One particular carrier executive we spoke with said his company was looking at the possibility of implementing a booking fee for its customers.
    The booking fee, he said, is a charge made at the time of the booking, usually for an amount less than the space guarantee deposit. It would be a fee, not a deposit, on top of the ocean freight.
    It's different from the deposit in that it would be levied on all bookings taken by the carrier so all bookings would, therefore, receive a guarantee of space.  
    But, in a way, it could be more difficult to implement for the carrier than the space guarantee deposit because it doesn't offer the shipper the alternative of having an unconfirmed booking entered into a queue, or waiting list, as the space guarantee deposit does.
    Methods of payment would also be a bank guarantee or debit or, if the carrier is advanced enough, an internet transfer. But the booking system needs even more communication with the shipper because it would be levied on all shipments during the peak season. 
So even though the amount of up-front money asked for is smaller, the amount of explanation required may be much more than the deposit.
    But despite its drawbacks, the booking fee has some very big advantages. As such, it might be very worthwhile to implement it after a period of time gaining experience with the guaranteed space deposit.
    A booking fee would be of enormous help to a carrier in the run up to a ship's departure. In the week before a vessel sails, the carrier undertakes an enormously complicated task of demand forecasting as it juggles the assignment of slots it allocates to various ports on each ship's rotation.

(source:BSAA)