Ports, Terminals & Transit
Transshipment
Also known as: Transhipment
Transshipment is the transfer of cargo from one vessel or vehicle to another at an intermediate point on the way to its final destination, common at major hub ports where feeder services connect to long-haul routes. While often a routine and efficient part of global routing, transshipment can also raise compliance concerns: illegitimate transshipment to disguise a product's true country of origin — routing goods through a third country to evade duties or trade-remedy orders — is a form of customs fraud that authorities actively police. Legitimate transshipment must preserve and document the goods' genuine origin.
Two very different meanings, and it is worth being clear which one is meant. Moving cargo between vessels en route is routine logistics. Routing goods through a third country to disguise their origin is fraud, and the importer of record carries it — including when a supplier arranged it and did not mention it.
Where it matters for compliance
- Country of origin is where the goods were produced or substantially transformed, not where they were last shipped from.
- Origin fraud to evade a trade remedy carries penalties well beyond the duty avoided.
Related terms
Reviewed by a licensed customs broker. Definitions are general information, not legal or customs advice for a particular shipment. Duty rates, tariff programs and agency requirements change frequently.