The meaning of Bill of Lading
Bill of Lading which is sometimes abbreviated as B/L or BoL is a document issued by a carrier to acknowledge receipt of cargo for shipment.
The meaning of bill of lading is a very crucial one as it is the document used in international trade to ensure that exporter receives payment and importer receives the merchandise.
The bill of lading is negotiable and it serves three(3) main functions:
1 It is a conclusive receipt as it is an acknowledgement that the goods have been loaded onto a shipping vessel.
2 It contains or evidences the terms of the contract of carriage.
3 It serves as a document of title to the goods.
Types of Bill of Lading
Upon having a better understanding of the meaning of bill of lading, there are different types of bill of lading as follows:
1 Straight bill of lading
The straight bill of lading is specified to the particular party and the specified party cannot re-assigned it to anyone else.
2 Order bill of lading
This is a negotiable bill of lading, which is made out to, or to the order of, a particular person and can be transferred by endorsement and delivery of the bill.
3 Bearer bill of lading
The bearer bill of lading is the one in which the bearer of the bill of lading is the owner of the cargo and their is no consignee named in the bill of lading. This kind of bill of lading is very seldom found as there are huge risks involved in the misuse of this kind of bill of lading.
4 Switch bill of lading
A switch Bill of Lading refers to a second set of bill of lading issued by the carrier (or its agent) to substitute the original bills of lading issued at the time of shipment.
5 Port to port bill of lading
This is also known as marine bill of lading or ocean bill of lading. In this type of bill of lading, carriers responsibility starts at port of loading and ends at port of discharge.
6 Multimodal bill of lading
This is also known as combined bill of lading, combined transport bill of lading, intermodal bill of lading, or multimodal transport bill of lading.
The multimodal bill of lading bill of lading covering two or more modes of transport, such as shipping by rail and sea or rail and road or sea and road etc.
7 Through bill of lading
This is a single bill of lading covering receipt of the cargo at the point of origin for delivery to the ultimate consignee, using two or more modes of transportation.
Above details is all about the meaning of bill of lading and the types of bill of lading as well. Please, contact us if anything puts you on inquiry and we shall clarify same.