NVOCC
Ocean freightNon-Vessel Operating Common Carrier
A company that sells ocean freight and issues its own bills of lading but does not own ships.
In practice
An NVOCC buys space from shipping lines and resells it, taking on carrier liability to its customers through a house B/L. Most freight forwarders that consolidate LCL act as NVOCCs. In the US an NVOCC must hold an FMC licence and file tariffs.
Seen in the wild
As an NVOCC we issue our own HBL against the carrier's MBL.