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    Bill of Lading Functions

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    osmangonimariner
    The bill of lading has three main functions: it serves as a receipt for goods loaded on board, it can transfer ownership of goods from one party to another, and it outlines the terms of carriage and delivery. As the bill of lading is an owner's document, the master is responsible for ensuring it is properly prepared and signed. If inaccurate information is included, the owners may be liable. The master should immediately notify owners and charterers of any irregularities. While third parties can request the master's signature, the master must provide written authority for agents to sign on their behalf and include any required remarks.

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    Bill of Lading Functions

    Uploaded by

    osmangonimariner
    39 views2 pages
    The bill of lading has three main functions: it serves as a receipt for goods loaded on board, it can transfer ownership of goods from one party to another, and it outlines the terms of carriage and delivery. As the bill of lading is an owner's document, the master is responsible for ensuring it is properly prepared and signed. If inaccurate information is included, the owners may be liable. The master should immediately notify owners and charterers of any irregularities. While third parties can request the master's signature, the master must provide written authority for agents to sign on their behalf and include any required remarks.

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    The bill of lading has three main functions: it serves as a receipt for goods loaded on board, it can transfer ownership of goods from one party to another, and it outlines the terms of carriage and delivery. As the bill of lading is an owner's document, the master is responsible for ensuring it is properly prepared and signed. If inaccurate information is included, the owners may be liable. The master should immediately notify owners and charterers of any irregularities. While third parties can request the master's signature, the master must provide written authority for agents to sign on their behalf and include any required remarks.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    39 views2 pages

    Bill of Lading Functions

    Uploaded by

    osmangonimariner
    The bill of lading has three main functions: it serves as a receipt for goods loaded on board, it can transfer ownership of goods from one party to another, and it outlines the terms of carriage and delivery. As the bill of lading is an owner's document, the master is responsible for ensuring it is properly prepared and signed. If inaccurate information is included, the owners may be liable. The master should immediately notify owners and charterers of any irregularities. While third parties can request the master's signature, the master must provide written authority for agents to sign on their behalf and include any required remarks.

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    Bill of Lading functions

    I) The Bill of Lading (B/L) is a unique type of document which has three distinct
    but overlapping functions. These are usually expressed as :-

    a) A receipt for goods loaded on board the vessel;

    b) A document of title through which property in the goods may be passed from
    one party to another; and

    c) A contract (or evidence of a contract) governing the receipt, carriage and


    delivery of these goods.

    II) From this, three important consequences arise for the Owners and the
    Masters as their employee :-

    a) When he signs the B/L, the Master does so, not on behalf of the Charterers
    or Shippers, but on behalf of the Owners. The B/L is an Owner’s document, and it
    is the Master’s responsibility to ensure to the best of his ability that it is properly
    prepared and signed. This applies whether the ship is employed on a Voyage or
    Time Charter.

    b) If the B/L contains inaccurate or misleading statements about the quality or


    quantity of the cargo it covers, then Owners will be liable for the consequences, at
    least in the first instance. The Master’s main concern must be, to see that this
    cannot happen. Therefore it is essential that the Master clauses directly on the
    bills the correct condition of the quality and quantity of cargo if these two items
    have not be properly described in the document presented to him for signing. If
    he wants assistance with the wording to be used in the clausing, he should call the
    commercial office who may engage the local P & I representative for advice.

    c) If an incorrect B/L is issued, for whatever reason, the situation is not


    necessarily wholly beyond repair, but speed of action is essential, since once a
    third party takes up the B/L relying on what is says, it is too late to make any
    correction. The Master must therefore notify the Owners and Charterers
    immediately of any apparent irregularity in any B/L which he has issued (or which
    he knows or believes has been issued by the ship’s agents).

    III) As the B/L is an Owners’ document, third parties such as Charterers and
    Shippers have limited powers to interfere with the Master signing it. However it is
    not unusual for a charterparty to provide for the Charterers or their agents the
    authority to sign B/L’s for and on behalf of the Master. In such cases the Master
    must issue the agent with the authority to sign B/L’s on his behalf in writing, such
    authority is to include any additional remarks the Master expressly requires
    included in the B/L’s.

    IV) Under normal circumstances, the B/L is the principal evidence of the receipt
    of the cargo which it describes. However, it is not the only evidence, and it
    remains open to the Owners to avoid a claim by showing that what the B/L states
    is in fact incorrect.

    For example, apart from paying great attention to the contents of the B/L itself, the
    Master must also take all practical steps which may subsequently assist Owners to
    resist any short delivery claim by proving that no cargo has been physically lost
    (e.g. by draught survey, by written protest as to any doubt or discrepancy in
    determining of weights or volumes. Charterers’ surveyors or inspectors must
    justify any statement which they may make as to the condition of the cargo or
    ‘pumpability’ of oil residues, and also by keeping properly consistent records of
    bilge pumping with wet cargoes such as ore concentrates).

    V) In some circumstances, shippers/agents may offer to give the Master a letter


    of indemnity in return for the Master signing clean Bills of Lading. The Master
    must not accept such a letter without first checking/obtaining authorisation from
    the Company. A Letter of Indemnity is strictly not enforceable in law. Only the
    Company can decide if such a letter is acceptable on commercial grounds.

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