Bills of Lading in International Maritime law and Cargo Claims in the United States

a) Bill of lading [Fr.:”connaissement”] [Span.: “conocimiento de embarque”] [Ital.: “polizza di carico”] [Gr.: “Konnossement”] – Originally called a “bill of loading”, a bill of lading is not necessarily the complete contract of carriage of goods but is usually the best evidence of the contract. It is, as well, a receipt signed by the master or on his behalf indicating in what apparent order and condition the goods have been received on board. Finally, it is also a document of title and thus a document of transfer, but not a negotiable instrument. It is usually a standard form contract, prepared and issued by the carrier or his agent. (Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims , 4 Ed., 2008 at pp. 523-539, 550-552; Tetley, International Maritime and Admiralty Law, 2003 at pp. 65-68, 71-77). There are many standard forms of bill of lading, including, for example, the “BIMCO Liner Bill of Lading” (Code Name: “Conlinebill 2000”) of BIMCO infra, which is reproduced in Tetley, Int’l M. & A. L, 2003, Appendix “P” at pp. 861-862.
i) Bearer bill of lading [Fr.: “connaissement au porteur”] [Span.: “conocimiento al portador”] [Ital.: “polizza di carico al portatore”] [Gr.: “Inhaberkonnossement”] – A bill of lading providing for the delivery of the goods to whomever holds the bill. The bill is a bearer bill of lading if: i) it is explicitly identified as such; ii) it names the consignee as “bearer”; iii) it is an order bill of lading which fails to mention to whose order it is; or iv) it is an order bill of lading endorsed in blank. A bearer bill is negotiable by its mere delivery. (Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims , 4 Ed., 2008 at pp. 450, 488, 494, 505, 471; Tetley, International Maritime and Admiralty Law, 2003 at p. 67).
ii) Clean bill of lading [Fr.: “connaissement sans réserves” or “connaissement net”] [Span.: “conocimiento sin reservas”, “conocimiento limpio” or “conocimiento neto”] [Ital.: “polizza di carico netta”] [Gr.: “reines Konnossement”] – The face of a clean bill of lading bears no notation of the bad or questionable order of the goods. It means that the goods have been received on board in apparent good order and condition and stowed under deck. (Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims , 4 Ed., 2008 at pp. 1569-1570; Tetley, International Maritime and Admiralty Law, 2003 at pp. 75-77).
iii) Long form bill of lading [Fr.: “connaissement intégral”] [Span.: “conocimiento completo”] [Ital.: “polizza di carico integrale”] – A form of bill of lading issued by the carrier setting forth all the terms of the contract of carriage. The long form bill of lading can usually be obtained at the carrier’s head office, and its terms are incorporated by reference in the carrier’s short form bill of lading . (Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims , 4 Ed., 2008 at p. 552-553; Tetley, International Maritime and Admiralty Law, 2003 at pp. 67-68).
iv) Multimodal or combined transport bill of lading [Fr.: “connaissement de transport multimodal”, “connaissement de transport combiné”] [Span.: “conocimiento (de transporte) multimodal”, “conocimiento (de transporte) combinado”] [Ital.: “polizza di carico per trasporto multimodale o combinato”] [Gr.: “Multimodales oder Kombiniertes Transport Konnossement”]- A through bill of lading which involves at least two different modes of transport – road, rail, air and sea. (Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims , 4 Ed., 2008 at pp. 2261-2262.)
v) Named (nominate) bill of lading [Fr.: “connaissement à personne dénommée” or “connaissement nominatif”] [Span.: “conocimiento nominativo”] [Ital.: “polizza di carico nominativa”] [Gr.: “Namenskonnossement”] – A bill of lading providing for the delivery of the goods to a named person, without also specifying “to order or assigns”. The named consignee obtains delivery of the goods by surrendering one of the originals of the bill to the carrier or his agent. Although a document of title, the nominate bill of lading is not negotiable. (Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims , 4 Ed., 2008 at p. 446-449; Tetley, International Maritime and Admiralty Law, 2003 at pp. 66-67).
vi) Ocean through bill of lading [Fr.: “connaissement de bout en bout”] [Span.: “conocimiento directo”] [Ital.: “polizza di carico diretta”] [Gr.: “Durchkonnossement”] – A bill of lading invoking a series of contracts to carry goods to a final destination by two or more successive ocean carriers . A “pure” ocean through bill of lading is a bill of lading whereby the issuer undertakes to be responsible for the carriage of goods by successive ocean carriers from the point of reception to final destination. (Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims , 4 Ed., 2008 at pp. 2261, 2262-2269).
vii) Order bill of lading [Fr.: “connaissement à ordre”] [Span.: “conocimiento a la orden”] [Ital.: “polizza di carico all’ordine”] [Gr.: “Orderkonnossement”] – A bill of lading providing for delivery of the goods to the order of a specified person, by words such as “consigned to XYZ Co. Ltd. or to order or assigns”. An order bill is negotiable by endorsement and delivery of the document to the endorsee ((Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims , 4 Ed., 2008 at p. 450). In the United States, under the Pomerene Act of 1916, recodified in 1994 (49 U.S. Code 80101-80116)) , an order bill of lading may be negotiated by endorsement (49 U.S. Code 80104(a)) or by transfer (i.e. by its delivery, accompanied by an agreement specifying that title to the goods is being transferred thereby) (49 U.S. Code 80106(a)). (Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims , 4 Ed., 2008 at p. 450). Note: The 1994 recodification of the Pomerene Act changed the term “order bill of lading” to “negotiable bill of lading”. See 49 U.S. Code sect. 80103(a).
viii) Received for shipment bill of lading [Fr.: “connaissement reçu pour embarquement”] [Span.: “conocimiento recibido para embarque”] [Ital.: “polizza di carico ricevuto per l’imbarco”] [Gr.: “Übernahmekonnossement”]- A bill of lading issued when goods have been received for shipment by a carrier or his agent but have not yet been loaded aboard the ship. (Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims , 4 Ed., 2008 at pp. 552, 2264; Tetley, International Maritime and Admiralty Law, 2003 at p. 67.)
ix) Shipped bill of lading [Fr.: “connaissement embarqué”] [Span.: “conocimiento embarcado”] [Ital.: “polizza di carico a bordo”] [Gr.: “Bordkonnossement”] – A bill of lading issued when goods have been loaded aboard the ship. (Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims , 4 Ed., 2008 at p. 552; Tetley, International Maritime and Admiralty Law, 2003 at p. 67; Hague and Hague/Visby Rules art. 3(7); Hamburg Rules art. 15(2)).
x) Short form bill of lading [Fr.: “connaissement abrégé” [Span.: “conocimiento abreviado”] [Ital.: “polizza di carico abbreviata”] – A form of bill of lading issued by the carrier incorporating by reference the terms of the contract of carriage set forth in the carrier’s long form bill of lading . (Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims , 4 Ed., 2008 at pp. 552-553; Tetley, International Maritime and Admiralty Law, 2003 at pp. 67-68).
xi) Straight bill of lading – A non-negotiable bill of lading as described in the United States Pomerene Actof 1916 (49 U.S. Code Appx. 81-124, recodified in 1994 as 49 U.S. Code 80101-80116) . A “straight bill” states that the goods are consigned or destined to a specified person. It is marked “nonnegotiable” or “not negotiable” on its face. It may be transferred by its holder by delivery, accompanied with an agreement (express or implied) to transfer the title to the bill or to the goods it represents. A straight bill cannot be negotiated free from existing equities; its endorsement confers no additional rights on the transferee. (Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims , 4 Ed., 2008 at pp. 468, 2307-2308, 2368-2369). Note: The 1994 recodification of the Pomerene Act changed the term “straight bill of lading” to “nonnegotiable bill of lading”. See 49 U.S. Code 80103(b). See Tetley, International Maritime and Admiralty Law, 2003 at p. 129. The term “straight bill is also sometimes used outside the United States. See The Brij [2001] 1 Lloyd’s Rep. 431 at p. 434 (Hong Kong High Ct.). It has been held that a “straight” (also sometimes called a “straight consigned”) bill of lading is a document of title subject to the Hague Rules and the Hague/Visby Rules. See The Rafaela S. [2005] 1 Lloyd’s Rep. 347, 2005 AMC 913 (H.L.).
xii) Through bill of lading – A bill of lading providing for the carriage of goods by water, from their point of origin to their final destination, either by successive ocean carriers (see ocean through bill of lading ) or by more than one mode of transportation (see multimodal or combined transport bill of lading ). (Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims , 4 Ed., 2008 at pp. 2259-2262).
b) Waybill (Sea waybill) [Fr.: “lettre de transport maritime”] [Span.: “carta de porte marítima”] [Ital.: “lettera di trasporto marittima”] [Gr.: “Seefrachtbrief”] – A waybill is a non-negotiable receipt issued after receipt of the goods by the carrier . It is clearly marked “non-negotiable”. It is usually employed in the container trade for normal shipments with consent of the shipper who does not insist on being issued a negotiable bill of lading . It is not a document of title, so that delivery of the goods shipped is made, not by presentation of a document, but by the consignee nominated on the waybill identifying himself. Only one original waybill is usually issued to the shipper. Although it is not a document of title, it is a contract of carriage. The Hague or Hague/Visby Rules do apply to a waybill in virtue of the waybill’s terms and conditions and also because, when it is used in ordinary commercial shipments, art. 6 of the Hague or Hague/Visby Rules does not exclude it from the application of the Rules. (Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims , 4 Ed., 2008 at pp. 2297-2316; Tetley, International Maritime and Admiralty Law, 2003 at pp. 68, 80.)
A waybill is useful in these times of speedy carriage where cargo often arrives before the documents. It is also useful for transactions where the shipper and consignee are related or are subsidiaries of one another and where the rigid production of banking documents is unnecessary. Waybills are also used in large, long-term transactions in which the shipment is only part of a major, well-secured, long-term agreement between the shipper and consignee. Generally waybills are useful wherever financing is not provided in exchange for documents, e.g. open account sales. (Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims , 4 Ed., 2008 at pp. 2285-2377). There are many standard forms of waybill, including, for example, the “Non-Negotiable Liner Sea Waybill” (Code Name: “Linewaybill”) of BIMCO , which is reproduced in Tetley, International Maritime and Admiralty Law, 2003, Appendix “Q” at pp. 863-864.
c) Ship’s delivery order – The U.K. Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992 (U.K. 1992 c. 50) at sect. 1(4) provides for ship’s delivery orders as follows:
“References in this Act to a ship’s delivery order are references to any document which is neither a bill of lading nor a sea waybill but contains an undertaking which:
a) is given under or for the purposes of a contract for the carriage by sea of the goods to which the document relates, or of goods which include those goods; and
b) is an undertaking by the carrier to a person identified in the document to deliver the goods to which the document relates to that person.”
d) Electronic document: an electronic carriage of goods by sea document proposed but not adopted in the United Kingdom. See the U.K. Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992, U.K. 1992, c. 50, sects. 1(5) and (6) and 5(1), . Australia, however, has enacted legislation contemplating the use of electronic documents as “sea carriage documents”. See Australia’s Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1991, No. 160 of 1991 (Cth.) as amended, at Schedule 1A (Schedule of Modifications) enacted by the Carriage of Goods by Sea Regulations 1998, Statutory Rules 1998, No. 174, at art. 1(1)(ba) and 1(1)(h) and art. 1A.
Bills of Lading Act, 1855, 18 & 19 Vict., c. 111 – The United Kingdom statute which, amongst other stipulations, conferred upon consignees and endorsees of bills of lading the right to sue the carrier in contract for loss or damage to the goods covered by such bills, provided that the ownership of the goods concerned passed to the consignee or endorsee of the bill upon or by reason of its consignment or endorsement. The Bills of Lading Act, 1855 was repealed and replaced by the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992, U.K. 1992 c. 50 .
Bills of Lading Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. B-4 – The Canadian statute, virtually identical to the U.K.’s Bills of Lading Act, 1855 , similarly conferring rights of suit in contract upon consignees and endorsees of bills of lading to whom ownership in the goods pass upon or by reason of such consignment or endorsement.

Bills Of Lading in State Statute Topics

Introduction to Bills Of Lading

The purpose of Bills Of Lading is to provide a broad appreciation of the Bills Of Lading legal topic. Select from the list of U.S. legal topics for information (other than Bills Of Lading).

Bills of Lading (Charter Contracts)

This section introduces, discusses and describes the basics of bills of lading. Then, cross references and a brief overview about Charter Contracts is provided. Finally, the subject of Charterparties in relation with bills of lading is examined. Note that a list of cross references, bibliography and other resources appears at the end of this entry.

Bills of Lading (Documents of Title)

This section introduces, discusses and describes the basics of bills of lading. Then, cross references and a brief overview about Documents of Title is provided. Finally, the subject of Commercial Law in relation with bills of lading is examined. Note that a list of cross references, bibliography and other resources appears at the end of this entry.

Bills of Lading

In Legislation

Bills of Lading in the U.S. Code: Title 49, Subtitle X, Chapter 801

The current, permanent, in-force federal laws regulating bills of lading are compiled in the United States Code under Title 49, Subtitle X, Chapter 801. It constitutes “prima facie” evidence of statutes relating to Transportation (including bills of lading) of the United States. The readers can further narrow their legal research on the topic by chapter and subchapter.

Resources

Further Reading

• Information about Bills Of Lading in the Gale Encyclopedia of American Law.