Seattle and Tacoma, Washington · West Coast
The Northwest Seaport Alliance (Seattle and Tacoma) container demurrage & detention dispute guide
Seattle and Tacoma's combined container gateway, with heavy intermodal rail, eModal appointments and an export base that makes rail dwell and ERDs central to D&D disputes.
- Authority
- The Northwest Seaport Alliance (port development authority of the Port of Seattle and Port of Tacoma)
- Volume
- 3.16 million TEU in calendar 2025 (The Northwest Seaport Alliance)
- Container terminals
- 6
The port at a glance
The Northwest Seaport Alliance manages the container terminals of the Port of Seattle and Port of Tacoma as one gateway. A large share of its import volume moves inland by rail to the Midwest, and its export base includes hay, grain, frozen food and forest products. International terminals sit in both harbors: Terminal 5, Terminal 18 and Terminal 30 in Seattle, and Husky, Washington United Terminals and Pierce County Terminal in Tacoma. Domestic trades to Alaska and Hawaii also run through the gateway.
D&D exposure here often comes from rail. Intermodal containers wait on terminal for on-dock or near-dock rail, and when rail capacity tightens, boxes moving under a carrier-controlled through bill can sit past free time with nothing the consignee can do. Local truck moves face appointment limits at terminals that use eModal for import delivery, and exporters face the same rolled booking and earliest return date problems seen in Oakland.
Importers most often miss the difference between local and intermodal moves. Demurrage billed on an IPI container that waited for the carrier's own rail connection is a different question from demurrage on a local pickup, and invoices do not always make that distinction clear. Separating the two before disputing is the first step.
Container terminals
Terminal 5 (Seattle)
SSA Terminals (Seattle Terminals), LLC · Modernized two-berth terminal; joint venture including SSA and Terminal Investment Ltd
Terminal 18 (Seattle)
SSA Terminals
Terminal 30 (Seattle)
SSA Terminals
Husky Terminal (Tacoma)
Husky Terminal and Stevedoring
Washington United Terminals (Tacoma)
Washington United Terminals
Pierce County Terminal (Tacoma)
Everport Terminal Services
Appointments & empty returns
- Terminal appointments are booked through eModal, which Terminal 18, Washington United Terminals and Pierce County Terminal have used for appointments; rules on which transactions require one vary by terminal.
- The NWSA and Advent eModal Trucker Appointment Capacity Dashboard, launched in November 2022, shows appointment availability across NWSA terminals.
- Empty return locations and export receiving windows are published by each terminal and carrier.
Chassis
Truckers draw chassis from lessor pools serving Seattle, Tacoma and Portland start/stop locations, including TRAC Intermodal's Pacific Northwest Pool and DCLI's DCLP pool.
Where D&D builds up at Seattle-Tacoma.
Intermodal rail dwell
Much of the gateway's import volume moves inland by rail. When rail capacity is short, containers dwell on terminal waiting for the carrier's rail move. Demurrage on carrier-controlled intermodal moves deserves a close look at who controlled the delay.
Appointment limits for local delivery
Terminals that require eModal appointments for import delivery can run short of slots before LFD. The capacity dashboard and terminal screenshots document lack of availability.
Export receiving and ERDs
Hay, grain and food exporters deliver against earliest return dates that move with vessel schedules. Gate refusals before receiving opens, and rolled bookings, both create disputable detention.
Two harbors, one gateway
Carriers can switch services between Seattle and Tacoma terminals. A changed return terminal can add a long dray and extra per diem days; keep every changed instruction.
Weather and closures
Winter weather, wind and holiday closures shut gates in both harbors. Billed days that overlap terminal closures should be removed from free time calculations or disputed.
Free time and disputes at Seattle-Tacoma
Free time across NWSA terminals is set by the ocean carrier's tariff or your service contract for carrier-billed D&D, and by each MTO's schedule for terminal storage. The alliance does not set a single gateway-wide free time. Check that every invoice states the allowed free time, the start and end dates, the availability date (imports) or earliest return date (exports), and the specific tariff rule or contract section, as § 541.6 requires.
For intermodal containers, ask who controlled the rail move. If the carrier issued a through bill to an inland point and the box waited at the port for the carrier's own rail connection, the consignee had no way to act, which is the type of charge 46 CFR § 545.5 focuses on. For local moves, compare billed days with eModal appointment availability and terminal closures.
The billing party must issue the invoice within 30 calendar days of the date the charge was last incurred (§ 541.7), and you have at least 30 calendar days from issuance to request mitigation, refund or waiver (§ 541.8). ATAHSKIA's Milestone & Gate Tracking separates local and intermodal moves automatically and flags the rail and appointment evidence each dispute needs.
Seattle-Tacoma D&D FAQ
Do Seattle and Tacoma terminals require truck appointments?
Several do, through eModal, and the rules on which transactions need one vary by terminal. The NWSA and eModal Trucker Appointment Capacity Dashboard shows availability across terminals, which is useful evidence when slots were unavailable before LFD.
Can I dispute demurrage on an intermodal container waiting for rail at the port?
If the carrier controlled the rail move under a through bill and the box waited for that connection, the consignee could not move it. That fact pattern fits the FMC's incentive principle and is worth a relief request with the terminal's rail history attached.
Does the Northwest Seaport Alliance set free time?
No. Carrier D&D free time comes from the carrier's tariff or your service contract, and terminal storage comes from each MTO's schedule. The invoice must cite the rule or contract section it relies on.
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