Nomination Sent: How Do You Confirm the Shipping Arrangements Have Been Accepted?
After a nomination is sent, operators need to establish who has accepted which arrangements, whether conditions apply and what remains unresolved. This article explains how to check replies, handle changes and update ETRM, and where AI agents can assist while operators retain judgment.
Sending a nomination does not mean the shipping arrangements have been accepted. The key questions are who accepted what, which version they accepted, whether conditions apply and what remains unresolved.
A reply does not mean the entire cargo can be marked as accepted. The counterparty may have confirmed only the quantity and grade, with the vessel still under review. The terminal may have accepted the vessel without confirming the loading window. Loading arrangements accepted by the supplier may not meet the downstream buyer's requirements.
This article focuses on confirmation after a nomination has been sent. For the wider process linking contract receipt, vessel schedules, documents, settlement and payment, see AI Agents in Crude Oil Trade Execution: From Contract Entry to Payment Follow-up, Which Tasks Can Be Delegated?.
1. Establish who needs to accept what
After sending a nomination, first establish which arrangements it covers and who needs to confirm each one. The counterparty, supplier, buyer, terminal and vessel vetting team cannot be treated as a single approving party.
These roles may sit within one company or across several organisations. The approval process depends on the sale and purchase contracts, delivery terms and operational arrangements. Not every cargo requires a separate acceptance notice from every party.
| Confirming party | Scope of acceptance to check | What cannot be inferred |
|---|---|---|
| Contractual counterparty, including the supplier or buyer | Quantity, grade, vessel, dates, ports and other nomination details requiring confirmation under the contract | All terminal and vessel technical approvals have been obtained |
| Terminal or its authorised operator | The vessel's suitability for the operation, applicable operating limits and the specific loading or discharge arrangements confirmed | The counterparty has agreed to changes in commercial terms, or a specific berthing time is guaranteed |
| Relevant vessel vetting or approval team | Vessel acceptance or vetting status within its authority | Quantity, loading window, ports and other commercial arrangements have also been accepted |
| Chartering, shipowner or vessel operator | The vessel's ability to perform the arrangements and the required operational confirmations | The counterparty under the sale or purchase contract has accepted the nomination |
| Port agent or operations party forwarding information | Matters it is authorised to confirm, or the original approval it is forwarding | Forwarding an approval expands its original scope |
When a port agent forwards “terminal approved,” check who issued the approval, which vessel, terminal and operation it covers, and whether conditions apply. A forwarded email can provide evidence, but it must be read in the context of the original message.
2. Check the reply against the nomination sent
Acceptance needs to be checked against a clear record: what was sent, when, to whom and which version.
That record must also be consistent with the contract. Including a quantity, date or port in a nomination does not make it an agreed term. For the checks needed to establish the contract basis before entry, see Contract Received: When Can the Trade Be Entered and Confirmed?.
On receipt of a reply, check at least the following:
| Item | What to check in the acceptance |
|---|---|
| Nominated quantity | Which quantity and unit have been accepted, and whether tolerances, quantity options or later quantity confirmation conditions apply |
| Grade | Whether it matches the original nomination, or a substitute grade or additional quality condition has been proposed |
| Vessel | Whether the vessel name and IMO number match, the reply covers this voyage, and vetting or other approvals remain outstanding |
| Laycan / loading window | Whether acceptance covers the contractual window, a narrowed window or a newly proposed date range |
| Load/discharge port | Whether the relevant port or terminal is specified, and whether selection or approval conditions remain |
| ETA | Whether the reply merely acknowledges the ETA or expressly accepts the arrival arrangements, and whether the ETA remains within the relevant window |
| Terminal acceptance | The scope of acceptance, the operation and restrictions covered, and any further information required |
| Vessel acceptance | Who issued the approval, what it covers and whether any conditions remain outstanding |
| Document requirements | Which documents are a condition of nomination acceptance and which are only due by a later operational deadline |
| Special operating conditions | Whether the relevant parties have confirmed they can meet any applicable requirements for draft, loading capacity, tank allocation or segregation, temperature, and loading or discharge rates |
A reply does not have to repeat every detail to be valid. But it must clearly relate to the original nomination and contain no conflicting wording or reservations.
If the counterparty clearly accepts a specific version, acceptance can be recorded within the scope of that reply. If the email discusses only the vessel, it cannot automatically be treated as acceptance of the quantity, loading window and port as well.
3. Four situations require different treatment
3.1 Clear acceptance: Proceed with the relevant next step
Clear acceptance requires checks on both the content and the authority behind the reply:
- The reply relates to this nomination or a specific version;
- The sender or original approving party has authority to confirm the relevant matters;
- The scope of acceptance is clear;
- No preconditions remain unresolved;
- Other confirmations needed for the next step are also complete.
Once these conditions are met, the relevant acceptance status can be updated and work that depends on those confirmations can proceed.
The “next step” has a defined scope. Vessel acceptance allows preparations that depend on that approval to continue. It does not establish that all shipping arrangements are approved, nor does it amount to an unconditional berthing guarantee from the terminal.
3.2 Partial acceptance: Conditions remain pending
Conditional acceptance often includes wording such as “subject to,” “provided that” or similar reservations.
The operator needs to establish what the condition limits:
- Does acceptance depend on terminal approval being obtained first?
- Is further vessel information needed before the review can be completed?
- Is acceptance limited to a particular quantity, draft or date range?
- Is acceptance already clear, with document submission obligations still to be met later?
Conditions of acceptance and later operational requirements must be kept separate. An outstanding document does not necessarily mean the nomination has not been accepted. Conversely, if acceptance expressly depends on that document being approved, sending it is not enough to close the condition.
Each pending item should retain the original condition, the responsible person, the deadline and the evidence needed to close it. If further approval is required, submitting information is only an intermediate step. The relevant reply is still needed.
3.3 No reply or an unclear reply: Do not automatically mark it accepted
“Received,” “noted” and “checking” usually indicate only receipt or ongoing review. Those words alone do not establish acceptance of all shipping arrangements.
“Vessel acceptable” also needs context. Does it mean technically acceptable, or formal acceptance of this vessel nomination by the contractual counterparty? Is terminal approval still outstanding?
Follow-up on an unclear reply should address the unresolved scope directly, rather than repeat a general “please confirm.” It should ask whether the specific vessel, quantity, dates, port or conditions have been accepted.
Where there is no reply, track response deadlines, notice delivery and escalation requirements under the applicable contract and procedures. If the contract gives a specific consequence to a failure to reply, the agent still cannot infer acceptance on its own. The validity of the nomination, compliance with notice requirements and calculation of the deadline must be checked.
3.4 A revised nomination: Reconfirm the affected arrangements
A reply that changes the quantity, vessel, loading window or port may be a counter-proposal rather than acceptance of the original nomination.
Keep a record of:
- The original version sent;
- The counterparty's proposed changes;
- The internal decision on those changes;
- The revised details sent;
- The relevant parties' confirmation of the revised details.
Acceptance of an old version does not automatically cover a new one. Equally, unaffected approvals do not all need to be discarded. Assess which conditions the change affects, which confirmations remain valid and which must be obtained again.
An ETA update alone does not necessarily change an accepted loading window. But if the new ETA falls outside that window or triggers an operating restriction, the affected arrangements need to be reconfirmed.
A vessel substitution requires particular attention to vessel and terminal acceptance requirements. Trafigura's published amendments to the BP 2015 general terms require written acceptance of substitute vessels under the relevant amended provision. Whether fresh approval is needed must therefore be checked against the terms that actually apply.
Source document: Trafigura — Amendments 2019 to the BP General Terms and Conditions for Sales and Purchases of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products, 2015 Edition.
4. Reconstructing the full confirmation record takes much of the time
A nomination may be sent in one email thread, with the terminal's reply arriving in another. Chartering may forward vessel details separately. The counterparty's proposed changes may appear only in the email body, without an updated attachment.
Operators repeatedly need to:
- Find the original nomination and latest revision;
- Establish which version each reply covers;
- Compare changes to quantity, vessel, dates and ports;
- Identify conditions in the acceptance wording;
- Track who has not yet replied;
- Update ETRM or the operations tracker;
- Notify the affected trader, Chartering and relevant operations parties.
Errors often occur when statuses are changed:
- “Received” becomes “accepted”;
- A reply to an old version closes an item on a new version;
- “Accepted” is read, but the following “subject to” is missed;
- Terminal acceptance of the vessel is treated as confirmation of the loading window;
- The ETA is updated without flagging the impact on the window;
- “Awaiting approval” is marked complete as soon as the requested information is sent.
An “email read” flag does not resolve these issues. Each acceptance must be linked to its version, scope and conditions.
5. ETRM should record specific acceptance statuses, not a single tick box
The system record should show which party made which decision, when, and for which version and arrangements.
Depending on the system's capabilities, separate statuses can include:
- Nomination sent;
- Receipt acknowledged;
- Counterparty acceptance;
- Vessel acceptance;
- Terminal acceptance;
- Pending conditions;
- Rejected or counter-proposal received;
- Revised nomination awaiting confirmation.
These are business statuses that need to be distinguished. They do not require every ETRM system to use the same field names.
If the system has only one nomination status, the detailed acceptance scope and pending conditions still need to be held in a traceable linked record. An email giving partial acceptance must not automatically set the entire cargo to accepted.
Status updates should retain the source email, version, timestamp and evidence that conditions have been closed. Accepted means acceptance within a defined scope. It does not mean every later execution requirement has been met.
6. An agent can organise information, compare records and propose status updates
An agent can take on many repetitive tasks, but it should establish the facts before proposing an acceptance status.
6.1 Read emails and identify the type of reply
An agent can identify acceptance, rejection, counter-proposals, acknowledgements and requests for information. It can extract the wording that supports its classification.
Negations, conditions, quoted email text or mixed responses should be flagged where they create uncertainty. The presence of the word “accepted” alone must not trigger acceptance.
6.2 Compare versions and list changes
An agent can compare nomination versions and list changes to quantity, grade, vessel, dates, ports and ETA. It can flag replies that may still refer to an older version.
It can also flag related checks, such as reviewing vessel and terminal acceptance after a vessel substitution. Whether renomination or fresh approval is required still depends on the contract and the scope of the change.
6.3 Update factual statuses and clear acceptance records
Facts such as the time sent, the time a reply was received and the attachment version can be updated under defined rules.
The relevant acceptance status can be updated under pre-approved rules where the source is reliable, the version is clearly identified, the scope is clear and there are no conflicts. Unclear wording, conditional acceptance or conflicting terms should be referred for review.
6.4 Prepare targeted follow-up
An agent can draft questions around unresolved fields. It can state which party needs to confirm what, which version applies and when a reply is needed.
Routine reminders can be sent using authorised recipients and templates. Emails that accept new dates, quantities, additional costs or other commercial commitments require human confirmation.
7. Operators still need to assess the effect of changes and conditions
An agent can identify conditions in a reply. The operator still needs to assess whether they have been met and which step they restrict.
The following matters generally require human review:
- Whether an unclear reply supports a specific acceptance status;
- Whether the replying party has authority to give that confirmation;
- Whether a change remains within the options allowed by the contract;
- Whether it changes contractual obligations or affects downstream delivery;
- Whether accepting the new arrangements requires further approval;
- Whether a missing reply or rejection now needs escalation.
Changes to quantity, loading windows or other commercial terms should be presented to the trader with a clear explanation of the differences and their impact. Vessel substitutions, vessel capability, port restrictions and voyage execution require coordination with Chartering. Questions about notice validity, response deadlines or disputed contract interpretations should go to Contracts or Legal.
The operator coordinates these decisions and records the outcome. The operator cannot commit to commercial changes beyond their authority.
8. A completed confirmation record should show what can proceed
The result of this stage should be a clear acceptance record showing:
- Which nomination version is being used for execution;
- What each required confirming party has accepted;
- Which conditions have been closed;
- Which requirements remain due at later deadlines;
- Which actions can now proceed;
- Whether the relevant people have received consistent information.
Sent ≠ accepted. Confirming a nomination is not simply changing its status from sent to accepted. It means checking the accepting party, scope, version and conditions for each arrangement. An agent can reduce email searches, version checks and follow-up work. The operator still needs to confirm that the replies provide a sufficient basis for the next operational step.