Bill of lading

Bill of lading
See also
Shipping documents Ocean bill of lading Acknowledgement of receipt Shipping bill Export declaration Authorised dealer Ultimate consignee Dock receipt Shipping note

Bill of lading is the equivalent of waybill in maritime transport. This is proof of acceptance of the cargo indicated in document to be transported on a ship. It is also a document giving legitimacy to dispose of the cargo and its reception. Properly drawn up bill of lading allows the presumption of acceptance by the freight carrier to ship the item amount covered by it. A bill of lading constitutes the legal relationship between the carrier and the recipient of the cargo. For the carriage by sea also shall apply the provisions of the contract of carriage, but only if the bill of lading refers to them.

The bill of lading can function as a security. It represents an item for which it has been issued and is entitled to the goods and, in particular, the right to dispose of it. It is the subject of commercial transactions, and can be sold and bought.

Elements of the Bill Of Lading

In accordance with the provisions of the Maritime Code bill of lading should contain:

• name of the freight carrier,
• name of the shipper,
• designation of the recipient
• name of the vessel,
• identification of the load indicating type, weight, quantity, volume,
• external identification,
• status of the cargo and its packaging,
• special attributes necessary to establish the identity of the cargo,
• designation of freight,
• name of the loading point,
• name of the place of discharge,
• the number of copies issued,
• date and place of issue of bill of lading,
• signature of the carrier or the ship's captain or another representative of the carrier,

Bill of lading may be issued:

• to name determining the recipient (personal bill of lading),
• on behalf of a shipper or designated entity (bill of lading to order),
• for document bearer.

The Bill of lading is tradeable valued paper (security), so it can be transferred to another person, and by transferring that person acquires the rights to dispose of the cargo

Types of bill of lading

There are many kinds and varieties of this document:

• clean bill of lading - is a confirmation of the good condition of the goods,
• dirty bill of lading - is one in which the carrier posted a reference to the poor state of cargo,
• direct bill of lading direct - used in multimodal transport,
• load bill of lading - states that the cargo was loaded on a specific date on the ship.

See also:

• Waybill

References

• Stapleton, Drew M; Pande, Vivek; O'Brien, Dennis. EXW, FOB OR FCA? Choosing The Right Incoterm And Why It Matters To Maritime Shippers, "Journal of Transportation Law, Logistics, and Policy" No 81.3 (Third Quarter 2014): 227-248.
• Richard Aikens, Richard Lord, Michael Bools, Bills of Lading, CRC Press, 2015