A container depot is a yard that stores empty containers and keeps them fit to go back into service: it inspects them, cleans them, repairs them and records every box that comes in or goes out. When the depot finds damage, its surveyor writes an Estimate of Repair (EOR): a line-by-line list of the damage, the repair method and the labour and material cost. The box's owner (the shipping line or the lessor) approves the EOR, and whoever was responsible for the box when the damage happened is billed. That is often the merchant, meaning the shipper or consignee, so the EOR and the gate paperwork are the evidence you will need if a charge looks wrong. This guide sits alongside our guide on container damage, detention and per diem, and it covers the depot side of the story.
What does an empty container depot do?
A depot is separate from the terminal where the ship is loaded. The container terminal handles the vessel and the stack; the depot holds empties until the owner wants them somewhere else. Typical work includes:
- Storage of empties, stacked and sorted by owner, size and type, ready for the next export booking or for repositioning.
- Gate-in and gate-out control, with an inspection and an interchange receipt each time (explained below).
- Survey and inspection against published criteria, to decide whether a box is fit to load, needs cleaning, needs repair or must be taken out of service.
- Cleaning: sweeping, washing, deodorising or removing residues, depending on the last cargo.
- Repair of the structure, floor, doors, seals and markings, after the owner approves the estimate.
- Pre-trip inspection (PTI) of refrigerated units, and sometimes the safety examination required under the CSC (see below).
Whether a particular depot offers all of this varies by country and operator, so confirm with the depot or your forwarder rather than assuming.
What is the Equipment Interchange Receipt (EIR)?
The EIR is the receipt created when a container changes hands at a gate: it is issued at gate-out when a trucker collects a box, and at gate-in when the box is returned. It normally records the container number, date and time, the haulier, the booking or release reference, the seal number if any, and the condition of the box at that moment, including any damage marks the gate inspector noted. Some terminals and depots add photographs from gate cameras or handheld inspections. Practice varies, so treat photos as common rather than guaranteed.
The EIR matters because it fixes the condition of the box at a point in time. The gate-out EIR is your evidence of what you received; the gate-in EIR is the carrier's evidence of what came back. Our terminal guide explains how the gate process works, and the empty container return guide covers what to do if the return itself is refused.
How is an Estimate of Repair prepared and approved?
The usual sequence, which is an industry convention rather than a law, runs like this:
- A depot surveyor inspects the container, photographs the damage and records each item by location and type, using the owner's or the industry's coding.
- The depot prices each item from an agreed repair tariff: labour hours plus materials. This is the EOR.
- The EOR goes to the container owner, which may be a carrier or a lessor, for approval. The owner can approve, reject lines, or ask for more evidence. Without that approval the depot normally does not start work.
- After approval the depot repairs the box and invoices the owner. If someone else is liable, the owner then bills that party, usually using the EOR as the supporting document.
Two things to keep straight. The depot prepares the estimate but does not decide who pays; the owner approves it and the contract decides liability. And the EOR prices what was found at that depot at that time, so the date and place of the survey matter when you argue about when the damage occurred. We do not quote repair prices here: tariffs differ by depot, country and owner, and any figure copied from one market would mislead in another.
What standards decide whether something is damage?
The Institute of International Container Lessors (IICL) publishes the reference documents most depots and lessors work to. As listed in IICL's own store in November 2026, the relevant ones include:
- Guide for Container Equipment Inspection, 6th edition (often called IICL-6): criteria for deciding whether damage on a container needs repair. IICL lists it as published in 2016, and trade press at the time reported that it merged two earlier lessor standards (IICL 5 and the CIC criteria) into one.
- Repair Manual for Steel Freight Containers, 5th edition: repair recommendations with photographs.
- Supplement on Inspection and Repair: Gray Areas, 2nd edition: guidance on ambiguous cases such as wear versus damage and improper earlier repairs.
- General Guide for Container Cleaning, 3rd edition, and a separate General Guide for Refrigerated Container Inspection and Repair, 4th edition.
A common mix-up: IICL-6 is the inspection guide, not the repair manual. The Container Owners Association (COA), the body that represents shipping lines and lessors as container owners, was involved in the push to harmonise inspection criteria. Which standard applies to your charge is a matter of the lease or the carrier's terms and tariff, not something the shipper chooses, so ask which edition and criteria the owner applied.
Normal wear and tear versus damage
Most disputes turn on this line. As a general convention, wear and tear is the gradual deterioration of a box used as intended: light surface rust, minor dents that do not breach criteria, faded paint. Damage is the result of an event or misuse: holes, torn or bent panels beyond the stated limits, broken door gear, a floor punctured by a forklift. IICL's Gray Areas supplement exists precisely because the boundary is not always obvious, and its published description names wear versus damage as an example. No single IICL wording of "normal wear and tear" was confirmed for this article, and lessor manuals paraphrase it in different ways, so ask for the clause your owner relies on.
| Condition | Usually treated as | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Light surface rust, small scratches, faded paint | Wear and tear (convention) | Owner's criteria and tariff |
| Holes, cuts, torn panels, crushed corner posts | Damage | Gate-out EIR, seal, loading photos |
| Residue, odour, pallets or dunnage left inside | Cleaning charge, not repair | Return condition clause |
| Floor damage from cargo or handling equipment | Damage, cause matters | Packing photos, who loaded |
Who pays for container damage?
The container owner pays the depot first. Whether it can pass the cost on depends on the contract and on where the box was when the damage happened. Under merchant haulage, where the shipper or consignee arranges the truck, the carrier's bill of lading terms commonly make the merchant responsible for the box while it is in the merchant's custody. As one example, Maersk's published Terms for Carriage (read on 4 November 2026) say in clause 15.5 that containers released to the merchant are at the merchant's sole risk until redelivered to the carrier, and in clause 15.4 that containers must be returned clean and in the same condition as received. Those are one carrier's words; check the bill of lading and tariff for the line you actually used. The Maersk page read for this article has no fair wear and tear clause, so where an allowance for wear exists it usually sits in the tariff, the depot's repair criteria or the lease rather than in the main terms.
If the box was on a leased or one-way arrangement, the lessor's lease sets the rules, usually by reference to IICL standards at redelivery. Our guide to container leasing, repositioning and street turns explains why lessors charge drop-off fees on one-way leases; those charges are separate from damage, and the lease schedule states them. Under a shipper-owned or carrier-owned box arrangement, the party that owns the box is the one that approves the EOR.
Cleaning is its own line. A box returned with residue, odour or dunnage can attract a cleaning charge, which is normally based on the owner's tariff and the degree of dirt. IICL's cleaning guide describes the conditions and when cleaning is needed, and the carrier's return clause is what makes the merchant liable.
The CSC plate and safety examinations
The International Convention for Safe Containers (CSC 1972), administered by the IMO, requires containers used in international transport to carry a safety approval plate, and requires the owner to have the box examined periodically. Under the original scheme the first examination is due within five years of manufacture and then at intervals of no more than 30 months, with the next examination date shown on the plate. The alternative is an Approved Continuous Examination Programme (ACEP), where the plate or a decal shows the programme number instead of a date. The IMO notes that the owner is responsible for keeping an approved container in a safe condition. Depots often perform or record these examinations, but they are a safety obligation of the owner, not a charge a shipper normally bears. For how to read the plate itself, see how to read a container number and CSC plate.
How to dispute a container damage charge
- Ask for the EOR, the photos and the gate-in EIR before paying. A bare invoice with no estimate is not enough to judge.
- Compare with the gate-out EIR and any photos taken at pickup. Damage already noted at gate-out is not yours.
- Check dates and places. A survey days after return, at a different depot, weakens the link to your custody.
- Check each line against the stated criteria: is it wear, damage or something that was already repaired?
- Check weight and cargo claims. Overloading or poor securing can be the real cause; see container weight limits and VGM for what the box is rated for.
- Raise the dispute in writing, within the time the terms allow. Short windows are common, so do not wait.
The practical lesson for shippers and forwarders is to photograph the container inside and out at pickup and again at return, keep the EIRs, and tell your carrier or forwarder about pre-existing damage straight away. Our damage and per diem guide covers the time-based charges that often arrive alongside a damage claim, and the container types guide helps you check you were given the right box. If you need to follow a box between depot, terminal and consignee, see container tracking explained.
What to do next
- At pickup, photograph all six sides and the interior, and make sure damage is written on the gate-out EIR.
- Keep the EIRs, seal photos and loading photos for every container until the last invoice is settled.
- If a damage or cleaning charge arrives, request the EOR, survey photos and the clause relied on, and compare them with your own records.
- Dispute in writing within the stated window, and ask your forwarder to escalate to the carrier or lessor on your behalf.
If you want a forwarder to handle depot returns, EIR checks and charge disputes on your behalf, more than 29,300 logistics companies are searchable by country and service in the CargoLinked directory, and the public requests board lists freight that shippers have posted for forwarders to quote on directly.
This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. Container owners' terms, tariffs, IICL editions and local rules change and differ by carrier and country; confirm the current wording with the carrier, lessor or depot, or with a licensed professional, before disputing or paying a charge. Information as of November 2026.
