What is CY (Container Yard)?

Container yard (CY) is a physical facility from which ocean carriers accept and deliver ocean containers, as well as issue and receive back empty containers. Container yards are vast spaces, used to accommodate containers before they’re packed with consignments and shipped to the port. The purpose of having a container yard is not to take up too much of the valuable space at the port and create a separate space for their storage and maintenance.

Key takeaways:

To efficiently manage logistical conundrums around storing these containers, shipping companies develop container yards.

The purpose of having a container yard is not to take up too much of the valuable space at the port and create a separate space for their storage and maintenance.

The purpose of container yards is to store ‘ready to be loaded’ containers just before they’re shipped off by the shipping line. Hence, in most cases, CYs are located near a terminal or an inland (dry) port.

Ocean sailings typically have a CY cut-off date by which the container must be delivered in order to be loaded onto the scheduled sailing.

The difference between CFS (container freight station) and CY(Container Yard ) ?

The shipping industry is full of terminologies that sound similar but have a very different meaning such for instance CFS and CY. CY stands for Container Yard, which is a dedicated area within the port where full-container-load (FCL) containers are stored before or after it is loaded from/ on a ship. In the case of export for CY/CY shipments, the shipper will deliver the container to a designated CY at the port under the account of a shipping line. From then on, the container is under the control of the shipping line until it reaches the CY at the port of discharge, where the shipper will pick-up the container.

Notes:

Often Bills of Lading or Letters of Credit have the terms /CY after the port names on them. CY/CY essentially means ‘Container Yard to Container Yard’, referring to the Carrier’s port or terminal where goods are dispatched and the delivery port or terminal where a consignee accepts the goods.

A CY/CY shipment term simply tells the shipper the port at which the containers are getting delivered to, as well as the end destination of the containers, so that it is clear to the shipper, exporter and customer where responsibility lies when transporting containers.