After UK FCL unloading: keep the empty-container return record open

Keep cargo delivery and equipment return open separately

When a full container reaches the receiving address, the cargo and the equipment can have different next steps. The receiving team may have finished unloading while the empty container still needs a confirmed return location, a responsible transport contact and evidence that the return was accepted. Keep that task visible in the shipment record rather than closing everything against the delivery time.

This guide offers a preparation record for that handover. Its fields are planning recommendations. The carrier examples are attributed below, and each shipment needs its own applicable terms and instructions.

Separate the milestones before setting a deadline

Record discharge, full-container gate-out, unloading completion and empty-container acceptance separately. Obtain the applicable charge or free-time term, its counting basis and confirmed start and end milestones. Retain the terms reference and the person who checked the booking-specific deadline, including the timezone where a precise time matters.

As a scoped example, Maersk's UK import page, in its terms effective from 1 August 2026 until further notice, counts its described combined detention through the day of empty gate-in at the agreed return location. Terminal storage ends on the day the full container leaves the last terminal, port or depot. Maersk applies the free-time and charge terms effective on the origin price calculation date (PCD). SPOT terms are agreed when the booking is confirmed and can differ from the standard tariff. Other carriers and booking agreements need their own check.

Do not use a general arrival estimate or the unloading time as an automatic substitute for the confirmed deadline. Keep a revised carrier instruction with the original record so the next colleague can see what changed and which version they should act on.

Get the return location for the shipment

Save the carrier's nominated return location with the equipment and shipment references, instruction capture time and checking owner. Confirm that the transport contact and receiving team are working from the same instruction. A destination used for the full container does not by itself confirm where the empty equipment should go.

Maersk's empty-return FAQ describes a shipment lookup through its hub using the bill of lading. Treat that as one carrier's lookup example, rather than a fixed depot list for UK imports.

For a depot change, Maersk's different-depot FAQ directs the customer to make a request through its case-management service and associate it with the shipment. The FAQ explains how to ask; it does not establish that a particular proposed depot has been approved.

In the suggested handover record, retain the request and the carrier's response separately. Ask for confirmation before treating a proposed location as the active instruction.

Check the facility and appointment separately

Ask whether the nominated facility requires a return appointment or another booking reference for the planned movement. Confirm the relevant facility, container status, date and transport contact. A vehicle-booking reference and a carrier return instruction can represent different checks; record what each proves in this shipment.

Use the facility's current instructions for the actual movement. If a source covers a different terminal or a different kind of container movement, keep it as background until the responsible team confirms applicability. Do not copy a charge, free-time allowance or expired tariff into the shipment record without the applicable agreement.

DP World’s 1 October 2026 announcement separates equipment arrival from future operational capacity: cranes delivered to London Gateway were intended for Berth 5, then under construction and expected to become operational in 2027. Treat that dated announcement as investment background. It does not confirm a currently usable berth, a vehicle slot or an empty-return instruction for your shipment.

For a route or facility change proposed after a capacity announcement, ask the responsible team to confirm the operating facility, permitted movement, active return instruction and any required appointment. Record who checked each point and when. Keep a future commissioning date separate from a confirmed movement date, and leave unresolved steps with their owner. These are suggested shipment checks, not a report of current terminal availability.

Keep an unresolved return with a named owner

Where a slot is unavailable, the location changes or the planned return is not accepted, retain the relevant message and time. Describe the unresolved step and identify who is contacting the carrier or facility. Record the next confirmed instruction and any revised transport arrangement against the same container reference.

This is a suggested exception record. It does not establish a right to extra free time, a waiver or permission to use another depot. Keep those questions open for the responsible parties to resolve under the actual arrangements.

Close the task against the agreed evidence

Ask the responsible team what accepted-return evidence is available and how it identifies this container. Retain its reference and acceptance time separately from the driver departure and unloading records. Mark a missing or disputed acceptance record as unresolved, with a person responsible for checking it.

Use the full-container planner to prepare the load and route discussion, and keep the return record alongside the shipment schedule. For the broader activity and charging scope, see the China–UK sea freight quotation guide.

For a freight enquiry, bring the load description, shipment and container references, applicable terms and unresolved return instruction. That gives the team a specific handover to review.