Types of Letter Of Credit

Parts of Bill Of Lading 
 PART 1:  General information(Each liner has its own format and setup)

I.Shipper:  is the name and address details of the shipper who is shipping the cargo. This may or may not be the actual owner or manufacturer of the cargo, but could also be a trader or freight forwarder depending on the type of B/L issued. This could also be different from the exporter of the cargo.

II.Consignee:  is the key entity in shipping chain and this field reflects the name and address details of the person or company that is legally allowed to receive the cargo covered in the B/L .

Note: a)This may or may not be the actual owner or recipient of the cargo as it   could be a bank or trader or forwarder depending on the type of bill of   lading that is issued..

           b)  Being named as the consignee on the bill of lading also comes with the   risk and responsibility of being held accountable for many issues such as   non-clearance of cargoes, late clearance, claims etc.

III.Notify:  is the name and address details of the person who should be notified of the arrival of the cargo. Depending on the bill of lading that is issued this could be the actual buyer or receiver of the goods, clearing and forwarding agent or the trader. Generally the notice of cargo arrival is to be sent to this notify party.

IV.Bill of Lading Number: is the unique number provided to the shipment covered under a specific bill of lading.. This is allocated by the shipping line and must be quoted by the client for any queries, sailing info, arrival info, claims etc..

V.Reference Numbers: this space can be used to update any reference numbers specific to the client or the freight forwarder which they will use to trace their shipments..

VI.Carriers Agents: here the details of the agents at discharge port is usually recorded by the shipping line so that the destination agent of the client/forwarder can contact the shipping lines agents to query the status of the shipment .

—PART 2: It cover the details relating to the voyage.

I.Pre-Carriage by:  Assume that there is an inland point which is connected to the mainland port by means of a feeder  vessel, the name of that vessel is shown here. E.g.:  In some cases if the pre-carriage is by land or rail means that can also be mentioned here.

II.Place of Receipt:  This is the place where the cargo is handed over by the shipper or his agent to the carrier (shipping line).This is very important in terms of the contract of carriage between the shipper and the shipping line. If this area is filled, it is assumed that the carrier has done the movement from here to the Port of Loading and if there any incidents, damages etc to the container or cargo between the Place of Receipt and Port of Loading, the liability will be that of the carrier.

III.Port of Loading: This is the place from which the container or cargo is loaded by the carrier onto the nominated Ocean Vessel.

●IV.Ocean Vessel/Voyage : This is the name of the vessel and the voyage number that carries the container or cargo from the (mainland) Port of Loading  to the Port of Discharge .

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V.Port of Discharge : This is the place at which the container or cargo is discharged by the carrier from the nominated Ocean Vessel.

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VI.Place of Delivery : This is the final destination of the container or cargo.. If this area is filled (example : ICD Bengaluru), it means that the carrier has undertaken to move the container or cargo from the Port of Discharge to the Place of Delivery.

— PART 3: This part covers the cargo particulars of the shipment.

I.Marks & Numbers: Marks & Numbers are important information in a shipment.. The shipper marks his packages with some information identifying the shipment so that the consignee can know what the shipment is.

Note :  a) The marks and numbers can have any of below :

—the consignees name and address

—the purchase order number

—the number of the package – 1 of 10 etc. for easy identification

—or  logos of the shipper. 

  b)Marks & Numbers play a much more important role in a breakbulk shipment or an LCL shipment rather than a full container shipment, so that identification of the same is easy, as in a breakbulk  there are many packages belonging to many shippers.

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II.No. and kind of Packages : Here the number of packages that are packed in the container or loaded on the ship as break-bulk are recorded. E.g.: 16 crates & 23 pallets or 16 cartons in 2 pallets etc.

III.Description of Packages & Goods : This area is used to describe exactly what cargo is being loaded in the container or onboard the ship.. In the case of containerized cargo, it is usually reflected as :“15000 tubes of Toothpaste and 500 cartons of  Shirts”

Note:   a)For containerized cargo, it is VERY IMPORTANT that the shipping   line shows the SAID TO CONTAIN clause on the bill of lading.

  b)The reason for this is that the shipping line does not get involved in t  he packaging of the container and as such does not know what and how   many are packed in the container by the shipper.

  c)The shipping line goes by what is declared by the shipper and the bill   of lading is issued as such.

IV.Gross Weight : This is the weight of the cargo that is packed in the container or loaded on board.. This is generally only the weight of the cargo + the weight of the packaging and does not include the tare weight of the container..

Measurement : This is the volumetric calculation of the cargo that is packed in the container.. The total volume of the cargo in the container is shown here.

PART 4(cont.)

I.Number of originals: is the number of original B/L that the client requires the line to release for that particular shipment. Standard is 3 originals.

II.Then there is also the attachment sheet to the B/L.  This is used when the details shown in the description is too large to fit within the space provided on the original B/L stationery.

III.This attached sheet forms part of the B/L and should carry all the stamps and endorsements on the original B/L and should clearly show the B/L number and vessel and voyage information.