What to do when an export container misses its sailing

Find out why the container missed the sailing

If your Seattle or Tacoma export missed its scheduled vessel, check the container’s last confirmed location and ask the booking party for the current vessel, voyage and terminal. A rollover moves the shipment to a later sailing and can happen even after gate-in. A missed cutoff means a requirement for the booked sailing, such as loaded delivery or documentation, was late. Ask which deadline or event changed so you know what needs to be fixed.

Keep the previous booking and any gate receipt. Compare them with the revised confirmation and ask whether the original booking number still applies. If the carrier offers a late gate, confirm the approval and the terminal’s acceptance for that container before dispatching. The Northwest Seaport Alliance receiving schedule shows general terminal windows. The ocean carrier’s current booking supplies shipment-specific cutoff instructions. See, for example, Hapag-Lloyd’s U.S. export booking guidance.

Choose the next step based on where the box is

At the shipper or a staging location

Tell dispatch where the loaded container is and when it can be collected. Confirm whose chassis it is on, whether it may stay where it is and what storage or equipment time would apply while waiting.

On the truck

Give dispatch the current gate instruction and deadline. If the delivery window has closed or the terminal will not accept the container, have the booking and trucking teams agree on an authorized next stop before committing to another move.

Accepted at the terminal

Keep the gate-in confirmation. Ask whether the terminal can hold the container for the new voyage, whether it has been matched to the revised booking and whether there are storage or repeat-move charges. Arrange another truck move only if the carrier and terminal require and authorize it.

For a reefer, confirm the revised reefer receiving window and who is responsible for power and temperature checks during any added wait. For a loaded Tacoma export still at the shipper, one option may be to postpone collection until the new window. If the shipper needs the equipment removed sooner, ask whether Tacoma staging is suitable for the load.

Send one booking update to everyone arranging the move

Put the booking amendment, shipper’s loading team and truck plan on the same timeline. Have the party responsible for export documents recheck the applicable deadlines and any filing or weight-document changes. Give your customer the revised schedule with any items that still need confirmation.