Bill of Lading (B/L)
Issued by a shipping company, master of vessel or agents on behalf of a shipping line to the shipper. Common practice is that three original BL is being issued per shipment.
The B/L confirms that the cargo is on board the intended vessel and the carrier promises to bring the cargo to the port of destination based on the terms and conditions spelt out in the B/L. The carrier will hand over the cargo only to its legitimated receiver. Among others, the B/L contains the terms of the delivery, details and description of the cargo, the port pair (POL & POD) and the vessel.
On a more technical part of its definition, Bill of Lading (B/L) serves as:
- a contract of carriage between the owner of the goods (shipper) and the transportation company (carrier).
- Receipt signed by the issuing party for goods received and in the condition stated per bill of lading. A bill will be deemed clean if the goods have been received on board in apparent good condition and stowed ready for transport.
- a document of transfer. Has all the elements of a negotiable instrument but is NOT one from the legal sense. refer Wikipedia for more info.
Reference: Wikipedia
