FAS Incoterms: What You Need to Know About Free Alongside Ship

If you’re in the world of vessel operations, freight forwarding, or port logistics, chances are you’ve heard of Incoterms—but maybe you still feel a bit unsure about how they actually work on the ground. You’re not alone.

A lot of folks in shipping know what FOB or CIF stands for, but when it comes to using terms like FAS correctly in contracts, things get murky. Does “alongside” mean at the terminal gate or next to the crane? Who pays for port charges? When exactly does the risk shift from seller to buyer?

FAS (Free Alongside Ship) might sound simple, but using it wrong can lead to port storage fees, vessel delays, and finger-pointing no one has time for. If you’re unsure how this rule really works—or just want a better way to explain it to your team or client—you’re in the right place.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through exactly what FAS Incoterms mean, who’s responsible for what, where people get tripped up, and how Base helps make it all clearer and easier to manage.

Let’s break it down, piece by piece.

What Does FAS Incoterms Mean?

FAS stands for Free Alongside Ship, one of the official Incoterms rules by the International Chamber of Commerce. It applies to non containerized cargo—like timber, steel, or machinery—that’s delivered right up to the ship at a named port or inland waterway transport terminal.

In this setup, the seller is responsible for moving the goods to the dockside location next to the buyer’s ship. From there, the buyer assumes everything: risk, cost, loading, freight charges, and beyond. Put simply: the seller pays for getting the goods right up to the ship, then hands off.

If you’re working with containers, skip this term. It’s not suited for containerized shipments or anything passing through a container yard—go with FCA instead. We explain this more in the Free Carrier (FCA) Blog.

Who Handles What Under FAS?

This is where the rubber meets the road—or where the cargo hits the dock. Understanding who does what under FAS can mean the difference between a smooth job and a billing dispute no one wants to have.

Seller’s Responsibilities:

• Arranges and pays for inland transportation to the designated terminal or inland waterway facility.
• Handles export packaging, labeling, and documentation required for the cargo to leave the country.
• Completes pre shipment inspection if required by the buyer or the importing country.
• Takes care of export customs clearance—no small feat if you’re dealing with multiple line items or restricted commodities.
• Pays any terminal handling charges or staging fees necessary to get the goods placed next to the ship.
• Delivers the goods right up to the point of “free alongside ship” at the named port. That means close enough for cranes or dockworkers to load—usually at a loading dock or quay.

Once the cargo is staged, tagged, and ready for hoisting onto the vessel, the seller is officially done. Any holdups from that point forward—delayed buyer’s ship, unexpected weather, port congestion—fall outside their scope.

Buyer’s Responsibilities:

• Arranges and pays for the loading of cargo onto the vessel, including coordination with stevedores and dock crews.
• Covers freight charges for the ocean leg of the journey.
• Manages marine insurance, in case something happens mid-voyage.
• Takes on import clearance and all destination-related import formalities.
• Oversees onward carriage from the port to the final destination, including delivery coordination and customs at the far end.
• Bears the cost of demurrage or port storage if the vessel is delayed or cannot receive the cargo at the scheduled time.

This clean split of duties is why FAS requires coordination and a decent amount of trust. If the buyer misjudges vessel timing or drops the ball on port communication, it could trigger extra fees that weren’t budgeted for—and that’s when finger-pointing starts.

6 Common Pitfalls with FAS

FAS seems simple on the surface, but if you’ve ever worked in port logistics, you know how quickly things can spiral when the details aren’t nailed down. These are the issues we see again and again:

1. Vague Delivery Locations

You can’t just write “FAS Rotterdam” in your paperwork and call it a day. Ports like Rotterdam have dozens of terminals, wharfs, and staging areas. If you don’t name the specific port location—berth, gate, or terminal—you risk trucks showing up at the wrong place, stevedores refusing the load, or your cargo sitting in limbo.

2. Risk Transfer Misconceptions

A lot of people in this industry still think the seller owns the risk until cargo is loaded. Not under FAS. Once the goods are dropped alongside the ship, it’s the buyer’s responsibility. If a forklift bumps your shipment or the dock floods, that liability is already on the buyer—even if the ship hasn’t arrived yet.

3. Confusing FAS with FOB

“Just mark it FOB—it’s the same thing, right?” Not quite. Under FOB, the seller is responsible for getting the cargo onboard. FAS? The handoff happens earlier—at dockside. Mix them up, and you’re inviting risk disputes the second something goes sideways at loading.

4. Buyer Isn’t Ready

FAS assumes the buyer has things lined up—vessel scheduled, insurance sorted, and port reps in the loop. But if the buyer misses the window or forgets to arrange crane service, cargo might sit for days. That leads to port storage charges, demurrage, or even customs headaches if docs expire.

5. Overlooking Local Port Rules

Every port has its own flavor of bureaucracy. Staging rules, permit requirements, mandatory inspections—you name it. If either party ignores local trade regulations, the cargo gets flagged or held. That’s not just a delay—it’s a relationship burner.

6. Insurance Assumptions

FAS doesn’t automatically require the seller to provide insurance, but that doesn’t mean it’s not expected. If the sales contract doesn’t spell it out, and something goes wrong while the goods are sitting exposed at the terminal delivery point, someone’s eating that cost.

Bottom line? FAS works when the buyer wants control over the shipment from port onward, but not the complexity of handling inland waterway transport, export packaging, or customs clearance in the seller’s country. Just make sure everyone knows who’s doing what, and when—before the goods hit the quay.

FAS vs. FOB vs. EXW: A Quick Comparison

Each Incoterm shifts control, risk, and cost along the supply chain—so knowing when the handoff happens (and who covers what) is everything. Here’s how some of the most common Incoterms compare at a glance:

Bottom line? The right Incoterm depends on what you’re shipping, how it’s getting there, and how much control each party wants during the process. Think of it like a sliding scale of responsibility—from EXW (where the buyer takes on everything) to CIP (where the seller handles nearly the whole journey).

Need a more in-depth side-by-side? Start with the Incoterms explained.

How Base Helps You Handle FAS Without the Headaches

Let’s be honest. Half the battle with FAS is just keeping your ducks in a row. That’s where Base makes life easier.

Here’s how:

• Track jobs from quote to invoice: Every shipment gets a job file. Inside? Notes, costs, documents, emails—the whole trail. You always know where things stand.
• Upload receipts, not just rely on memory: That delivery timestamp? Upload it straight to the job. So when someone questions when the cargo was delivered, you don’t have to dig.
• Chat and updates tied to the job: Everyone sees the same info. The buyer doesn’t need to text the seller. The seller doesn’t need to ping the port agent. It’s all there.
• Custom views by role: Clients see what they need. Agents see what matters to them. No clutter. No crossed wires.

FAS is all about precision. Base helps you document, share, and prove that precision without twenty email chains or half a dozen spreadsheets.

Final Thoughts on FAS Incoterms

FAS Incoterms offer a practical structure for shipping arrangements—especially for bulk cargo and operations at inland waterway transport or dockside terminals. When used correctly, FAS provides a clean handoff: the seller is responsible up to the dock, and the buyer assumes everything after.

But here’s the truth: even when the rule is clear, the real-world execution isn’t always. Delays, disputes, and mismatched expectations still happen. That’s where Base makes a real impact. It doesn’t change the rules of FAS—it just helps you stick to them.

With Base, you get transparency at every stage. Who’s responsible, what’s been handed off, what’s still pending—it’s all documented, trackable, and visible to everyone who needs to know. That means fewer surprises, fewer back-and-forth emails, and a whole lot more control over how your shipments actually move.

If you’re managing FAS shipments, Base helps you do it with confidence. Start your free trial today and turn every shipment into a well-documented handoff, not a guessing game.

Key Takeaways

• FAS applies only when goods are delivered directly beside the ship at a designated location
• It doesn’t suit containerized shipments—use FCA for those
• Seller delivers up to dockside; buyer handles the rest
• With Base, your entire shipping process—from quote to delivery—is managed in one place

Frequently Asked Questions