Bill of Lading 海运提单.docx

1、Bill of Lading 海运提单Bill of Lading 海运提单A bill of lading is a receipt for goods shipped on board a vessel, signed by the person (or his agent) who contracts to carry them, and stating the conditions in which the goods were delivered to (and received by) the ship. It is not the actual contract, but for

2、ms excellent evidence of the terms of the contract. It is a document of title to the goods, enabling the shipper or owner of the goods to endorse title to other parties, sell goods in transit, and present to banks with other documents in seeking payment under documentary credits. Abbreviated general

3、ly as B/L, it is the most important document for sea transport.There are different types of bill of lading:（1）Shipped (On Board) B/L and received for shipment B/L已装船提单和备运提单 Shipped B/L is issued by the shipping company after the goods are actually shipped on board the designated vessel. Since shippe

4、d bill of lading provides better guarantee for the consignee to receive the cargo at the destination, the importer will normally require the exporter to produce shipped B/L and most bill of lading forms are preprinted as “Shipped Bill”. Received for Shipment B/L arises where the word “shipped” does

5、not appear on the bill of lading. It merely confirms that the goods have been handed over to, and are in the custody of the shipowner. The buyer under a CIF contract will not accept such a B/L because, in the absence of the date of shipment, he is in no position to anticipate the arrival of the cons

6、ignment.（2） Clean B/L and unclean B/L清洁提单和不清洁提单 A clean bill of lading is the one that states that the goods have been “shipped in apparent good order and condition”. It is issued when the goods do not show any defects on their exteriors at the time of loading at the port of shipment. This type is f

7、avored by the buyer and the banks for financial settlement purposes. If defects are found on the exteriors of the goods, or the shipping company does not agree to any of the statements in the B/L, the bill will be marked as “unclean”, “foul” or “ packages in damaged condition”. Unclean B/L is usuall

8、y unacceptable to the buyer and banks.（3）Straight, blank and order B/L记名、不记名和指示提单 Straight bill of lading has a designated consignee. Under this bill, only the named consignee at the destination is entitled to take delivery of the cargo. As it is not transferable, it is not commonly used in internat

9、ional trade and normally applies to high-value shipments or goods for special purposes. Blank B/L also called Open B/L or Bearer B/L, means that there is no definite consignee of the goods. There usually appear in the box of consignee words like “To bearer”. Anyone who holds the bill is entitled to

10、the goods the bill represents. No endorsement is needed for the transfer of the blank bill. Due to the exceedingly high risk involved, this bill is rarely used. Order B/L is widely used in international trade. It means that the goods are consigned or destined to the order of a named person. In the b

11、ox of consignee, “To order”, “To order of the shipper”, or “To order of the consignee” is marked. It can be transferred only after endorsement is made. If the B/L is made out “To order of the shipper”, the shipper will endorse the bill. If it is made out “To order of the consignee”, the consignee wi

12、ll endorse the bill to transfer it. A blank endorsement is usually required for a “To order” bill.（4）Direct, transshipment, through bill of lading直运、转船和联运提单 Transhipment B/L means that the goods need to be transshipped at an intermediate port as there is no direct service between the shipment port a

13、nd the destination port. It is sometimes necessary to employ two or more carriers to get the goods to their final destination. In this case, usually the first carrier will sign and issue a through bill of lading. The on-carriage may be either by a second vessel or by a different form of transport.（5

14、）Liner B/L, container B/L and combined transport B/L班轮、集装箱和多式联运提单 Liner bill of lading is issued by a liner company for shipment on scheduled port calls through scheduled routes.Container B/L is becoming more common in use with the development of containerization. It covers the goods from port to po

15、rt or from inland point of departure to inland point of destination. Combined transport B/L is issued by combined transport operator that covers the multi-modal transport on a door-to-door basis in one contract of carriage. It is ideal for container movements. It differs from “through B/L” in that c

16、ombined transport is operated by only one carrier.（6）Long form B/L and short form B/L全式提单和简式提单 Long form B/L is more detailed with shipping contract clause printed on the back of the page. Short form B/L, as the name implies, is an abbreviated type of document, smaller and not containing the long li

17、st of detailed clauses that generally appear on bills of lading. In certain circumstances it may not, therefore, be considered a suitable form of evidence of contract or affreightment.（7）On Deck B/L, stale B/L, ante-dated B/L and advanced B/L舱面提单、过期提单、倒签提单和预签提单 On Deck B/L is issued when the cargo i

18、s loaded on the ships deck. It applies to goods like livestock, plants, dangerous cargo, or awkwardly-shaped goods that can not fit into the ships holds. In this case, the goods are exposed to greater risks and therefore usually specific insurance must be taken out against additional risks. It is im

19、portant that the Bill of Lading is available at the port of destination before the goods arrive or, failing this, at the same time. Bills presented to the consignee or buyer or his bank after the goods are due at the port of destination are described as “Stale Bs/L”. As a cargo cannot be collected b

20、y the buyer without the Bill of Lading, the late arrival of this all-important document may have undesirable consequences such as warehouse rent, etc. and therefore should be avoided. Sometimes especially in the case of short sea voyages, it is necessary to add a clause of “Stale B/L is acceptable”.

21、 Ante-dated B/L means when the actual shipment date is later than that stipulated in the L/C, the carrier sometimes, at the shippers request, issues a B/L with a date of signature that suits the requirement so as to avoid non-acceptance by the bank. Due to the risk of the goods being rejected by the

22、 buyer arising from the issuance of such a bill, it is advisable to avoid this mal practice even when it seems necessary in certain circumstances. Advanced B/L is issued when the expiry date of the L/C is due but the exporter hasnt yet got the goods ready for shipment. The purpose of issuing such a

23、bill is to negotiate payment with the bank in time within the validity of the L/C. it is also regarded as unlawful and risky and should be avoided.Still there are some other types of B/L such as Groupage B/L which covers a number of consignments from different shippers, and House B/L issued by a fre

24、ight forwarder to each individual shipper, and so on. House B/L is issued By the freight forwarder before he gets one groupage B/L from the shipowner.All the above mentioned bills are not independent of each other. Several types may be combined into one like “Clean on board, to order, blank endorsed

25、 B/L”. A received for shipment bill may also be a straight and clean bill. Bills of lading are made out in sets, consisting of a number of originals (usually three) and a number of copies and marked” and “copy” respectively. Only the originals signed by the carrier enable the consignee to take deliv

26、ery of the goods. The copies are just for reference.Types of Risks, Losses and Expenses Covered（1）Two types of risks are covered by ocean marine insurance:One is the perils of the sea, including both natural calamities and unexpected accidents. Natural calamities include heavy weather, lightening, T

27、sunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption and so on. Accidents refer to fire, explosion, vessel being stranded, grounded, sunk or capsized, collision or contact of vessel with any external object other than water, etc.The other type of risks is external (extraneous) risks including general external risk

28、s and special external risks. General external risks include theft and pilferage, contamination, leakage, breakage, sweating and/or heating, taint of odor, rusting, hook damage, fresh and /or rain water damage, short-delivery and non-delivery, shortage in weight, clashing and so on. Special risks in

29、clude war, strike, failure to deliver due to some special laws or regulations.（2）Two types of losses are covered by marine cargo insurance. One is total loss and the other partial loss.Total loss is divided into actual total loss and constructive total loss. Actual total loss means the complete loss

30、 of the insured cargo in value. A constructive total loss occurs when the cost of salvaging the shipment would be more than the salvaged value of the merchandise. The shipment insured is reasonably abandoned as any further efforts at salvage would be fruitless. Most insurance policies provide for th

31、e payment of a total loss up to the insured amount.Partial loss means the loss of part of the insured cargo. It can be divided into general average and particular average:General average is based upon a relationship between the shipowner and all the shippers who have cargo aboard the same vessel on

32、a particular voyage. All these parties are bound together in the “adventure”. Sometimes, when the whole ship was threatened by a peril of the sea or some other hazard, in order to save he ship and some of the cargo or vessel have to be sacrificed, then an act of general average would be declared. According to maritime law, those interests whose property was saved must contribute proportionally to cover the losses of the one whose property was voluntarily sacrificed. Particular average means a partial loss suffered by part of the cargo. It occurs when a storm or fire damages par