Who sends the shipping instruction?

The shipper, or the freight forwarder on the shipper's behalf. Forwarders usually receive the SI from the shipper by email and then submit it on the carrier's website.

Is the SI the same as the bill of lading?

No. The SI is the request; the bill of lading is the document the carrier issues from it. A draft B/L is sent back for checking before the final one is issued.

Can I change an SI after submitting it?

Usually yes, but changes after the SI cut-off or after the B/L is issued often carry an amendment fee. Checking before submission is the cheapest fix.

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GUIDE

What is a shipping instruction (SI)? Fields, cut-off and common errors.

5 min read · Updated 4 November 2026

The shipping instruction (SI) is the document that tells the carrier exactly what to print on the bill of lading. Every name, number and weight on the B/L comes from it, so every mistake in the SI ends up on the B/L too.

What a shipping instruction contains

Carriers ask for slightly different layouts, but almost every SI carries the same core fields:

Booking number, carrier, vessel and voyage
Shipper, consignee and notify party
Port of loading (POL) and port of discharge (POD), usually as UN/LOCODEs such as THLCH or JPTYO
Container numbers, seal numbers and container types (20GP, 40HC)
Number and type of packages, gross weight and measurement per container
Cargo description and HS code
Freight terms and the type of bill of lading (original, telex release, sea waybill)

The SI cut-off

Each sailing has an SI cut-off (also called documentation cut-off or doc closing): the last moment the carrier accepts the SI without penalty. It is printed on the booking confirmation and is usually one to three days before the vessel departs, depending on the carrier, port and route.

Miss it and the carrier can charge a late SI fee, or refuse the documents and roll the container to the next vessel.

The errors that cost the most

Most SI problems are small typing errors that are expensive later:

A wrong digit in a container number. The check digit catches most of these before they reach the carrier.
Container count or types that don't match the booking confirmation.
Weights that don't match the VGM declaration for the same container.
Consignee or notify party details copied from an old shipment.
Port codes that are valid but wrong for this booking.

How to check an SI quickly

Compare it against two other documents before typing it into the carrier's website: the booking confirmation (containers, ports, vessel) and the VGM (weights per container). Then check every container number's check digit.

LOGIDOC does all three checks automatically as soon as the SI lands in your inbox, and shows each problem with the reason, so your team only fixes what is actually wrong.

Free tools for this

Free toolContainer number checkerCheck one container number or a whole list against the ISO 6346 check digit.Open →Free toolVGM calculatorWork out the verified gross mass with SOLAS method 2 and check it against max gross.Open →

Questions

Who sends the shipping instruction?: The shipper, or the freight forwarder on the shipper's behalf. Forwarders usually receive the SI from the shipper by email and then submit it on the carrier's website.
Is the SI the same as the bill of lading?: No. The SI is the request; the bill of lading is the document the carrier issues from it. A draft B/L is sent back for checking before the final one is issued.
Can I change an SI after submitting it?: Usually yes, but changes after the SI cut-off or after the B/L is issued often carry an amendment fee. Checking before submission is the cheapest fix.

Let LOGIDOC do the checking

LOGIDOC reads every SI, VGM and booking confirmation from your inbox, flags the errors before the cut-off, and lays the approved data out for the carrier's website. Book a 30-day pilot or try the demo.

Guide · 5 min readVGM (verified gross mass) explained: SOLAS method 1 and method 2.What the VGM is, who must declare it, how to calculate it with SOLAS method 1 or method 2, and the checks to run before the VGM cut-off.Open →Guide · 4 min readHow the container number check digit works (ISO 6346).How a shipping container number is built under ISO 6346, how the check digit is calculated, and how to spot a mistyped container number in seconds.Open →Guide · 4 min readHow to avoid SI amendment fees and late SI charges.Why carriers charge late SI and B/L amendment fees, what they typically cost, and a simple routine that stops most of them before the SI cut-off.Open →

Stop re-typing. Start checking.

Run LOGIDOC next to your current process for 30 days and see the errors it catches.

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