An Ultimate Guide to Bill of Lading | BOXXPORT
In the shipping industry, you need to keep proof or record of various documents to make a claim whenever required. BOL or Bill of Lading is one such document that is very important to the shipper when dealing in freight transportation.
If we look for the meaning of ‘Bill’ in the dictionary, it is defined as ‘a printed or written statement of the money owed for goods or services’. The term ‘lade’ means ‘to put the cargo onto a ship’
In combined form, the Bill of Lading is a legal document providing a record of the goods shipped from one place to another ensuring a convenient and safe logistics process. It establishes an agreement between a shipper and a transportation operator. It can be issued to anyone like
• Shipper
• Shipping agent
• Carrier
• Logistics company
Why is it so important?
Whenever you approach a carrier to ship your goods in shipping containers, it is essential that you retain control over the full set of originals until payment is effected or some assurance for payment is made. A Bill of Lading is a contract between a carrier and a shipper claiming that the shipper has handed his goods to the carrier for transportation to XYZ location and payment has also been made to the carrier.
It contains all the vital details to the shippers and the carriers to conveniently process the shipment to the defined location and invoice it correctly. It is the strongest evidence of the contract of carriage of goods, behalf of which the owner can claim during any kind of losses or damage of his cargoes.
It serves for the legal qualities
• It contains all the terms and conditions under which the goods are subjected to be shipped.
• It is a kind of receipt endorsing that the shipper has handed his goods to the carrier as per the contract and the goods are received by the carriers in a good condition
• Whoever is the holder of the bill of lading has the title to the goods (rights to claim the goods).
What all information does a Bill of Lading contain?
• Consignee’s names and their complete addresses.
• Necessary instruction to be followed for the proper shipment.
• Account numbers used between business for tracking of shipment.
• Shipment date
• Total number of shipping units
• Type of packaging
• Weight of the cargo
• The declared value of the cargo
• Description of the cargoes (included the material of manufacture).
• A separate note for hazardous cargoes
Types of BOL
Based on the negotiable and non-negotiable feature, there are different types of bill of lading. Look at the dropping down list
Straight BOL
A straight Bill of lading is non-negotiable. It is specified to the particular party and the specified party cannot re-assign it to the third person. It is used when the price for the goods to be delivered is already paid, or it’s a kind of donation or gift which do not require payment from the assigned receiver. In such cases, it is easier to use straight BOL. The consignee only has to take the delivery of the product and the product cannot be sold by transferring the BOL to anyone else. It details the type, quality, and quantity of the goods as well for clarity.
Order BOL
Order Bill of lading is negotiable. The delivery is made to the further order of the consignee or to order or assigns. The goods are delivered to the bonafide holder of the BOL. The BOL is first verified by an agent. The named consignee is provided the cargo or he can also assign the third party to receive the consignment. This is the reason it is called negotiable BOL. It is considered the most modern bill used all over the world because of its negotiable nature plus it also ensures safe delivery to the bonafide holder of the BoL. The ownership of BOL is easily transferrable from one person to another through the signature of the original holder.
Bearer BOL
According to bearer BOL delivery of the shipment is made to whosoever holds the bill. Unlike a Straight Bill of Lading or an Order Bill of Lading, it does not name the person to whom or to whose order the goods are to be delivered. In simple terms, the bearer of the BOL is the real owner of the cargo. It can be negotiated by physical delivery. This is very rare in use because of the huge risk involved. It may also be sometimes considered as an “Order bill of lading” without stating to whose specific order the bill or when it fails to nominate the consignee whether in its original form or through an endorsement in blank. They are used for bulk cargo which is turned over in small amounts.
Switch BOL
In practice “switch” bills of lading are often issued in addition to, and not against surrender of, the first set. But in the statement, it is said to be the second set of BOL that is issued by the carrier or their agent in substitute for the first set of Bill of lading. It is mainly done when the holder of the bills decides due to some reason that the first set of bills is unsuitable, and the carrier is put under commercial pressure to issue switch bills by providing a switch bill of lading. It is generally requested by the consignee from the carrier when the consignee does not wish to disclose the new buyer the identity of the shipper.
Conclusion
It is said that ‘Wisdom comes with knowledge’. Now when you’ve reached the end, I hope you carry a good understanding of the Bill of Lading which will further help you in all your next shipment. All my intention to write this article was to guide people involved in cargo shipment with the correct knowledge. Apart from this, we are a proud container supplier company. With BOXXPORT, we aim at simplifying your container trading process. The open marketplace at BOXXPORT lets you sell and buy containers online with just a few clicks. Interact with international players and trade containers at much-negotiated rates. We would love to see you there.
