Eight stages · documents at each step
From Letter of Intent to the vessel sailing.
No surprises and no hidden steps. Below is exactly how a cargo moves, who acts at each stage and which documents change hands. Nothing binds either side until stage four.
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1
Letter of Intent
Buyer
You tell us what you need: grade, annual and first-cargo tonnage, discharge port, target laycan, your price indication, the payment instrument you will use and the bank that will issue it. This is non-binding and commits you to nothing. A complete LOI is answered within two business days.
- From buyer: Letter of Intent, signed and stamped
- From buyer: Company profile or trade licence
- Our reply: Acknowledgement and allocation status
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2
Qualification and allocation
Both parties
We check availability against the producer’s programme for your laycan and confirm whether the tonnage can be allocated. In parallel we complete counterparty checks in both directions, because your bank and ours will both ask.
- From us: Current certificate of analysis, both grades
- From us: Producer’s specification sheet
- From us: Sealed sample on request, by courier
- From buyer: KYC pack — trade licence, signatory passport, bank reference
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3
Full Corporate Offer
Seller side
Once allocation is confirmed we issue a firm written offer for a specific cargo: grade, quantity with tolerance, price FOB Tartous or CFR your port, laycan, loading rate, inspection company and payment terms, with a stated validity period.
- From us: Full Corporate Offer (FCO), signed and stamped
- From buyer: Acceptance, or a counter-offer
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4
Contract
Both parties
The sale and purchase agreement is drawn and executed by both parties. Annexes cover the specification, the inspection regime, laytime and demurrage, and the exact banking instructions. This is the first binding step for either side.
- Exchanged: Sale and Purchase Agreement, signed and stamped
- Annex 1: Specification and inspection
- Annex 2: Laytime, loading rate, demurrage
- Annex 3: Seller’s banking details
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5
Letter of Credit
Buyer’s bank
Your bank issues an irrevocable documentary letter of credit at sight, in favour of the seller at its nominated bank in the Syrian Arab Republic, subject to UCP 600. We ask for the draft to be approved by the seller’s bank before issuance, so that no discrepancy surfaces later. Nawras Trading is not a beneficiary and does not receive the cargo proceeds.
- From buyer’s bank: Draft LC for pre-approval
- From buyer’s bank: Issued LC by SWIFT MT700
- From seller’s bank: Confirmation the credit is operative
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6
Vessel nomination
Buyer
With the credit operative, you nominate a vessel suitable for the berth and within the port’s published limits: maximum draft 31 feet, parcels of 3,000 to 20,000 MT. The seller accepts or rejects within two business days and the laycan is fixed.
- From buyer: Vessel nomination — name, flag, DWT, draft, holds, ETA
- From us: Vessel acceptance and laycan confirmation
- From us: Port agent appointment and loading schedule
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7
Loading and inspection
Independent surveyor
An independent international inspection company — SGS, Intertek or Bureau Veritas — attends the load port to sample, analyse and weigh the cargo. Its certificates are final and binding on both parties for quality and quantity, and they are the certificates presented to your bank.
- From surveyor: Certificate of Analysis
- From surveyor: Certificate of Weight or draft survey
- From master: Notice of Readiness, Statement of Facts, time sheet
- Retained: Sealed counter-samples, 90 days
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8
Documents, payment, sailing
Seller side and banks
The full documentary set is presented to the bank under the credit. On a clean presentation the credit is negotiated, the seller is paid, and the vessel sails. Copies are couriered to you and the originals follow through the banking channel. Demurrage or despatch is settled after the time sheet is agreed.
- Presented: Commercial invoice
- Presented: Full set clean on-board bills of lading
- Presented: Certificate of Origin
- Presented: Certificates of analysis and weight
- Presented: Bulk cargo and non-wooden packing declarations
- After sailing: Sailing notice and courier copies
Two things worth knowing early. The letter of credit is issued in favour of the seller at its bank in the Syrian Arab Republic — please confirm with your bank that it can advise and negotiate a credit to that beneficiary before you reach stage five, as that is the step most likely to need lead time. And the 31 ft draft at Tartous caps parcels at about 20,000 MT, so plan your freight around handysize tonnage.