Container Arrival Inspection: Tricycle Checklist

The container that carries your three-wheelers is the point where a written specification becomes physical evidence, and the point where most claim disputes are won or lost in the first hour. What you record between the gate-out at the terminal and the last unit being started determines whether a damaged or short shipment is your supplier’s problem or your loss. This checklist covers the seal and container checks to make before the doors open, the unit-by-unit inspection that follows, how to document damage so a claim stands up, and the checks that should happen before the first engine is started.

What should you do the moment the container is released to you?

Treat the container as evidence, not as a delivery. In practice that means four actions taken in order, before anything else moves:

1. Photograph the container, all four sides, the doors closed, the container number, and the seal in place, with the seal number legible.
2. Verify the seal number against your documents, the number on the seal must match the number recorded on the Bill of Lading and shipping instructions. A mismatch is a formal question to raise immediately, in writing, before the doors are opened.
3. Note the container’s external condition in writing: dents, repairs, rust streaks, water staining, or damage around the door gaskets. These details are meaningful when condensation or water damage is found later.
4. Arrange unloading so that the opening is witnessed, ideally by your clearing agent or an inspector, with photographs or video from the moment the doors are opened.

The IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Emballage of Cargo Transport Units (the CTU Code) is explicit that its advice applies to everyone in the supply chain, including those who receive and unpack containers. That is the formal basis for treating arrival inspection as part of the process rather than an optional extra.

Before the doors open: seal and container checks

Seals exist to make interference visible, and their value depends entirely on verification. The international standard for container seals, ISO 17712:2013 Freight containers, Mechanical seals, establishes uniform procedures for the classification, acceptance and withdrawal of mechanical freight container seals, and grades them so that a buyer can tell what level of resistance a seal claims. A seal is only useful if three conditions hold: the number is recorded on the transport documents, the physical number matches, and the seal is intact on arrival.

Who carries the risk while the container is in transit?

Who is responsible for loss or damage is decided by the trade terms you agreed, not by who is most upset at the port. The ICC’s Incoterms 2020 rules define the point at which risk transfers from seller to buyer for each named term, for FOB and CFR/CIF arrangements the risk generally passes when the goods are on board, while DAP and DDP terms keep the seller exposed until a named destination. Cargo insurance, in turn, responds according to its own clauses and the survey evidence you produce.

Two practical consequences follow for an importer:

• Know your risk point before the container sails. If risk passed at the loading port, your remedy for damage is a claim under your cargo policy, supported by evidence, not an argument with the seller. Our guide to marine cargo insurance for tricycle imports sets out how the cover and the claim interact.
• Survey obligations have deadlines. Insurance policies and carrier terms impose notice periods for claims; those deadlines run from delivery, not from when you finally found the problem. Report suspected damage formally and immediately, even when the extent is not yet known.

What to record before you open the doors

The highest-value ten minutes of the entire import are the ones before unloading. Assemble a file that answers, without argument, the question “what was the condition at handover?”

• Photographs of the container, doors and seal, with the seal number readable.
• A short written note of date, time, place, container number, seal number and who was present.
• The equipment interchange receipt or terminal delivery note, checked for damage remarks before you sign.
• Video of the doors being opened, with the load visible before any unit is touched.
• Any unusual smell, heat or condensation noted at the opening, these often precede rust and moisture findings further in.

Unpacking: sequence and what to check unit by unit

Unload in a sequence that preserves evidence: outermost units first, photographing the load arrangement before it is disturbed, then each unit as it comes out. For three-wheeler shipments, check each unit against four groups of items:

1. Identity. Model plate and vehicle identification number against the invoice and packing list, the same identity check described in our pre-shipment inspection checklist, now run at the other end.
2. Count and completeness. Units, seats, canopies, mirrors, batteries, chargers, tools and accessory boxes against the packing list. Shortages are documented on the spot or accepted as normal.
3. Transit damage. Paint and panel damage, bent racks, cracked canopies, deformed wheels, damaged lights. Photograph damage with the unit’s identification plate visible in the same frame.
4. Loose or missing fastenings. Parts that were braced for sea transport can work loose; check that nothing designed to be removed for shipping has in fact fallen off, noted in our first-container spares guide as one of the most common arrival queries.

Keep the packing materials, braces, straps and any original packaging, at least until the inspection is closed and the claim position is settled. Discarded packing destroys the physical evidence of how the load was secured.

Mechanical and electrical checks before the first start

Starting a machine that has crossed an ocean in a container is a procedure, not a ritual. Before the first start on each unit:

• Confirm fluids: engine oil level, coolant where applicable, brake fluid on hydraulic systems, and fuel quality in the tank.
• Check tyre pressures against the load rating for your intended payload, not against a generic figure, see our guide to tyre load ratings and pressure.
• Inspect the battery for electric models: physical condition, terminal security, charge state, and charger compatibility with your local mains voltage.
• Confirm brake function and parking brake hold before the vehicle is used with any load, brake behaviour under load is covered in our guide to drum and disc brake systems.
• Check lights, horn, indicators and, on passenger units, doors, steps and seating fixings.
• Record the initial odometer or hour reading, and photograph the model plate, so warranty discussions later start from a known baseline, see warranty and after-sales claims.

Condensation, rust and the container-rain problem

The most common “damage” on an otherwise well-packed shipment is moisture damage that occurred inside the container rather than through it. Temperature swings across a sea voyage cause condensation on the roof and walls of a steel container, which then drips onto the load, the effect the CTU Code addresses in its guidance on the prevention of condensation damage.

What that means in practice for a vehicle shipment:

• Light surface rust on unpainted steel, brake drums or machined surfaces after a long humid voyage is common and can be treated; deep pitting, corrosion inside electrical connectors or water standing in body cavities is not routine.
• Photograph moisture findings before any cleaning. Cleaning a machine destroys the evidence that the claim depends on.
• Consider whether your next order should specify additional moisture countermeasures in the packing, and discuss it with your supplier when the packing plan is agreed rather than after arrival.

Shortages, damage and claims: how to document properly

A claim is a file, and a file is built hour by hour. The elements that make a claim survive scrutiny:

• A joint survey where possible. Where a third-party surveyor, the carrier’s representative or your clearing agent can attend the opening, do it, a joint record is far stronger than a unilateral one.
• Notice in writing within the required period to the carrier, the insurer and the seller, stating the facts known at that time without speculating on cause.
• Photographs with context: damage in the same frame as the unit identification, the container number, and the packing as found.
• Documents: invoice, packing list, Bill of Lading, interchange receipt, inspection reports and the loading photographs supplied before shipment.
• Quantified loss: replacement part cost or repair quotation, and any consequential cost such as storage or re-inspection that you intend to claim.

Do the paperwork while the container is still on site. Once the units are distributed to operators, evidence becomes impossible to assemble coherently, and the claim becomes a negotiation you will lose. Our guides to import documents and customs clearance and port charges, demurrage and detention cover the documentary and cost side of the same period.

A ten-point arrival checklist

Customs considerations sit alongside these physical checks: tariff classification, valuation and the applicable import requirements are decided according to your market’s rules, and the World Customs Organization’s trade tools and your local customs administration are the reference points for classification and duty. Our market guides at /markets/ cover the conformity route for individual destinations.

Frequently asked questions about receiving a tricycle container

What is the first thing I should check when the container arrives?

The seal: confirm it is present and unbroken, and that the number on the seal matches the number recorded on the Bill of Lading. Do this and photograph it before the doors are opened, because every subsequent statement about the shipment’s integrity depends on that check.

What is the V.V.T.T. approach to container seal checks?

It is a practical four-step inspection discipline adopted in supply-chain security programmes: view the seal for signs of interference, verify the serial number against the documents, tug it to confirm the locking mechanism has engaged, and twist it to confirm the components do not separate. Applied at each handover, it localises where interference may have occurred.

The container was sealed properly, so how can goods be damaged?

Because much container damage is not caused by intrusion. Condensation inside a steel container during temperature swings at sea produces “container rain” that drips onto the load, and cargo can shift within a properly sealed container if the internal bracing is inadequate. Both are transport conditions, not security failures, which is why the CTU Code addresses condensation prevention and securing in the same framework.

How long do I have to report damage or shortage?

Notice periods are set by the carrier’s terms, your cargo insurance policy and, in some markets, statute, and they run from delivery. Report suspected damage in writing immediately and refine the claim as information arrives; waiting for a final repair estimate before giving notice is one of the most common and most expensive mistakes importers make.

Should I open the container myself or use an agent?

Either works provided evidence discipline is followed: photographs of the seal and doors, a note of who attended, and a joint record where possible. A clearing agent or surveyor adds independent corroboration, which matters most when damage is significant enough to claim for.

How do I avoid these problems on the next shipment?

Ask for the loading photographs and a packing plan before the container seals, specify moisture countermeasures where your trade lane is humid, confirm the packing format in writing, and use pre-shipment inspection so that what leaves matches what you ordered. Our guide to FCL and LCL shipping explains how the loading format affects both freight cost and damage exposure.

Send us your destination port, quantity and vehicle class, and we will set out the loading plan, the packing and moisture protection options, and the photo evidence pack supplied before the container seals, so the arrival inspection confirms the order instead of discovering a problem. Demander un devis or message the export team on WhatsApp with your shipping plan.