Un/Locode Codes for Ports and Other Locations
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UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE UN/LOCODE CODES FOR PORTS AND OTHER LOCATIONS RECOMMENDATION No. 16, third edition, adopted by the Centre for the Facilitation of Procedures Practices for Administration, Commerce and Transport ___________________________________________________________________________ Geneva, December 1998 ECE/TRADE/227 ECE/TRADE/227 Page 2 Recommendation No. 16 UN/LOCODE - CODE FOR PORTS AND OTHER LOCATIONS The work to prepare codes, i.a for ports commenced in Agency for North-South Cooperation., and as 1972, when the UN/ECE Working Party on Facilitation of Observers: representatives from the Association of International Trade Procedures agreed to include this Committees on Simplified Procedures for International task in its programme of work, later on specified as Trade within the European Community and the European follows: "to establish the need to designate various Free Trade Association (EUROPRO), Electronic locations involved in external trade (cities, ports, airports, Commerce Europe Association (ECEA), European Board border crossings, terminals, etc. with a view to the for EDI/EC Standardization (EBES), International subsequent creation of codes". After consultation with Federation of Inspection Agencies (IFIA), Taipei other regional United Nations commissions (ECLAC and EDIFACT Committee (TEC). ESCAP) and with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a programme of action for the development of a code was agreed in September 1977. RECOMMENDATION As a result, a draft Recommendation was submitted to the Working Party on Facilitation of International Trade Procedures and adopted at its twelfth session in The Centre for the Facilitation of Procedures and September 1980. The Working Party, at its forty-second Practices for Administration Commerce and Transport session in September 1995, approved a second edition (UN/CEFACT), of Recommendation No. 16, based on secretariat proposals for amendments and including an Annex Being aware of the need for an intemationally agreed containing the UN/LOCODE Manual. code system to represent names of certain locations of interest in international trade and transport; As a result of re-engineering its structures and work in order to become more efficient and effective, in March of Considering that the code system should be based on 1997 the Working Party on Facilitation of International the two-letter alphabetic codes for the representation of Trade Procedures became the Centre for the Facilitation names of countries, adopted in International Standard of Procedures and Practices for Administration, ISO 3166 and recommended by the Working Party in Commerce and Transport (UN/CEFACT). October 1974; Based on proposals put forward by an Ad Hoc Group of Recommends that the five-character code system Experts, UN/CEFACT, at its fourth session in September described hereafter should be used for purposes of trade 1998, adopted the third edition of Recommendation No. to designate locations whenever there is a need for a 16. coded representation for the names of ports, airports, inland clearance depots, inland freight terminals and At its fourth CEFACT Session in September 1998, other transport related locations, such as places of representatives attended from the following countries: receipt and delivery, which are used for goods Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, movements associated with trade (for example locations Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, where Customs clearance of goods can take place), or Hungary, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Ireland, Italy, Japan, otherwise proposed by Governments; Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Invites Governments to transmit lists of entities with Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, United code designations according to the established criteria Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and and to ensure that each national list is continuously United States of America. The European Union (EU), the updated and communicated to the United Nations following inter-governmental organizations : secretariat, responsible for the maintenance of the code system. Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). , the following United Nations bodies: The United Nations Conference on I. BACKGROUND Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the following non- 1. The identification of a particular location is governmental organizations :European Electronic frequently required in information interchange in Messaging Association (EEMA), International Article international trade and transport, to direct the movement Numbering Association (EAN) International Association of goods, e.g. in addresses, in shipping marks, and in of Ports and Harbours (IAPH), International data elements identifying ports of call, ports or places of Organization for Standardization (ISO), Société loading or unloading, ports or places of transhipment and Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques destination, places of clearance by Customs, etc. (SITA), Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (S.W.I.F.T) and the United Towns ECE/TRADE/227 Page 3 2. The names of such locations are often spelt in reasonable mnemonic link, whilst at the same time different ways and sometimes the same location is given avoiding duplication of code designations for places with different names in different languages (e.g. LIVORNO - similar names, would require a code consisting of more LIBOURNE - LEGHORN; LONDON - LONDRES - than three alphabetic characters. The solution preferred LONDRA; WARZSAW - VARSOVIE - WARSZAWA - was to add two characters designating the country, in WARSCHAU), which creates confusion and difficulties in accordance with International Standard ISO data interchange. The identification in a unique and 3166/1974 and recommended by the Working Party in unambiguous way of any place involved in international October 1974, thus including a further element of trade is therefore an essential element for the facilitation identification and limiting the need for uniqueness of the of trade procedures and documentation. This can be location code for each place name to the country achieved by using agreed, unique coded designations concerned. for such locations; this would have the added advantage of permitting an exchange of data in a safer and more 8. The question of a numerical code alternative economical way. was considered, particularly for countries where the Roman alphabet is not widely used. However, there has 3. For these reasons, in 1972, the Working Party been no subsequent demand for a numerical code. The on Facilitation of International Trade Procedures agreed need to add classifying elements to the basic code to include in its programme of work the tasks of element was demonstrated. Such classifying elements preparing a code for port names and of establishing the which are generally required and accepted have been need to designate various locations involved in external included in the code list in the course of' its continuous trade, with a view to the subsequent creation of codes. updating and maintenance. 4. There are several examples of location code systems in use, covering places in individual countries, II. SCOPE or belonging to a certain category, e.g. airports. Many countries have developed code systems for distribution 9. This Recommendation aims at (a) providing a of mail. However, these often include features reflecting list of such locations which are of interest in international methods of postal distribution rendering them less trade and transport and whose names need to be quoted suitable for general trade purposes. in an unambiguous way in data interchange, (b) establishing coded representations of the names of 5. The first part of the task therefore was to these locations and (c) giving guidance for their use. prepare lists of the ports and other locations to be covered. It became necessary to establish criteria for the inclusion of names of localities and it was agreed to III. FIELD OF APPLICATION include - in addition to airports, inland freight terminals and maritime ports as defined for this purpose - other 10. This Recommendation applies in all cases locations where goods have their status changed from where a coded representation is required for names of moving in international to national traffic, i.e. normally ports, airports, inland clearance depots and freight places with Customs clearance facilities (including terminals and other locations, such as places of receipt locations referred to as "frontier crossing points"). and delivery, which are used for goods movements Moreover, it was felt that any other locations could be associated with trade, for use in information exchange included at the request of the Government concerned (in between participants in such trade. the present version, the criteria for inclusion have been extended to cover all locations which are frequently used for goods movements associated with international IV. DEFINITIONS trade). 11. The following definitions have been adopted for 6. Major contributions towards the establishment the purposes of this Recommendation: of the entity list were made by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the International Association of Ports Port: Any location with permanent facilities at which and Harbours (IAPH), the Economic Commission for vessels can