Freight and logistics
Freight Forwarder Sanctions Screening for Every Booking
Freight forwarder sanctions screening checks the shipper, consignee, notify party and carrying vessel on each booking against sanctions lists before cargo moves. OfacScanner screens companies, people and vessels by name and IMO number, handles whole booking files in one upload and keeps evidence per party.
What is freight forwarder sanctions screening
A freight forwarder arranges transport for goods that belong to someone else. Even so, the forwarder takes part in the movement of those goods and is paid for it. If any party on the booking is a blocked person, or if the cargo travels on a blocked vessel, the forwarder can be involved in a prohibited transaction.
Screening in logistics covers more parties than a normal sale. A single bill of lading can name a shipper, a consignee, a notify party, an agent at destination and a vessel. Sanctioned parties sometimes appear in the less obvious roles, such as notify party or consignee, rather than as the shipper who books the job.
Vessels matter as much as companies. OFAC lists vessels on the SDN list and includes identifiers such as the IMO number. Screening by IMO number is more reliable than by name, because ships are renamed and a vessel name can be shared by many ships.
One booking screened in one pass
Send each party with its role and type. The rating for each line uses the score, the entity type and any identifier you add.
Parties on the booking
- Shipper Northwind Freight Ltd, organization, Panama
- Consignee Harbor Line Trading, organization, United Arab Emirates
- Notify party Delta Example Logistics, organization
- Vessel Example Star, vessel, IMO 9000001
Ratings
-
Northwind Freight Ltd
No candidate above your threshold
38/100 Clear -
Harbor Line Trading
Partial name overlap, country differs
62/100 Clear -
Delta Example Logistics
Alias close to a listed company
83/100 Review -
Example Star
Name and IMO number match a listed vessel
100/100 Exact match
Example data for illustration. Real results show the listed entry, its program code, the list and the list version used.
Why vessel screening needs the IMO number
Ship names repeat. There can be many vessels with the same name in different fleets, and a ship can change its name and flag several times. A name search alone gives either too many hits or none at all.
When you add the IMO number, OfacScanner uses it as an identifier. A matching IMO number raises the score sharply, and a person name is never scored high against a vessel because the entity type does not fit. This keeps your analysts focused on the bookings that matter.
Aircraft too
Air freight teams can screen aircraft the same way, by name and registration details, against listed aircraft entries.
Names in many scripts
Company names from documents in Cyrillic, Arabic, Persian or Chinese are compared in Latin form as well, with legal suffixes such as Ltd, GmbH, OOO, SA or JSC removed before matching.
What forwarders use every day
Booking files in one upload
Export the day of bookings to CSV and screen up to 100,000 rows per file with batch sanctions screening on Growth.
Single checks at the counter
Check a new shipper in seconds with an OFAC business search before you quote.
Monitoring of regular customers
Shippers and consignees you work with every week are re-screened after each list update.
Cases across offices
Possible matches are assigned to a reviewer, commented on and closed with a reason, so every branch follows one process.
Global lists
On Growth and higher, UN, EU, UK, Canadian and Australian lists are checked with OFAC in one result.
Proof per party
Every check stores the list version, time, user and score breakdown, with a PDF you can attach to the job file.
Bookings do not stop at night
Cargo moves around the clock and so do list updates. OfacScanner checks the official list files every 30 minutes. With ongoing sanctions monitoring a regular customer who is listed overnight raises an alert before the next booking, and the monitoring.alert webhook can notify your operations system at once.
Plans for forwarders and carriers
Growth at $499 a month, or $249 a month billed yearly, fits most forwarders. It includes 50,000 checks a month, CSV files of up to 100,000 rows, monitoring of up to 50,000 records, global lists, cases, webhooks and 5 users. Forwarders who want screening inside their transport management system can use the REST API on Scale at $1,999 a month, or $999 a month billed yearly. OfacScanner shows what the lists say. Whether to accept, hold or decline a booking is your decision.
Freight forwarder sanctions screening questions
Another question? Write to [email protected].
Which parties should a forwarder screen?
Can OfacScanner screen vessels by IMO number?
How many bookings can I screen at once?
Does OfacScanner track vessel positions or ownership?
What happens when we reach the monthly check limit?
Keep exploring
Screen your first name in seconds
Type a person or company name, see the risk rating and top candidates from the current OFAC list, and keep the evidence when you sign up.
Results support your compliance decisions, and the final decision stays with your team. OfacScanner is not affiliated with OFAC or the U.S. Department of the Treasury.