Bill Of Lading - Types
Ocean Bill Of Lading
—Following types of B/L are discussed in detail:
—Ocean Bill of Lading(B/L)
—Express Release (Seaway Bill) Bill of Lading(B/L)
—Memo Bill of Lading(B/L)
—Straight Bill of Lading(B/L)
—Original Bill of Lading(B/L)
Switch Bill of Lading (B/L)Ocean Bill Of Lading
—Ocean
Bill of Lading : is issued by the carrier to their customer after
the payment of all charges and submission of all customs/port documents
relevant to that country.
Note:
a) An
Ocean Bill of Lading is a Negotiable document
which serves also as an Evidence
of Contract of Carriage, Receipt of Goods and Document of Title.
b) Usually
issued as 3 originals (signed and stamped and negotiable) + 6 non-negotiable copies..
—To
Order of a customer
—To
Order of a Bank
—To
Order of Shipper (To Order)
Express Release (Seaway)B/L
The Express
Release Bill of Lading(also known as a Seaway Bill): is the quickest variation of a
B/L and is used in cases where the shipper has decided in advance to release
their hold on the cargo immediately. It is issued by the shipping line
to their customer after the payment of all charges and submission of all
customs/port documents relevant to that country. It
is NOT a Negotiable document as there is NO ORIGINAL ISSUED. It
is also NOT a Document of Title.
Note: a)In this case, an original is
never issued; when the freight is laden on board
the shipper will just receive a copy of the B/L for their reference.
b)The shipper is NOT required to surrender anything
back to the shipping company and neither
is the importer, so freight is released as soon
as it is available. It also eliminates the need for any courier fees, since document copies can be sent
electronically by fax or email.
A
Sea Waybill of Lading is usually issued:
1.When
the shipper and consignee are part of the same business group and there are no
negotiations required between the two either directly or via bank
2.If
the shipper is a freight forwarder and he wants to issue a house bill of lading
to his customers.
3.When
the cargo covered under a Sea Waybill is released, the release maybe termed as
Express Release.
—Memo
Bill of Lading : Short
for Memorandum bill of lading, it is basically a non-negotiable, non-transferable, that is only used as a
receipt of goods and DOES
NOT classify
as a Document of Title.
—Straight
Bill of Lading: When a B/L is issued in
Original(s) to a “named” consignee it is referred to as a “Straight B/L”
Note: a) Release
of cargo at destination may be issued ONLY to the named consignee and ONLY upon surrender of at least
1 of the original bills issued.This
release condition is subject to the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act of relevant countries and jurisdiction.
b)A Straight BL does not satisfy
function 3 (Document of Title) as the document
is neither negotiable nor transferable.
c) A straight bill is non-negotiable, which means that the consignee cannot endorse the bill and transfer
it to another person to take delivery of
the cargo.
—Original Bill Of Lading
When
the freight is laden on board at origin, the Original B/L is produced and
provided to the shipper.
—The
shipment cannot be released to the consignee at destination as long as the shipper holds that original B/L.
—At
some point, the shipper will release their hold on the cargo, usually once the
shipper has been paid, and the original is sent to the importer by
courier, so it can be presented to the shipping company at destination to
secure the release of the freight.
—
This is in place to protect various parties involved in the transaction of the
shipment by controlling when and to whom the freight can be released.
Switch Bill Of Lading
A
Switch Bill of Lading is simply the second set of bill of lading that may be
issued by the carrier or their agent “in exchange of” or “substituting” the
first set of bill of lading originally issued when the shipment was effected..
—The
KEYWORD “in
exchange of” or “substituting“ clearly implies that the second
set of bills of lading cannot be issued while the full first set is still in
circulation and active.
Why
do customers require a Switch bill of lading..??
—When
there has been a change in the original trading conditions.
—Goods
have been resold (probably High-Seas sale) and the discharge port has now
changed to another port.
—The
seller (who could be an intending agent) does not wish the name of the actual
exporter to be known to the consignee in case the consignee strikes a deal with
the exporter directly .
—The
seller does not want to know the buyer to know the actual country of origin of
the cargo so he requests that the port of loading be shown as some port other
than the one the cargo was loaded from.
—
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