What are the port of loading (POL) and port of discharge (POD)?
Both ports appear on the booking confirmation and the bill of lading, often with their five-character UN/LOCODE, such as CNSHA for Shanghai or NLRTM for Rotterdam. Together they define the ocean leg the carrier prices and is responsible for under a port-to-port contract. Freight rates, terminal handling charges, free time and customs filings all attach to these two ports, so a wrong port on a booking is costly to correct.
The POL and POD are not always the first and last points of the journey. The place of receipt and place of delivery on a bill of lading can be inland cities when the carrier also arranges trucking or rail. With transshipment, cargo changes vessel at an intermediate port, which is neither the POL nor the POD. In road and courier work, POD can also mean proof of delivery.
Incoterms named places do not have to match the POL and POD. Under FOB the named place is the port of shipment, normally the POL, while DAP can name a destination far inland. Check that the ports on the sales contract, the booking, the letter of credit and the bill of lading agree, because a mismatch between documents can stop a bank from paying under a letter of credit.