Shipping documents in foreign trade
As we know, this document is issued when goods are sent by sea. There are normally three originals.
A bill of lading serves a number of purposes:
It is evidence that the shipping line has received the goods (it's the shipping line's receipt).
It is evidence of the contract between the exporter (shipper) and the shipping line.
It documents the shipping line's promise to handover the goods to the holder of the B/L at the port of destination.
It is a document of title — evidence of ownership of the goods.
A bill of lading can also be negotiable, which means it can be transferred to a third party along with ownership of the goods, provided it is endorsed.
How is a bill of lading issued?
1. The exporter gives the goods to the forwarding agent for transportation to the port of shipment. He also hands over a shipping note (in the case of goods which aren't dangerous; otherwise he hands over a dangerous goods note or DGN). The shipping note provides the port authorities with information about the goods to be transported and how they should be handled.
2. At the same time, the exporter prepares the bill of lading and sends it to the ship owner.
3. Once the goods have been delivered to the port, the authority which receives themб signs and stamps the shipping note, and gives a copy back to the carrier as a receipt. This can be important for the exporter if he ever has to prove that the goods have been delivered to the port.
4. Once the goods have been delivered to the quay, they are loaded onto the ship under the supervision of a tallyman, who notes whether the goods were all present and correct or whether any were missing or damaged.
5. A document called a Mate's Receipt is drawn up and signed by the ship's first officer, who then sends it to the ship owner. The Mate's Receipt records the tallyman's report and serves as a temporary document of title until the bill of lading is ready. It can be clean, which means the goods were in good order at the time they were loaded; or dirty, which means that some of the goods were damaged or missing.
The ship owner draws up the bill of lading on the basis of the Mate's Receipt and returns it to the shipper. Depending on what kind of Mate's Receipt the ship owner received, the bill of lading will also be clean or dirty. A dirty bill of lading is also known as an unclean, foul or claused bill of lading.
shipper |
отправитель |
shipping note |
уведомление об отгрузке |
dangerous goods note |
уведомление об отгрузке |
|
опасного груза |
tallyman |
контролер |
Mate's Receipt |
штурманская расписка |
clean |
чистый, в порядке |
dirty |
грязный, не в порядке |
Exercise I. Below is an example of a bill of lading. Look at it and answer the questions.
Who is the shipper?
Who is the carrier?
Who is to receive the goods?
Can this bill of lading be transferred to a third party?
Where is the port of shipment?
On which date are the goods to leave the port of shipment?
Where is the port of destination?
On which day will the ship probably arrive at the port of destination?
Who is the pay the freight charges — the exporter or the importer?
Is this bill of lading clean or dirty?
Bill of Lading
Glosssary
1.Shipper
2.Consignee
3.Notify address
4.Vessel
5.Port of Loading
6.Port of Discharge
7.Descriction of goods
8.Gross weight
9.Freight Payable as per Charter-Party
10 Shipping company
Bill of Lading – коносамент, товарораспорядительный документ на отгружаемые товары, в котором приводятся описание груза и условия перевозки; дает право на получение груза.
Bill of Lading is a transfer document. The exporter writes the importer’s name on the bill of lading, and in this way the importer becomes the legal owner of the goods. The Bill of Lading is the most important document in shipping as it is a document of title, i.e. gives ownership of the goods to the person named on it. If the words “to order” are written on it /under the heading “consignee”/, it means that it is a negotiable document and can be traded. In this case it will be endorsed on the back /the importer will sign it/ and if the endorsement is blank there will be no restrictions on ownership. Bills are also marked “clean” to indicate that the goods were taken in good condition or “dirty/claused” if the packing or the goods were damaged. This protects the shipping company from claims.
1.to order выписать по приказу такого-то лица
2.negotiable обращающийся документ
3.endorse a bill ставить передаточную надпись
4.clean B/L чистый коносамент
dirty/claused B/L “грязный”, с оговорками относительно
качества и упаковки
Types of bill of lading.We have already seen that a bill of lading can be clean(when the goods appear to be in good order when loaded onto the ship) or dirty (when some of the goods are damaged or missing). If the bill of lading is dirty, the consignee can refuse to take delivery of the goods. Furthermore, if the bill of lading is an essential part of a method of payment (for example the letter of credit), the bank may refuse it. However, there are also various other types of bill of lading:
1. The received bill of lading:
This kind of b/1 is issued when bill of lading: the goods have been inspected but haven't yet been loaded onto the ship. Such a b/1 may for example be necessary when the ship has been delayed and hasn't yet reached the port where the goods are waiting.
2. The on-board bill of lading
In contrast to the received b/1, this bill of lading is issued for goods which have already been loaded onto a ship. Banks may insist on on-board bills of lading as being safer than the received version.
3. The straight bill of lading:
This kind, of b/1 can't be negotiated. Only the consigneе stated on the b/1 can take delivery of the goods.
4. The order bill of lading:
This b/1 can be negotiated by endorsement. Banks only usually accept order bills of lading.
5. The through b/l. This kind of b/1 is used when the goods are to be transported by more than one carrier. The b/1 is valid for the whole journey and prevents each individual carrier having to issue its own transport document
6. The container bill of lading:
This is used for the transportation of containerised goods
(goods packed in standard-sized containers which are then sealed and not opened until they reach their destination. These containers do not have to be inspected by the customs authorities when crossing borders). Such a b/1 also covers the road and/or rail transport necessary to get the goods to and from the ports of shipment and destination.
7. The groupage bill of lading:
This b/1 is used for grouped consignments. The bill of lading lists the forwarding agent who arranged the grouped consignment as the shipper, and the forwarder in the importing country as the consignee. The forwarding agent then issues a house bill of lading to each of the exporters whose goods are included in the grouped consignment. The house b/1 then serves as the collection document for the importer.
received b/1 накладная на проверенный, но не погруженный груз
on-board b/1 накладная на груз, принятый на борт судна
straight b/1 именная накладная
order b/1 ордерная накладная
through b/1 сквозная накладная
container b/1 накладная на провоз товаров в контейнере
customs authorities таможенные власти
groupage b/1 сборная накладная
house b/1 внутренняя накладная