Sea waybill
A non-negotiable sea transport document proving the contract and receipt of the goods without representing title, faster than a bill of lading but unusable to sell the cargo in transit or pledge it as security.
A sea waybill is a document issued by the carrier evidencing the contract of carriage and receipt of the goods, naming the consignee. Unlike a bill of lading, it is not a document of title: it is not transferred by endorsement, and the consignee obtains delivery by proving its identity, without having to present an original. It is therefore simpler and faster, and avoids the problem of cargo arriving in port before the paper documents. It suits shipments between companies of the same group, trusted commercial relationships and prepaid sales. It does not suit cases where the goods must be sold in transit, or where a bank finances the transaction through a documentary credit and wants to hold title as security. The 1990 Comité Maritime International uniform rules govern its use. For the insurer, the nature of the document matters at the time of a loss: it determines who can claim against the carrier, and the applicable liability regime, which international conventions attach sometimes to bills of lading alone, sometimes to any transport document.
Hypothetical case: a European subsidiary ships parts weekly to its sister company in Asia under a sea waybill: containers are delivered on arrival, without waiting for paper originals. When the group later sells a cargo to a third party in transit, it must revert to a negotiable bill of lading, the only document able to transfer title.
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