Cargo hold booking, six desks, one counter
Millennium Sea Company Limited keeps every element of cargo hold booking in one continuous chain that begins with a hold plan and ends with a port call audit. The six services described on this page are the desks that chain passes through, all of them run from Rm 501 5/F Belgian Bank Bldg, 721-725 Nathan Rd, Mong Kok, Hong Kong - 999077, Hong Kong (HK). We take bookings by email at accounts@huixintrade.buzz or by telephone on +12792840746, and each desk can be engaged on its own when an office already trusts part of its process. The paragraphs below describe what each desk actually does, what it asks of the shipper, and what paper leaves the counter when the work is finished.
Reserve a desk for your next sailing →The allocation desk is where a vessel stops being a timetable and becomes a set of rooms with names on them. When a shipper confirms space, our clerk pulls the hold plan for the booked vessel and assigns a bay with the weight spread already calculated against the declared cargo. The assignment is recorded on the plan itself, on the consignment note and in the allocation register, so all three documents describe the same room. Where a bay is shared between two shippers, a dividing line is drawn and both notes carry the same mark, which prevents the argument that so often begins at the gangway.
Allocation also handles the awkward cases. A late booking that can only be placed by moving existing cargo is negotiated with both shippers before the plan is redrawn. A bay held for a partial load is released on a stated date if the cargo has not arrived. Overweight combinations are refused at the desk rather than discovered at the quay. Every change is dated and initialled, so a hold plan can be read backwards through the week and the reason for each shift is visible to anyone who asks.
A consignment note is the shipper account of what is travelling, and our note run keeps those accounts in step with the manifest. Each departure has a run sheet listing the notes expected, the order in which they should be signed, and the clerk responsible for the batch. When a note arrives without its supporting packing list, it is held on the run sheet with a short reason rather than quietly accepted. When a note arrives twice, the duplicate is marked and set aside so that the manifest never counts the same cargo twice.
The run sheet travels with the departure file after the last signature is added. That single habit saves a great deal of correspondence later, because any question about a particular consignment can be answered from one folder rather than from a search through several inboxes. For offices that have moved to digital notes, we mirror the same sequence in the booking system, with the same hold points, so the paper and the screen remain interchangeable.
The tally desk counts what actually crosses the rail. A tally clerk works from the hold plan and the run sheet, marking each unit as it is loaded and noting where a count differs from the note. The tally sheet is closed before the vessel clears the harbour, and it is closed honestly, including the differences. A tally that reports a perfect count when a pallet was left on the dock is worse than useless, because the error will be discovered at the receiving port by someone with no way to trace it.
We keep the tally desk small and specific. One clerk, one vessel, one sheet, signed at close. The finished sheet is filed with the sailing and a copy goes to the shipper on request. Ports that receive our cargo know the format and can read it without translation, which matters when a claim or a shortfall has to be resolved quickly.
Freight quotes have a reputation for being elastic, and our answer is a fixed window. Quotes are issued during defined hours of the counter day, each one carries the date it was written and the name of the person who wrote it, and each one states plainly when it expires. Where a rate depends on a surcharge that can move, the quote names the surcharge and the condition under which it applies rather than hiding it in a general note.
Inside the window, the shipper can compare lanes on the same basis and book with confidence that the figure will hold. Outside the window, the quote is dead and a new one is written, which keeps the account honest on both sides. We also keep a short register of recent quotes so that a returning shipper can see the trend of a lane without asking for a fresh exercise each time.
When cargo arrives marked, short or wet, the claim review gathers the three documents that matter: the consignment note, the hold plan and the tally sheet. The review compares them line by line, records the point at which the discrepancy first appears, and separates what the evidence supports from what it cannot support. Our reviewer does not aim to win a claim or defeat one. The aim is a record that a reasonable third party would accept, because that is what actually settles disputes.
The finished review is short. It states the finding, the documents relied upon, the amount in question and the signatures of those who took part. Shippers receive a copy within the agreed review period, and the originals stay with the sailing file. Where the evidence points to a handling fault at the quay, we say so plainly, and where it points to a packing fault before loading, we say that plainly as well.
The port call audit is the desk that closes the loop. After a vessel has sailed, the auditor walks the file and checks every promise made at booking against what the tally and the note record actually show. Bays that were held but not used are noted. Allocations that had to be revised are traced to the reason. Tallies that were closed late are flagged so that the pattern can be addressed in the next week.
Audit findings are written on a single sheet and sent to the office that booked the space, not buried in a report. Over a season, the sheets reveal where the chain is strong and where it leaks, and that knowledge feeds the next allocation window. For many clients this is the desk that pays for the others, because it turns each sailing into a lesson rather than a repetition.
The process is deliberately sequential. A shipper writes to the counter with the lane, the rough volume and the sailing date. The allocation desk answers with a hold plan and a bay assignment. The quote window confirms the freight figure and its expiry. The consignment note run gathers the paper before the departure. The tally desk counts the load at the quay. The claim review and the port call audit follow as the sailing recedes. Each step leaves a document, and each document names the person who signed it.
Send the lane, volume and sailing date. We reply with a bay assignment drawn on the vessel hold plan.
The quote window fixes the figure and its expiry. The note run gathers the consignment paper in order.
The tally desk closes the count before departure. The audit reconciles every promise afterwards.
Clients who want the full chain should begin with the contact page, and clients who only need one desk can name it directly in their message. Either way the counter answers within the port call window described at the top of the home page, and the same telephone number, +12792840746, reaches the desk during business hours.
Start a hold plan with the Nathan Road counter →