Bill of Lading (BOL) Everything you need to know about a BOL

1. Bill of Lading (BOL): Everything you need to know about a BOL If you are new to the world of international freight, you must have come across the word “Bill of lading”. The term is a combination of the word ‘bill,’ meaning written statement of the cost for the goods or services and ‘lade,’ meaning to put cargo onto a ship or other form of goods, you must have guessed what it means. Well, your guess could be right only to an extent as there’s lot more to bill of lading (BOL or BL) than what the term explains, which is why here we will talk in detail about it and the key things it entails. What is a Bill of Lading? To put it in simple words, it is a legally binding contract of carriage between the shipper and the transportation company for the transportation of goods. It acts as an evidence of the contract of carriage as well as an invoicing receipt in the shipping world and contains information such as what goods you are shipping, where the shipment is coming from and where it is headed. It is important that all the documentation is completely correct and as far as shipping industry is concerned, BOL is the single most important document of any given shipment. Here is the list of things it entails: •Addresses For obvious reasons, the BOL must show the address of the shipper and consignee (receiver) but the accuracy of your shipment’s address is hugely important. Shipper is also referred to as “Consignor” and Receiver is referred to as “Consignee.” If the address is not correctly mentioned, it may affect the processing of your shipment along with delivery times.. It is imperative to include shipper’s and consignee’s full names and addresses. For an Ocean Bill of Lading, the address is not required for

2. consignee in the case that is “To Order, Blank Endorsed” or “To Order, Bank”, which are usually for shipments under a Letter of Credit (L/C). •Packaging type The right kind of packaging is important for the goods to be delivered safely and so is the mention of packaging type in the shipment –whether it’s cartoons, crates, pallets and/or drums. •Description of goods BOL includes details like the material of the good, weight and dimensions of the shipment. This is done to ensure that the cargo is handled accordingly, for instance, glass and plastic goods will be taken care differently. Some of the important BOLs include: Straight bill of lading: The other name for this BOL is consignment bill of lading, it is used to ship goods to customers who have already paid for them and so the carrier hands over the cargo to consignee on production of identity of consignee at the destination port. This document is used in surface transportation. “To order” bill of lading: This is the BOL where the ownership of the goods outlined in the bill of lading is transferable to another party upon endorsement by the party listed as the ultimate consignee on the document. If the consignee who has placed the order of cargo with overseas supplier now wants it to be delivered to some other party by re-selling or transfer, he will have to ask the supplier to mention “to order” in the bill of lading. This document is used in ocean transportation Inland bill of lading: This is the BOL which often serves as the first transportation document issued for an international shipment. It may be prepared by the inland carrier or shipper for transportation of cargo by road or rail, across domestic land but not overseas. This document is used in surface transportation as well as intermodal shipments that involve ocean and surface transportation. Ocean bill of lading: This is the BOL that allows for the transportation of goods via sea both nationally and internationally. It can be a bill of lading consigned to a person or company, or a consigned “to order” bill of lading. Air waybill: This is the BOL used for the transportation of goods via air transport. And though it can be said to be equivalent of ocean bill of lading, it may not be consigned “to order” like the ocean BOL. Multimodal bill of lading– This is the BOL used when different modes of shipping are involved. All in all, we can say that BOL is essential because it is receipt for the goods shipped, it acts as an evidence for carriage between the exporter and carrier while also serving as a document of title which allows the person holding it to claim possession of your shipment. And now that you know about BOL, you can check whether or not it entails the above mentioned. Please note this article is not intended to be used as legal advice. Please contact your attorney for legal advice regarding a bill of lading.