voyage or load itinerary, the empty depot and the date the container is available, and the cut-offs the shipper must meet.

Is there a fee for cancelling a container booking?

Often. Maersk Brazil charges USD 50 for a 20 ft and USD 100 for a 40 ft, and MSC India USD 200 per container; MSC's US office says it charges none at present.

Term

Booking confirmation

A booking confirmation is the carrier's answer to a booking request: it confirms the rate agreement, space on the vessel, the transport plan and the release of empty equipment, under a carrier booking reference. With it the shipper can collect the empty container from the depot named, from the date given, and plan to the cut-offs.

Also called booking confirmation number, carrier booking reference, booking number, space confirmation, booking requestUpdated 14 October 2026

Request, then confirmation

	Booking request	Booking confirmation
Sent by	The shipper or forwarder	The carrier
What it is	A request for space and equipment on a vessel and voyage, possibly with inland transport	Confirmation of the rate agreement, space, transport plan and empty equipment release
Reference	The carrier booking request reference	Adds the carrier booking reference

DCSA glossary and Booking 2.0 standard

Maersk's confirmation gives the load itinerary and the location of the empty depot the container will be released from, with the date from which it will be available there. The shipping instructions follow later and turn the booking into a bill of lading.

Cancellation and no-show fees

Carrier and market	Published rule
Maersk, Brazil (2024)	Cancellation USD 50 a 20 ft, USD 100 a 40 ft; no-show USD 100 and USD 200
MSC, India (2026)	Cancellation USD 200 per container
Hapag-Lloyd, spot terms (2026)	Fees apply if the booking party misses a cut-off or doesn't pick up the empty at least 48 hours before the vessel's estimated arrival at the loading terminal
MSC, US	No fees for booking amendments or cancellations at present — subject to change

Worked example: three boxes that never sailed

Five 40 ft booked with Maersk in Brazil · two cancelled → 2 × USD 100 = USD 200 · one no-show → USD 200 · USD 400 for three containers that never sailed

Fees from Maersk Brazil's 2024 procedures; the booking is illustrative.

The mistake people make

Booking extra space just in case. Carriers publish cancellation and no-show fees in their local tariffs, and on Hapag-Lloyd's spot terms an empty not picked up 48 hours before the vessel's arrival at the loading terminal is enough to trigger them. Book what you will ship, and cancel early what you won't.

FAQ