The Shipped B/L: This is the name given to the B/L that is issued when goods are placed on board the vessel. This is issued especially for bulk cargoes and confirms that the cargo is actually on board the ship. Any previously “Received for Shipment Bill of Lading” must be surrendered before issuing this.
The Received for Shipment B/L : A received for shipment B/L is issued when the goods have been received for shipment by the carrier or his agent. The goods have still not been placed on board the vessel. In liner trades the cargo is actually received into the custody of the shipowner or his agent but is not actually on board the vessel at that time this bill of lading is issued. It is also called a custody bill of lading. If this is issued the shipper may demand from the carrier an endorsement on the bill of lading when the goods have been loaded on board stating “since shipped.” This is also common in container trades where containers are taken in the carriers custody at inland container depots.
The Through Transport/Combined Transport/Intermodal or Multimodal Transport Bills of Lading: These B/Ls are issued when the goods have to be placed on board several carriers to reach their final destination. A transport carrier could be a merchant vessel or one that carries goods using road and rail networks.
A through bill of lading is issued when carriers used to transport the goods are merchant vessels. In this B/L the origin and destination of the goods is from the port of loading to the port of discharge. These are issued where the cargo will only be carried for part of the voyage by the carrier signing the bill of lading. The remainder of the voyage may be overland or another vessel. With a through bill of lading the carrier signing it is only responsible for his part of the carriage and acts an agent for the shipper for the other parts of the voyage.
A combined transport B/L, intermodal and multimodal transport B/Ls are used for multimodal transport in the carriage of goods from origin to destination. Carriage is from the place of receipt (a named place, e.g. a warehouse) to the place of delivery (a named place e.g. the Buyer’s premises).
The responsibility for loss of or damage to goods during transit for these B/Ls rests either with the first carrier or a combined transport operator (a freight forwarder)
This applies for cargo carried by more means other than the ship itself for e.g. over land, by air etc. This is common in the container trade for example where the carrier takes the delivery of a container at the shipper premises takes it by truck to a railway yard, by rail to the port, ships it on board a vessel, tranship it to another bigger vessel and then finally may send it by air to the in land container depot. With this bill of lading the carrier takes responsibility from start to finish which includes limitations of liability for the different sections of the voyage as per the appropriate international conventions.
A Foul Bill of Lading: This is the bill of lading which is in some way claused or dirty. This means that the cargo loaded is not perfect and the shipowner protects himself against a claim at the discharge port.
Order Bill of Lading: This is common as it is used in documentary credit transactions. It can be compared as a cheque drawn to “cash”. Once it is endorsed by the shipper it becomes in effect a “bearer cheque.” It is not as dangerous as it sounds since the system works quite well. Most order bill of lading have a space where the name of a “notify party” may be inserted.
Liner Bill of Lading: This contains more details then a charter party bill of lading because the reverse of a liner bill of lading contains the full text of the contract of carriage.
The Clean and Claused Bills of Lading: A ‘clean’ bill of lading is issued to the shipper when goods for shipment have been received in good condition by the carrier or his agent.
A ‘claused’ bill of lading is issued when goods received for shipment are not in good condition, e.g. they have been damaged. A remark describing damage to the goods is then indicated on the bill and endorsed by the carrier’s representative when issuing the B/L to the shipper (an example of a remark could be ‘goods, wet when received’).
Even though the actual condition of the cargo May be suspect, many letter of credit transactions require “clean” bills of lading i.e. bills stating that goods described therein are in “apparent good order and condition”; with no words indicating deficiency in the goods. However a carrier cannot agree to issue clean bills of lading when the goods are not in good condition, even where “letters of indemnity” are offered by the concerned parties. Bills of lading must accurately depict the actual conditions of the goods and if they don’t then it is considered a fraud.
As the master is answerable to the consignee incase the cargo is received in damaged condition, he as well as the ports agents should ensure that bill of lading contain only accurate statements as tot he cargo condition despite pressures and illegal gratification from the shippers and from some port authorities.
Remarks contained should not be frivolous or minor nature covering some small defects which are usually acceptable in the trades. This has an adverse effect on documentary credit transactions. A shipper presented -with- “unclean” bill of lading can inform the consignee or buyer of the difficulty, supplemented with a copy of a relevant survey report in order to renegotiate the purchase price. The consignee if satisfied should then issue instructions to his bankers to accept the “qualified” bills. Sometimes, but very rarely, clean bills may be issued against the letter of indemnity and may be justified where the buyer is already aware of the actual condition of the cargo and where the cargo will not be resold before delivery at the discharge port(s). However the master must keep all relevant written instruction from the owners, consignee and shipper etc. as evidence for use in future.
Straight bill of lading
This B/L is in the name of a particular party who cannot re-assign it to anyone else. The specified party has to take the delivery of the cargo. In other words, it is a non-negotiable document. Normally the carrier would have received the payment in advance.
Bearer bill of lading
In this case the bearer of the B/L is the owner of the cargo and the name of consignee is not mentioned in it. This type of B/L is very seldom found as there are huge risks involved in its misuse.
Switch bill of lading
This can be said to be a duplicate B/L for a cargo for which the B/L was already issued. It is generally requested by the consignee from the ship owner when the consignee does not wish to reveal to the new buyer the identity of the shipper of the cargo.
Ocean bill of lading or Port to port bill of lading
In this type of B/L responsibility of carrier starts at port of loading and ends at port of discharge over the seas nationally and internationally.
Inland bill of Lading
This allows the carrier to ship cargo by road or rail, across domestic land, but not overseas.
Direct bill of Lading
In this type of B/L the same vessel that picked up the cargo will deliver it to its final destination. In other words, there will not be any transhipment of cargo to another vessel.
Stale bill of Lading
This term is used to indicate that the cargo has arrived at a port before the B/L.BILLS OF LADING AT DISCHARGING PORT: Cargo should only be delivered to a consignee who produces an original bill of lading covering the cargo claimed. The agent examines the bill of lading thus presented and if satisfied he issues a delivery order in exchange for the bill of lading. The consignee presents this bill of lading to the dock authorities and claims release of the cargo. In the meanwhile the bill of lading should be stamped, signed and dated by the agent on the masters behalf The agent is then said to have “sighted” the bill of lading.
Sometimes a difficulty may arise in the discharging port if the bill of lading are unavailable. This can be overcome if the consignee issues a “letter of indemnity” fully guaranteed by a recognized bank. This matter is held by the port .agent on the owners behalf and is finally exchanged for the original bill of lading which is then attended in the normal way. Banks levy a. charge for counter signing such letters of indemnity.
The Letter of Indemnity (LOI)
From the Seller’s (shipper’s) point of view it is important that a clean B/L is issued. At times this has put pressure on the carrier to issue a clean bill even though remarks should be entered on it as the cargo was not loaded in good condition. In exchange for a clean B/L, the Seller/shipper then issues a ‘letter of indemnity’ in favour of the carrier, whereby the Seller assumes liability for all consequences to the carrier in relation to the damage for issuing a clean B/L.
Such a back-letter may have a limited value and it should be emphasised that the Protection and Indemnity (P& I) insurance does not give the owner any protection for cargo damage when the correct nature of the cargo placed on board is not indicated.
A letter of indemnity to the carrier is also issued by a consignee who does not receive his B/L in time to receive cargo. This practice is common and is allowed.
