Bill of lading
The shipping document that serves at once as receipt for the goods, evidence of the contract of carriage and document of title.
Hague-Visby Rules, Article III, Rule 3: after receiving the goods, the carrier issues to the shipper, on demand, a bill of lading showing the marks, number or weight, and apparent order and condition. The document combines three functions, receipt, evidence of the contract of carriage and document of title, and the last is what gives it value: its transfer passes the right to dispose of the goods while they are at sea. A clean bill carries no reservation as to apparent condition; a claused bill does, and the bank will then usually refuse to pay under the documentary credit. For the cargo underwriter, the bill settles two questions: who has title to sue, and therefore whom the recovery will target after payment, and what limits the carrier can invoke. Then there is delivery without production of an original, common when the ship arrives ahead of the paperwork. P&I clubs exclude it from standard cover. The owner who delivers against a letter of indemnity therefore carries the risk of the lawful holder turning up later.
The United Kingdom's Electronic Trade Documents Act, in force since September 20, 2023, gave the electronic bill of lading the same legal standing as paper under English law. English law governs a large share of the world's carriage contracts. UNCITRAL's MLETR model law, adopted in 2017, had opened the way, and Singapore had enacted it as early as 2021.
B/L, bill of lading, ocean bill of lading
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