Bill Of Lading - The Maritime Compliance

The bill of lading has its origins in the trade and carriage of goods by sea hundreds of years ago. It has since developed into a very important legal document, evidencing the carrier’s receipt of the goods, the terms of the contract of carriage and the right to possession of the goods. With this important role, come problems, one of which is the required presentation of an original bill of lading to take delivery of the cargo. Although the practice of paperless trading is developing rapidly, Masters will be burdened, for many years to come, with the responsibility of signing and authorizing signature of bills of lading and delivering cargo against the same. The bill of lading has its origins in the trade and carriage of goods by sea hundreds of years ago. It has since developed into a very important legal document, evidencing the carrier’s receipt of the goods, the terms of the contract of carriage and the right to possession of the goods. With this important role, come problems, one of which is the required presentation of an original bill of lading to take delivery of the cargo. Although the practice of paperless trading is developing rapidly, Masters will be burdened, for many years to come, with the responsibility of signing and authorizing signature of bills of lading and delivering cargo against the same.

A) Malaysia Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1950 (Revised 1994) - First Schedule (Section 2) – Rules Relating to Bills of Lading Article i – Definition of Bills of Lading Article II – Risks Article III – Responsibilities and Liabilities Article IV – Rights and Immunities Article V – Surrender of Rights and Immunities, Increase of Responsibilities and Liabilities Article VI – Special Conditions Article VII - LIMITATIONS ON THE APPLICATIONOF THE RULES Article VIII – Limitation of Liabilities Article IX B) Bill of Lading Act 1855 Section 1- Rights under bills of lading vest inconsignee or endorsee. Section 2 - Not to affect right of stoppage in transitor claims for freight. Section 3 - Bill of lading in hands of consignee, etc., conclusive evidence of the ship as against master,etc. C) Functions of Bill of Lading in International Trade Principal functions of the bill of lading Procedure of issuing B/L D) Types of Bill of Lading Liner bill of lading Combined transport bill of lading Multimodal bill of lading House bill of lading Charterparty bill of lading Ocean bill of lading Freight Forwarder’s bill of lading Straight bill of lading Sea Waybill Electronic bill of lading E) Important Information in Bill of Lading Shipper’s name Consignee name Notify party Name of vessel Any trans-shipment Port of loading Port of discharge Weight Measurement Quantity Description of goods Signatory Freight F) Terms and Conditions of Bill of Lading Carrier’s responsibility Shipper’s responsibility Delay, consequential loss Notice of loss of damage to the goods Description of goods Dangerous goods Return of containers Freight and lien Jurisdiction and application law Both-to-blame collision clause Deck cargo G) Bill of Lading and Letter of Credit – mandatory Requirements UCP 600 Art 4 – Documents vs Goods Art 13 – Standard of Examination Art 14 – Discrepancies Art 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30 – Types of bill of ladingbank can accept Art 31 – On Deck, Shippers Load and Count Clean transport document