Checks to be made before singing bills of lading
- Bill of lading on the form prescribed by the charterparty or in the ordinary form for the trade.
- All the contractual terms required by the charterparty, appear in the bill of lading.
- Correct name of carrying vessel.
- Correct description of voyage, i.e., the place of loading and place of discharge. Bills of lading covering the carriage from/to a place other than the place of loading and discharge usually provide for the place of receipt and/or the place of delivery (similar words may be used). If in doubt, the Master should check with Company that it is correct for the bill of lading to refer to such places.
- Place of discharge is safely reachable by the vessel and within any charterparty geographical limits.
- Correct place and date of shipment i.e., the day of loading. If the cargo covered by the bill of lading concerned has been loaded over several days, then the day of completion of loading is the correct date.
- Accurate description of the goods as shipped – marks, apparent order and condition, including packing condition and adequacy, and number, quantity or. Is clausing of the bill of lading necessary? Check for statements which conflict with the description of the
- Correct name of the shipper. The consignee may or may not be named or the words “to order” or “bearer” may appear. This is usually of no concern to the Master when signing.
- Charterparty incorporation clause inserted, as applicable.
- Claused “Shipped on deck” if cargo so carried.
- Protective clauses inserted as required by the Company, e.g., “shipper’s load, stow and count” (for containers), Retla rust clause (for steel shipments), “carried on deck at shippers risk without responsibility for loss or damage howsoever caused”.
- Carriage terms inserted as required by the Company, e.g. “free in, free out”, “liner in, liner out” etc. Such terms set out the carrier’s period of responsibility for caring for the cargo and who is responsible for paying for the load and discharge operations. The terms may be abbreviated, e.g., FIFO, LILO etc. If the Master is in doubt as to what this mean, he should seek the Company’s clarification and instructions.
- The number of original bills of lading stated to exist is correct. The Master should only sign the correct number of originals and should also ensure that each is identical and marked or stamped original.
- Bill of lading copies should be marked/stamped non-negotiable copy.
- If a cargo value is stated in the bill of lading, the Master should inform the Company immediately as extra insurance may be necessary and/or additional freight may be due. P&I cover generally excludes bills of lading with a stated cargo value.
- Any carriage instructions, e.g., carriage temperature, inserted in the bill of lading should be checked against other documents in the Master’s possession, e.g., mate’s receipt, voyage orders, shipping order etc. If the Master is unsure about the carriage instructions, he should clarify them with the shipper and the Company.
- For shipments to the United States the bill of lading should show a series of numbers and/or letters which are unique to the carrier and bill of lading.
- Any freight statements appearing in the bill of lading should be clarified with the Company if the Master is in any doubt.
- The Master should sign in the place designated for signature in the bill of lading or if there is no such place, at the bottom of the bill of lading face. The Master should not sign or stamp anywhere else in the bill of lading, especially not next to the shipper’s description of the cargo as this as may be interpreted as an acceptance of the description.
- The Master must not sign a B/L acknowledging the receipt of goods which he knows have not been loaded. Unfortunately, the measurement of bulk cargoes with precise accuracy is for all practical purposes impossible, and so the problem frequently arises of deciding at exactly what point the Master can say that the B/L figure is incorrect.
- This usually depends on many factors, such as type of cargo, the size of ship and conditions in the port, but common practice is that, if the B/L figure differs from the ship’s figure by more than0.5%, then the Master must query the accuracy of the B/L figure.
- If the discrepancy between ship and B/L figures exceeds 0.5%, every effort must be made to establish the reason for the difference. If this is not possible, then the Master is to adopt one of the following courses: –
- delete the B/L figure and insert the ship’s figure, initialling the alteration, or
- endorse the B/L with the reservation “x tons in dispute: or
- refuse to sign it, but pass it to the agents with the appropriate instructions in writing, or
- advise the company immediately and contact the local P & I correspondent
- If the B/L figure is within 0.5% – of the ship’s figure, (as established by draught survey and/or volumetric calculation), then it is probably in order to sign it. However, if the B/L figure is in excess of the ship’s figure by more than 0.1%, the Master should issue a letter of protest to Charterers and Shippers, notifying Owners of what he has done.
- The above will also apply when the vessel is employing an Early Departure Procedure.
Description & Condition of Cargo
The Master must satisfy himself that the description of the cargo contained in the B/L is accurate, and complies with the description of that given in the charterparty or voyage orders. He should also ensure that, if any part of the cargo is not in good condition, he should clause the B/L accordingly, (e.g., condition of steel product cargoes). If in doubt, the Master must advise the vessel’s Operator and where appropriate call in the local P & I Surveyor.
Date of B/L
The Master must not sign an inaccurately dated B/L.
Description of Voyage
- The Master must not sign a B/L for a voyage or destination which is patently inconsistent with any Charter Party governing his vessel’s employment, or with his voyage instructions.
- Unless specifically instructed by Owners to do so, the Master must not sign B/L’s for a port or destination which his ship is physically incapable of reaching in safety.
- The Master must not sign a B/L which explicitly forbids transhipment if he knows that this is envisaged by Charterers, or that it is inevitable through physical restrictions such as draft.
- The Master must not sign a B/L which he knows contains fraudulent information, e.g. false port of discharge.
In all the above circumstances, he should notify the office immediately.
Terms and Conditions
- Most forms of B/L in common use for bulk cargoes incorporate such words as “This shipment is carried under and pursuant to the terms of the C/P dated ….between ….and ….and all terms, clauses, exceptions and conditions thereof apply to and govern the rights of the parties concerned in this shipment”. Whenever possible, the blanks are to be filled in. If this is resisted, then the Master is to protest in writing to both Shippers and Charterers, notifying Owners.
- Certain forms of B/L contain no such provision. This does not matter provided the B/L does incorporate the Hague Rules or Hague Visby Rules in some form or other.
Payment of Freight
- B/L which contains no reference to freight having been paid in whole or in part is a receipt only for cargo, but a B/L marked “Freight Paid” or “Freight Prepaid” may constitute a receipt for both cargo and freight money.
- Accordingly, the Master is only to sign such a B/L where:-
- he is specifically instructed to by the Company (or where appropriate, Time Charterers –but not Voyage Charterers), or
- he has good evidence that the freight has indeed been properly paid and received by Owners (or Time Charterers), e.g. a direct instruction by telex from the Company, Owners or Time Charterers.
- Unless one of the above conditions is satisfied, the Master must not sign the B/L without first deleting the relevant words and initialling the alteration. If this proves impossible, he is to pass it to the agent with a written instruction not to issue it without explicit instructions from the company.
IF THE MASTER HAS ANY QUERIES AT ALL RELATING TO THE SIGNING OF BILLS OF LADING, HE SHOULD NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT THE COMMERCIAL OPERATOR AND/OR MANAGEMENT OFFICE IMMEDIATELY