FASFree Alongside Ship

FAS is one of the four original terms from 1936 and the one you're least likely to need. It exists for cargo that sits on a quay waiting for a crane. If you buy finished goods in containers from India then you can read this page for completeness and move on to FOB or FCA.

We'd normally open with a real buyer's story, and here we can't. In all the forum material we've mined on shipping from India, which runs to hundreds of posts, not one buyer or exporter talks about FAS. That silence is the finding. The term lives in chartered bulk trade, not in the consumer-goods containers our readers buy, so the honest caveat is that this page is built on the rules and on how Indian bulk ports work, not on first-hand accounts.

1. What FAS Means

Free Alongside Ship. The seller delivers when the goods are placed alongside the vessel you nominate, on the quay or on a barge, at the named port of shipment, cleared for export. Loading them onto the ship is your job, along with everything after.

It's a sea and inland waterway rule only. Since the 2000 edition the seller clears export under FAS, which wasn't always so, and older references sometimes still say otherwise. The rules quoted are Incoterms 2020, in force since 1 January 2020. As of 25 September 2026 the ICC has published no newer edition.

Who does what

2. Where The Risk Passes

When the goods are alongside the ship at the named port. That means on the quay next to the vessel, or on a lighter beside it, not on board. From that moment the crane lift is at your risk. If the sling fails then the loss is yours.

And if your vessel is late, the goods wait alongside at your risk and at your storage cost. Under FOB they'd still be the seller's problem until they were on board. That single difference is most of the reason FAS is rare.

3. Who It Fits, And Who It Doesn't

FAS fits bulk and break-bulk cargo loaded by the ship's or the port's gear straight from the quay: bagged rice, stone blocks, steel coils, timber, project cargo. It also fits chartered vessels where you control the loading and want to pay for it yourself, perhaps because the cargo needs lifting gear you're bringing.

It doesn't fit containers at all, and the ICC says so in its Introduction to the 2020 rules. A container goes to a terminal yard and gets loaded by the terminal days later as part of its own operation. There's no moment when it's "alongside" your ship in any way the seller can deliver on. If someone offers FAS for a container then ask for FCA.

It doesn't fit small buyers either. FAS assumes you have a ship, a charterer, or an agent at the port who handles loading. Where FAS appears in Indian trade at all, it's in bulk agricultural and mineral exports, stone and steel, on chartered or part-chartered vessels. We don't know how common it is even there (Indicative).

4. How To Write It

FAS Kandla, Incoterms 2020, with the berth or loading point named. The point matters more here than under FOB, because "alongside" is a physical spot on a quay. Indian bulk and break-bulk ports are large, and "FAS Kandla" without a berth is an argument waiting to happen.

Agree the handover time in writing too. The seller clears export before the goods go alongside. If the customs examination happens at the quay then the delay between "cleared" and "alongside" is the seller's, but everything after is yours.

5. What It Costs You To Take Over At The Quay

Stevedoring, crane hire and lashing are yours. Get the port's tariff and the stevedore's quote before you accept FAS, because they vary by port and by cargo. The FAS price is lower than FOB by the cost of loading on board, and by the risk of that loading, so compare the two with those lines filled in the landed cost calculator.

Customs value picks the loading cost up. Countries that value on an FOB basis, which include New Zealand by its own guide and Australia on the ABF's stated approach (NZ Customs valuation guide, May 2025, ABF valuation fact sheet (opens in a new tab)), add your Indian port loading costs to the FAS price, because they're costs to the place of export. The UK and EU add everything to the border or point of entry (GOV.UK Method 1). The US takes the price paid and excludes international freight and insurance. Keep the stevedore's invoice, because your broker will ask for it.

Paperwork follows the handover. The seller files the shipping bill and provides the certificate of origin. You need a mate's receipt or loading confirmation from the ship, then your bill of lading and your import entry.

FAS Next To Its Neighbours

FOB goes one step further, on board and at the seller's risk, and for almost every buyer it's the more useful of the two. FCA is the any-mode term for delivery to a carrier at a named place, which is what actually happens with containers. CFR has the seller load and pay the freight to your port, where FAS leaves both to you.

So, Should You Ever Use It?

If you charter the ship, control the loading and have a port agent in India, yes, FAS can be the cleanest split. For everyone else, ask for FOB for bulk and FCA for containers. The silence in the forums is a decent guide here.