In order to confirm the acceptance of cargo intended for transportation by river or sea, a specialized document called the “bill of lading” is used. What it is, far from all experts know, and even more importantly, not everyone knows the features of its design.
How is it drawn up?
Initially, the owner of the shipping company or the captain of the ship personally signs this document. In this case, a special agent pre-draws up a bill of lading. What it is and what features this paper will have is decided by the person who will be involved in the wording, as a result of which the agent should initially indicate on whose behalf this person acts and what reasons he has for it. Also, the bill of lading contains a note about the cargo itself and sets the exact date of delivery to the carrier for subsequent transportation.
Why is it needed?
There are many situations in which a bill of lading is drawn up. What is it, you can understand, first of all, from its main functions:
- a receipt with which you can confirm the fact of acceptance of the goods for subsequent transportation;
- the basis for the receipt of goods at the port;
- official contract for sea transportation.
This document is executed in triplicate, each of which is absolutely equal and is considered original. At the same time, accordingly, on each such paper, a special stamp is mandatory. The shipping company is responsible for the cargo all the way after the moment the bill of lading is drawn up (what it is, you can see above). In this case, the company is fully responsible for ensuring that the goods are delivered in proper condition and with the appropriate equipment.
It should be noted that the carrier does not bear any responsibility for the cargo if it disappears or deteriorates due to any emergency situations at sea related to natural hazards.
In order to provide the goods for the purpose of further transportation, any of the issued copies can be used, but the two remaining ones become completely invalid. From the moment such a waybill (bill of lading) is drawn up, the translator ceases to be responsible for the quality and safety of the products provided.
If the sender does not have the original of this document with him, then in this case, if there are any difficulties in the transportation process, he will not have the opportunity to pick up the goods provided or to dispute the problems with his cargo.
How is it used?
A bill of lading is a security drawn up by a freight forwarding company that sends the goods in order to later transport it by water. In this case, the carrier must preliminarily check the goods for any defects or damages, and if there are such defects, then in this case they are described in the corresponding column of all copies, but it is worth noting the fact that then these transportation documents will be called a bill of lading with reservations. If there are no comments, the document is left completely blank.
The document may contain different notes and, in particular, “The goods have been accepted for shipment” and “The goods have been shipped”.The difference between these notes is that the first means that he can stay at the port at the moment and wait for him to be loaded onto the ship, while the second means that he is already on the ship. This is a rather important fact, which is taken into account in the process of payment for delivery by the recipient, who studies the bills of lading (receipts for which will be written out).
The recipient must conduct a detailed inspection of the delivered goods in order to determine any damage that occurred during transportation. If the recipient does not conduct inspection of the goods, then in this case the shipowner completely ceases to bear any responsibility, and in the future it will no longer be possible to make any claims regarding the condition of the cargo. If the product is found to be defective in the process of receipt, then claims are accepted, subject to certain reservations.
How is it filled?
The rights of the bill of lading largely depend on how correctly this document was drawn up. It is for this reason that you should initially understand the features of this paper. Any errors that appear in the process of filling in any kind of bill of lading are ultimately fraught with a significant delay in the process of cargo clearance.
First of all, you need to provide the following details:
- the name of the ship in the case when the goods are accepted for transportation on a specific floating vehicle;
- legal name of the carrier company;
- the name of the place where the cargo is made out with the transfer for loading or where it was directly loaded onto the ship;
- legal name of the sending company;
- the place to which the cargo should be delivered, and if it is a charter flight, then in this case the direction or exact place of arrival of the vessel must be indicated;
- the name of the recipient for the name buyer (F. I. O.) or an indication that the sea bill of lading is issued to a specific order for a specific person;
- the name of the product, as well as the data affixed to it indicating the volume, weight and quantity of the transported goods or packaging (in some cases, you also need to describe the appearance of the product, its condition and notes on the distinctive parameters and characteristics);
- freight contract and its payment, as well as all other payments that must be made in order to reward the carrier (or a note that the payment of the freight is carried out in accordance with the terms of the charter flight, according to the provisions specified in it, or according to a certain accompanying document) ;
- time and place where the bill of lading is issued;
- the number of signed originals of this document;
- signature of the shipowner or master of the vessel (it is also possible that the official representative of the carrier company may sign).
Ordinary paper document or carrier letterhead filled in by printing - this is how each bill of lading is drawn up. The document then becomes shipping and takes legal force. As mentioned above, in the future, it is the accompanying copy that will be considered the main one.
Further we will consider what a bill of lading can be, a sample of this document and its other features.
Straight bill of lading
This is a registered document that is issued to a specific recipient and, accordingly, it also prescribes a specific address and name. The bill of lading is transferred to another person only if there are endorsements issued in accordance with the rules of such debt obligations.
Receipt of cargo can be carried out either by the holder of the transportation document in case of presentation, or by the person indicated in the transfer deed.
To-order bill of lading
The so-called order bill of lading.A security whose form contains notes like “order of the sender” or “order of the recipient”. If the last mark is missing, then in this case the first status is automatically assigned to this document. This kind of mark indicates that there is the possibility of transferring the cargo to third parties in accordance with the provided endorsement. If there are several labels at once, then in this case the delivery of goods is carried out in accordance with the last mark.
If such inscriptions are in principle absent, then the receipt of the cargo is carried out by the person who sent the goods, or by the person receiving it on the basis of what is prescribed in the status.
Bearer bill of lading
Bearer document. In accordance with the features that distinguish this bill of lading, sea transport is carried out for the delivery of goods to the holder of the form by simple delivery.
Home bill of lading
A document drawn up in order to protect the sender from any problems associated with the carriage of goods. The design of this document may also be executed in the following cases:
- it is required to hide the route of movement of the cargo, as well as its real customer;
- the sender or agent provides additional services that are not provided for by sea;
- freight was purchased from a carrier that does not have its own ships, but is a member of NVOCC, and this company wants to hide the route of movement, as well as the real customer of this cargo;
- if necessary, preparation of paper before loading the goods on board (for example, if the sender of the cargo conducts its work under a credit scheme).
It is worth noting the fact that in the process of concluding a foreign trade contract, counterparties quite often offer FCA INCOTERMS 2010 delivery terms, and therefore you need to know the basis of delivery for this term.
Now let's talk about the types of this document.
S.S. Co’s bill of lading
Traveling or linear shipping bill of lading, which is issued for the need for direct transport. It includes all valid conditions of the transportation contract, as noted in the document itself.
This bill of lading confirms the fact of taking the goods on board, and also provides the opportunity to carry out various operations with it without the need for the actual transfer of goods to another party.
Charter b / l
Freight or charter document, which sets out the basic conditions of the charter. It is worth noting the fact that it is not a legal contract of transportation by sea, but is a standard receipt that the goods have been accepted for subsequent delivery to the recipient.
All operations with the goods are made out in a separate form of such a bill of lading without the need for the actual transfer of cargo to other persons who bought it during transportation.
Through bill of lading
End-to-end document. This form is issued in situations where sea transportation is an intermediate stage of transportation. In the overwhelming majority of cases, such a document is drawn up if it is necessary to transport cargo with two or more floating assets.
The person to whom the shipment is carried out, this type of document is executed only upon signature with the carrier. After that, the carrier already arranges transshipment with all further transportations, as well as additional freight for the service.
Goods can only be considered delivered after the last carrier has provided the consignee with the goods based on this type of bill of lading. In the overwhelming majority of cases, such documents are also customarily insured with appropriate policies.
Custody B / L
The on-shore document, the issuance of which is carried out in the form of a receipt that the goods were taken on land from the sender to the warehouse of the transport company.
In the process of loading goods for which such paper was drawn up, the fact of loading onto a floating vehicle is noted in the document, and the exact date and all other marks are indicated. Subsequently, the document can be replaced by an on-board bill of lading.
On board B / L
The above-mentioned on-board bill of lading, which is issued only after the loading of the goods onto the vessels, instead of the drawn up coastal document.
It is important to know and remember all these features and types of documents in order not to make any mistakes in the process of preparing this document. After all, if the port of loading is incorrectly indicated on the bill of lading, as well as the date of issue of the document or the end of the loading of the goods, then in this case the agent or captain has every right to completely refuse to sign it.
It is for this reason that you need to correctly understand the features of filling out this document, and even better - to enlist the support of a qualified lawyer.
