Bill of Lading

How to Complete a Bill of Lading under a Letter of Credit Payment?

Ozgur Eker (CDCS) Bill of Lading, How to Work With a Letter of Credit, Letter of Credit Basics, Letter of Credit Documents 10 May 201911 May 2019Bill of Lading, Letter of Credit Documents

Bill of lading is a transport document covering the carriage of goods by sea.

Letters of credit rules define 4 different types of bills of lading:

Multimodal Bill of Lading: (UCP 600 article 19) A type of bill of lading covering at least two different modes of transport such as sea shipment + road transportation.
Bill of Lading: (UCP 600 article 20) In general it refers to the transport document which is used in port to port containerized sea shipments, usually issued in negotiable form.
Sea Waybill: (UCP 600 article 21) Non negotiable bill of lading. Can not be issued in a negotiable form. Consignee can clear the goods at the port of destination by proving identity.
Charter Party Bill of Lading: (UCP 600 article 22) A bill of lading containing an indication that it is subject to a charter party contract. Used in bulk cargo shipments.

On this port I will explain how to complete a bill of lading as it is explained under letters of credit rules UCP 600 article 20.

Step 1 : Analyzing the Letter of Credit:

All documents must be issued according to the conditions of the letter of credit. Bill of lading is not an exception.

As a result a beneficiary who would like to submit a discrepancy free bill of lading must analyze the letter of credit at first instance.

I have already explained how to check a letter of credit as an exporter. This post will be focused on a bill of lading.

Understanding Swift Message Fields Which are Related to the Bill of Lading

Below fields are directly related to the bill of lading and each one must be reviewed carefully.

Field 50: Applicant: Applicant is the importer. Usually issuing banks require that bills of lading show applicants’ details under notify party fields.
Field 59: Beneficiary: Beneficiary is the exporter. Although letters of credit rules state that the shipper or consignor of the goods indicated on any document need not be the beneficiary of the credit, it would be a wise move to mention exact beneficiary details under consignor / shipper fields of the bills of lading.
Field 43P: Partial Shipments: This field determines whether partial shipments are acceptable or not.
Field 43T: Transhipment: This field determines whether transhipment are acceptable or not.
Field 44E: Port of Loading/Airport of Departure: This field indicates the port of loading.
Field 44F: Port of Discharge/Airport of Destination: This field indicates the port of discharge.
Field 44C: Latest Date of Shipment: This field indicates latest date of shipment. Please be careful that date of shipment is a technical term in letters of credit rules. You should understand how date of shipment is determined on a bill of lading.
Field 45A: Description of Goods &/or Services: According to the letters of credit rules in documents other than the commercial invoice, the description of the goods, services or performance, if stated, may be in general terms not conflicting with their description in the credit.
Field 46A: Documents Required: One of the articles under this field usually determines the requirements of the bill of lading.
Field 47A: Additional Conditions: This field may include additional conditions that must be stated on the bill of lading.

Step 2 : Analyzing the Letters of Credit Rules:

Although all of the UCP 600 articles can be related to the document preparation one way or another, it would be meaningful to drill down to the UCP 600 articles that are directly regulating the bills of lading.

Understanding UCP 600 Articles Which are Related to the Bill of Lading

UCP 600 article 20 states that:

a. A bill of lading, however named, must appear to:

i. indicate the name of the carrier and be signed by:

– the carrier or a named agent for or on behalf of the carrier, or
– the master or a named agent for or on behalf of the master.

Any signature by the carrier, master or agent must be identified as that of the carrier, master or agent.

Any signature by an agent must indicate whether the agent has signed for or on behalf of the carrier or for or on behalf of the master.

ii. indicate that the goods have been shipped on board a named vessel at the port of loading stated in the credit by:

– Pre-printed wording, or
– An on board notation indicating the date on which the goods have been shipped on board.

The date of issuance of the bill of lading will be deemed to be the date of shipment unless the bill of lading contains an on board notation indicating the date of shipment, in which case the date stated in the on board notation will be deemed to be the date of shipment.

If the bill of lading contains the indication “intended vessel” or similar qualification in relation to the name of the vessel, an on board notation indicating the date of shipment and the name of the actual vessel is required.

iii. indicate shipment from the port of loading to the port of discharge stated in the credit.

If the bill of lading does not indicate the port of loading stated in the credit as the port of loading, or if it contains the indication “intended” or similar qualification in relation to the port of loading, an on board notation indicating the port of loading as stated in the credit, the date of shipment and the name of the vessel is required. This provision applies even when loading on board or shipment on a named vessel is indicated by pre-printed wording
on the bill of lading.

iv. be the sole original bill of lading or, if issued in more than one original, be the full set as indicated on the bill of lading.

v. contain terms and conditions of carriage or make reference to another source containing the terms and conditions of carriage (short form or blank back bill of lading). Contents of terms and conditions of carriage will not be examined.

vi. contain no indication that it is subject to a charter party.

b. For the purpose of this article, transhipment means unloading from one vessel and reloading to another vessel during the carriage from the port of loading to the port of discharge stated in the credit.
c.

i. A bill of lading may indicate that the goods will or may be transhipped provided that the entire carriage is covered by one and the same bill of lading.

ii. A bill of lading indicating that transhipment will or may take place is acceptable, even if the credit prohibits transhipment, if the goods have been shipped in a container, trailer or LASH barge as evidenced by the bill of lading.

d. Clauses in a bill of lading stating that the carrier reserves the right to tranship will be disregarded.

Step 3 : Make Sure That Data on Bill of Lading is not Conflicting with Data on Other Documents:

Data in a document, when read in context with the credit, the document itself and international standard banking practice, need not be identical to, but must not conflict with, data in that document, any other stipulated document or the credit.

For example description of goods, gross weight, net weight, product classification codes, shipping marks, packaging, quantity of goods etc. as stated on the bill of lading must not conflict with data in any other stipulated document.

Example: Letter of Credit and Presented Bills of Lading

Sample Letter of Credit

F50: Applicant
BAHRAIN ELECTRONIC MACHINES IMPORTING COMPANY W.L.L. P.O.BOX:33078 KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN
F59: Beneficiary
Name and Address:
ILKE MAKINA TAAHHUT MADEN SANAYI VE TICARET-LIMITED SIRKETI, OSTIM SANAYI SITESI BAGDAT CADDESI NO.392 OSTIM/ANKARA/TURKEY
F43P: Partial Shipments
NOT ALLOWED
F43T: Transshipment
ALLOWED
F44E: Port of Loading/Airport of Departure
TURKEY
F44F: Port of Discharge/Airport of Destination
BAHRAIN
F44C: Latest Date of Shipment
161115 2016 Nov 15
F45A: Description of Goods and/or Services
SPARE PARTS AS PER PROFORMA INVOICE REF: T16-100 CFR: BAHRAIN (INCOTERMS 2010)
F46A: Documents Required
ARTICLE 3- FULL SET OF SHIPPED (ON BOARD) MARINE BILLS OF LADING IN 3/3 ORIGINALS ISSUED BY SHIPPING CO’S ON IT’S LETTER HEAD FORMAT ISSUED TO THE ORDER OF THE HOUSING BANK FOR TRADE AND FINANCE, BAHRAIN BRANCH SHOWING FREIGHT PREPAID AND MUST INDICATE ONLY THE APPLICANT AS A NOTIFY PARTY AND MUST INDICATE NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE SHIPPING COMPANY’S AGENT IN BAHRAIN.
THE MARINE B/L MUST CLEARLY INDICATE THE NAME OF THE CARRIER AND CLEARLY STATES ITS FUNCTION/QUALITY IN THE FOLLOWING STRICT MANNER: ”THE CARRIER” AND NOT ”AS CARRIER” AND BILL OF LADING MUST SHOW PACKING OF THE GOODS IN SEAWORTHY PACKING AS PER ISO STANDARD.
B/L MUST SHOW THAT GOODS SHIPPED IN CONTAINERS.
F47A: Additional Conditions
ALL DOCUMENTS MUST BE DATED AND INDICATE THIS L/C NUMBER AND THE HOUSING BANK
FOR TRADE AND FINANCE,BAHRAIN BR. NAME AND ISSUANCE DATE.
B/L MUST SHOW THE CONTAINER(S) AND SEAL(S) NUMBER(S) ALWAYS WHENEVER SHIPMENT
EFFECTED BY CONTAINER(S).
B/L ISSUED AND/OR SIGNED BY FREIGHT FORWARDER IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.
SHORT FORM B/L IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.
SHIPPER OR CONSIGNOR OF THE GOODS INDICATED ON ANY DOCUMENTS MUST BE THE
BENEFICIARY OF THE CREDIT.
ALL REQUIRED DOCUMENTS MUST BE ISSUED IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
DOCUMENTS APPEARING DATE OF ISSUANCE PRIOR TO THAT OF THIS CREDIT ARE NOT
ACCEPTABLE.
ALL ORIGINAL TRANSPORT DOC’S REQUIRED UNDER THIS L/C MUST BE PRE-PRINTED
THE WORD ”ORIGINAL”
BILL OF LADING MUST APPEAR A SEPARATE NOTATION STATING ”CONTAINERS ACTUALLY LOADED ON BOARD+VESSEL NAME+PORT OF LOADING NAME+DATE”DULY SIGNED BY THE SAME SIGNOR OF THE BILL OF LADING ”

Bill of Lading Page 1

Bill of Lading Page 2

Parties on a Bill of Lading: Shipper, Consignee, Notify Party and Carrier

Ozgur Eker (CDCS) Bill of Lading, Letter of Credit Documents 3 April 20191 May 2024Bill of Lading, Carrier, Consignee, Notify Party, Shipper

Bill of lading is a transport document covering the carriage of goods by sea.

It is possible to find four different parties on a typical bill of lading. These entities are: Shipper, consignee, notify party and carrier.

Some bills of lading may also show an additional entity: Carrier’s agent.

Please kindly keep in mind that under open account and cash in advance payment methods the documents will not be check by a 3rd party.

As a result importer and exporter can freely determine the contents of the bills of lading.

Under Cash Against Documents payment method banks do not check the documents, but how the bill of lading is completed is important in terms of delivery of goods.

For these reasons on this post my explanations are focused on bills of lading usage under letters of credit and cash against documents.

Shipper: Shipper means a person that enters into a contract of carriage with a carrier. Shipper also known as consignor.

Under CFR, CIF, CPT, CIP, DAT, DAP and DDP Incoterms, exporter sings the contract of carriage with a carrier and becomes the shipper.

Although importer enters into a contract of carriage with the carrier under FCA, FOB and FAS incoterms, once again on the basis of “documentary shipper” term the exporter should be mentioned as a shipper on the bill of lading.

Rotterdam Rules explain documentary shipper as ”means a person, other than the shipper, that accepts to be named as “shipper” in the transport document…”

Consignee: Consignee means a person entitled to delivery of the goods under a contract of carriage or a transport document.

Consignee is one of the most crucial fields on a bill of lading. This field determines not only to whom the shipment is to be delivered, but also signifies the position of the bill of lading against the title of goods.

Especially under letters of credit and cash against documents payment methods, how consignee field is completed is very crucial.

How to Complete Consignee Field under Letters of Credit Payment Method?

Under letters of credit consignee field must be completed according to the letter of credit terms and conditions.

Issuing banks generally state bills of lading conditions under field 46-A.

In most cases issuing banks demand that the bill of lading should be issued to order of the issuing bank. Less frequently it is also possible that issuing banks demand bills of lading to be issued to order and blank endorsed.

In very rare situations, issuing banks may request bills of lading to be consigned to applicants. In these situations the beneficiaries must be alerted against various risks including fraud risk.

Example 1: A bill of lading issued under a letter of credit transaction: Issued to order of the issuing bank.

letter of credit consignee example on a bill of lading — Original image published on https://www.advancedontrade.com/2015/03/how-to-complete-consignee-and-notify-fields-of-a-bill-of-lading.html

How to Complete Consignee Field under Cash Against Documents Payment Method?

Although it is not possible to consign a transport document to a bank without having the bank’s advance acknowledgement as per documentary collection rules (URC 522), it is a customary act to made out the bill of lading to order of the presenting bank.

Example 2: A bill of lading issued under a cash against documents transaction: Issued to order of the importer’s bank.

cash against documents consignee example on a bill of lading — Original image published on https://www.advancedontrade.com/2015/03/how-to-complete-consignee-and-notify-fields-of-a-bill-of-lading.html

How to Complete Consignee Field of a Bill of Lading Under Cash in Advance or Open Account Payments?

Under cash in advance and open account payments, exporters and importers complete the transaction without interfered by a 3rd parties such as a banks.

Shipping documents are sent directly to the importer by the exporter via express courier or registered postal services.

As there is no 3rd party exists in the transaction, bill of lading may be made out to the name of the importer company under cash in advance and open account payments.

Example 3: A bill of lading issued under an open account transaction: Bill of lading consigned to the importer.

consignee example on a bill of lading under open account and advance payment — Original image published on https://www.advancedontrade.com/2015/03/how-to-complete-consignee-and-notify-fields-of-a-bill-of-lading.html

Notify Party: Notify party means a person that should be notified by the carrier when the shipment arrives at port of discharge.

Notify party has no effect on title of goods, which determines delivery of the goods to the consignee.

Notify party is mostly importer, importer’s forwarder or importer’s custom’s broker.

Examples:

On above Example 1: Consignee : To order of the issuing bank, Notify Party: Importer
On above Example 2: Consignee : To order of the importer’s bank, Notify Party: Importer
On above Example 3: Consignee : Importer, Notify Party: Importer

Carrier: Carrier means a person that enters into a contract of carriage with a shipper. The carrier shall carry the goods to the place of destination and deliver them to the consignee.

The carrier is bound before, at the beginning of, and during the voyage by sea to exercise due diligence to:

Make and keep the ship seaworthy;
Properly crew, equip and supply the ship and keep the ship so crewed, equipped and supplied throughout the voyage; and
Make and keep the holds and all other parts of the ship in which the goods are carried, and any containers supplied by the carrier in or upon which the goods are carried, fit and safe for their reception, carriage and preservation.

The carrier shall during the period of its responsibility properly and carefully receive, load, handle, stow, carry, keep, care for, unload and deliver the goods.

How to Complete Carrier Field under Letters of Credit Payment Method?

Letters of credit rules state that a bill of lading, however named, must appear to: indicate the name of the carrier and be signed by:

the carrier or a named agent for or on behalf of the carrier, or
the master or a named agent for or on behalf of the master.

Any signature by the carrier, master or agent must be identified as that of the carrier, master or agent.

Any signature by an agent must indicate whether the agent has signed for or on behalf of the carrier or for or on behalf of the master.

Carrier’s Agent: Carrier’s agent means a person authorized to transact business for and in the name of the carrier.

Carrier’s agent is an optional field on bills of lading, because of the fact that the bill of lading could be signed by a carrier, a master or simply by a forwarder.

How to Complete Carrier’ Agent Field under Letters of Credit Payment Method?

When an agent signs a bill of lading for [or on behalf of] the carrier, the agent is to be named and, in addition, to indicate that it is signing as “agent for (name), the carrier” or as “agent on behalf of (name), the carrier” or words of similar effect.

When the carrier is identified elsewhere in the document as the “carrier”, the named agent may sign, for example, as “agent for [or on behalf of] the carrier” without naming the carrier again.

How to Determine Date of Shipment on a Multimodal Bill of Lading?

Ozgur Eker (CDCS) Bill of Lading, How to Work With a Letter of Credit, Letter of Credit Basics, Letter of Credit Documents 26 February 20196 April 2019Date of Shipment, Multimodal Bill of Lading

Date of shipment is one of the key definitions in a letter of credit transaction. It is used to determine

whether shipment made on time or not (in other words a late shipment has been effected or not)
whether documents presented within the presentation period or not (in other words a late presentation has been effected or not)
maturity date of the time draft
maturity date of a deferred payment letter of credit.

Date of shipment can be determined in two ways on a multimodal bill of lading according to the letter of credit rules.

In the first scenario we will face a situation where multimodal bill of lading does not contain any date of dispatch, taking in charge or shipped on board notation.
In the second scenario we will be having a multimodal bill of lading which contains a date of dispatch, taking in charge or shipped on board notation.

Option 1 => There is no shipped on board or taking in charge notation exists on the multimodal bill of lading:

The date of issuance of the multimodal bill of lading will be deemed to be the date of shipment.

Option 2=> Multimodal bill of lading indicates, by stamp or notation, a date of dispatch, taking in charge or shipped on board: Notation date will be deemed to be the date of shipment as specified below:

Date of dispatched notation/stamp => this date will be deemed to be the date of shipment
Date of taken in charge notation/stamp => this date will be deemed to be the date of shipment
Date of shipped on board notation/stamp => this date will be deemed to be the date of shipment

Important Note: Only applies when the notation is in respect of dispatch, taking in charge or shipped on board at the place or port named in the credit for the commencement of the carriage.

To Order and Blank Endorsed Bill of Lading

Ozgur Eker (CDCS) Bill of Lading, How to Work With a Letter of Credit, Letter of Credit Basics, Letter of Credit Documents 25 February 201915 May 2019Blank Endorsed, To Order

Bill of lading, which is a transport document used in international trade, is an authentic receipt delivered by a carrier, confirming that the goods therein specified (markings, types of goods, number of packages, etc.) have been loaded or taken in charge for loading on a designated vessel for carriage to a specified port.

On this article you can find the definitions of “to order” and “blank endorsed” terms as used on bills of lading.

To order and blank endorse term is related to the consignee field of a bill of lading and determines if a letter of credit issued in a negotiable or straight form.

If you need more information regarding negotiable bills of lading and straight bills of lading, please read my article “What Does “Made Out to the Order of” Mean in a Bill of Lading?”.

To order bill of lading is the one that consignee part of the bill of lading have been completed by writing “to order” only as can be seen on the below example.

“To order” means that the bill of lading has been consigned to order of the shipper. The shipper indicated on the bill of lading determines who should collect the goods at the port of discharge by surrendering at least one original copy to the carrier.

The shipper makes this determination with the help of the endorsement.

“Blank endorsement” means that the holder of the original bills of lading can claim the goods from the carrier at the port of discharge by surrendering at least one original copy of a bill of lading.

To order bill of ladings can be blank endorsed by putting Shipper Company’s stamp and signature on the reverse side of the bill of lading.

According to ICC experts a bill of lading issued to the order of a party can only be endorsed by the party stated in the “consignee” field of the bill of lading.

Only when the B/L is made out to order of the shipper is the shipper able to endorse in blank before presentation under the credit.

As a result,

Consignee: to order ==> shipper can endorse in blank
Consignee: to order of the shipper ==> shipper can endorse in blank
Consignee: to order of the issuing bank ==> issuing bank can endorse

Importance of Bill of Lading Title: Ocean or Marine Bill of Lading

Ozgur Eker (CDCS) Bill of Lading, How to Work With a Letter of Credit, Letter of Credit Basics, Letter of Credit Documents 25 February 20196 April 2019Bill of Lading, Bill of Lading Title, Letter of Credit Documents, Marine Bill of Lading, Ocean Bill of Lading

Issuing banks often require an ocean bill of lading or a marine bill of lading under letters of credit as a transport document.

The question is whether the title of the bill of lading is important or not when checking the documents?

Letter of Credit Examples:

Ocean Bill of Lading Example

Full set of clean shipped on board ocean bills of lading drawn or endorsed to the order of issuing bank ltd, Sana’a Yemen showing freight prepaid and marked notify
a.applicant (giving full name and address).
b.issuing bank ltd Sana’a Republic of Yemen.

Marine Bill of Lading Example

Full set of clean on board marine bill(s) of lading issued or endorsed to the order of Issuing Bank PLC, notify applicant showing freight prepaid and showing full name and address of the shipping company agent or his representative in Bahrain.

Each shipping line has a pre-printed form of bills of lading.

Some shipping lines are using ocean bills of lading and others are using marine bill(s) of lading.

It is highly likely to be working with a shipping company who has a marine bill(s) of lading pre-printed form where credit calls for an ocean bill of lading or vice versa.

According to latest letter of credit rules

“A bill of lading need not be titled “marine bill of lading”, “ocean bill of lading”, “port‐to‐port bill of lading” or words of similar effect even when the credit so names the required document.”

As a result title of the bill of lading is not important when checking the documents under the letter of credit transactions.

What Does “Made Out to the Order of” Mean in a Bill of Lading?

Ozgur Eker (CDCS) Bill of Lading, How to Work With a Letter of Credit, Letter of Credit Documents 24 February 20196 April 2019Negotiable Bill of Lading, Non-Negotiable Transport Documents, Straight Bill of Lading, To Order

Majority of the letters of credits are asking for a bill of lading which must be issued made out to the order of the issuing bank.

This condition indicated under field “46A – Documents Required” for the letters of credit that are issued in a swift format.

In simple words bills of lading can be classified under two groups: Negotiable bills of lading and non-negotiable bill of lading. Non-negotiable bills of lading also known as sea waybills.

Negotiable bills of lading can also be classified under two main groups. Negotiable bills of lading and straight bills of lading.

Negotiable Bills of Lading: Negotiable bills of lading are the ones that have been issued “to order” or “to order of a named party”. If bill of lading has been issued in a negotiable form, then the buyer of the goods need to surrender at least one original bill of lading to the carrier at the port of discharge. In this scenario bill of lading must be endorsed properly.
Straight Bills of Lading: Straight bills of lading are the ones that have been issued in a way to consigned a named party. If bill of lading is issued in a non-negotiable form, then the buyer can get the goods either by,
- surrendering at least one original bill of lading to the carrier at the port of discharge or
- in accordance with rules of the national law at the port of discharge which may accept the delivery of the goods to the buyer against proof of identity.

Both “to order” and “to order of a named party” statements make a bill of lading a negotiable bill of lading.

Letter of Credit Examples:

Example of to order and blank endorsed bill of lading: Full set signed clean on board ocean bills of lading made out to order and blank endorsed marked ‘freight prepaid’ and notify Import Bank of India indicating letter of credit number.
Example of made out to order of bill of lading: Full set of original clean on board bill of lading issued to the order of Arab Bank PLC Algeria notify applicant marked freight prepaid.

What are the Differences Between a Bill of Lading and a Charter Party Bill of Lading?

Ozgur Eker (CDCS) Bill of Lading, Charter Party Bill of Lading, Letter of Credit Documents, Logistics 2 December 20186 April 2019Bill of Lading, Charter Party Bill of Lading

Under the current letter of credit rules and international standard banking practices, if a letter of credit calls for a marine bill of lading, then banks do not accept a charter party bill of lading in lieu of a marine bill of lading.

On this article I will try to answer the question “Why a charter party bill of lading is not acceptable in place of a marine bill of lading?” by clarifying the main differences between each transport documents.

Differences Between a Charter Party Bill of Lading and Marine Bill of Lading:

Charter Party Clause: Charter party bill of lading contains a clause stating that it is subject to a charter party. Marine bill of lading does not contain such a clause or similar wording.

Signatures:

Marine bills of lading can be signed by;
- the carrier or a named agent for or on behalf of the carrier, or
- the master or a named agent for or on behalf of the master.
Charter party bills of lading can be signed by;
- the master or a named agent for or on behalf of the master, or
- the owner or a named agent for or on behalf of the owner, or
- the charterer or a named agent for or on behalf of the charterer.

Usage:

Charter party bills of lading will be used mainly for big bulk shipments such as 20.000 mtons of soybean transportation from a US port to a Chinese port.
Marine bills of lading mostly used for containerized cargo that is transported by regular line container vessels.

Examples of Charter Party Clauses:

Below indications could turn a marine bill of lading into a charter party bill of lading. (Source : www.commerzbank.com)

“Prepayable freight paid as per charter party dd. …”
“Freight payable as per charter party dd. …”
“Freight as agreed”
“Bill of lading to be used with charter parties”

What is Congenbill Bill of Lading?

Ozgur Eker (CDCS) Bill of Lading, Charter Party Bill of Lading, Letter of Credit Documents 1 December 20186 April 2019Bill of Lading, Charter Party Bill of Lading, Congenbill

Congenbill is a type of charter party bill of lading which is widely used in international transportation.

Congenbill 2007 is the latest version of standard charter party bill of lading which is issued and approved by the BIMCO’s Documentary Committee.

BIMCO is a well established international shipping association and its long form is also known as “The Baltic and International Maritime Council”.

Congenbill 2007

According to the UCP 600 rules a bill of lading which contains an indication that it is subject to a charter party will be classified as a charter party bill of lading. Congenbill 2007 Bill of Lading indicates on its face “To be used with charter parties”. This makes Congenbill 2007 a charter party bill of lading according to the letter of credit rules.
The Congenbill Charter Party Bill of Lading can be used wide range cargo that does not need special handling. Because of this reason it is one of the most popular Charter Party Bill of Lading (CPBL) in use.
Sample Congenbill 2007 bill of lading is reachable from this link.

There are other charter party bills of ladings that have been issued by BIMCO. These are specific charter party bills of lading suitable for limited niche charter party operations.

Some examples of specific charter party bills of lading issued by BIMCO:

AUSTWHEAT BILL
BIMCHEMVOYBILL 2008
CEMENTVOYBILL 2006
INTANKBILL 78
GRAINCONBILL

How to Determine Maturity Date if Letter of Credit States That Tenor of the L/C is 60 Days After Bill of Lading Issue Date?

Ozgur Eker (CDCS) Bill of Exchange, Bill of Lading, How to Work With a Letter of Credit, Letter of Credit Basics, Letter of Credit Documents 29 November 20186 April 2019Bill of Exchange, Bill of Lading, Date of Shipment, Maturity Date

Maturity date is a term related to a time draft.

A time draft is a form of payment that is guaranteed by an issuing bank, but is not payable in full until a specified amount of time after it is received and accepted. (1)

The maturity date is a date on which a bill of exchange or deferred payment undertaking under a documentary credit is to be paid by the party assuming the undertaking. (2)

Determining the maturity date is an important concept especially when the letter of credit is available with a time draft.

Example: A letter of credit has been issued by an international bank’s branch in France states that the documentary credit is available by drafts payable at 60 days after bill of lading issue date.

The beneficiary has presented the bill of lading showing:

date of issue : 04.August.2014 and
shipped on board date : 01.August.2014.

How to determine the maturity date of the draft based on above information?

First of all we need to understand that whether there are any differences exist between the “bill of lading date” and the “bill of lading issue date”.

When we look at the ISBP 745 we understand that ICC Banking commission used these terms with the same meaning. As a result both “bill of lading date” and “bill of lading issue date” have the same meaning in terms of letter of credit rules.

Secondly we need to answer which date we should be using when determining the maturity date of the draft.

Should we use bill of lading issuance date or shipped on board date?

Once again we need to look at the ISBP 745 for the correct answer. ISBP 745 states that shipped on board date is deemed to be bill of lading date or bill of lading issue date with the following statement:

“When the tenor refers to, for example, 60 days after the bill of lading date, the on board date is deemed to be the bill of lading date even when the on board date is prior to or later than the date of issuance of the bill of lading.”

As a result we need to use shipped on board date when determining the maturity date of the draft even if the letter of credit states that tenor of the L/C is 60 days after bill of lading issue date.

On the above example shipped on board date is 01.August.2014 and tenor is 60 days after bill of lading issuance date.

We should accept shipped on board date as bill of lading issue date and should use it on calculation of the maturity date.

The maturity date is 30.September.2014.

Important Note: You should add 60 days to 01.August.2014. Remember you should exclude 01.August.2014 when counting 60 days.

Sources:

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/time-draft.asp
Documentary credits in practice, Reinhard Längerich, Second edition – 2009, Page: 304, Published by: Nordea

Freight Forwarder’s Bill of Lading Not Acceptable

Ozgur Eker (CDCS) Bill of Lading, How to Work With a Letter of Credit, Letter of Credit Basics, Letter of Credit Documents, Negotiable FIATA Multimodal Transport Bill of Lading 25 November 20186 April 2019Bill of Lading, House Bill of Lading

Some issuing banks add an additional condition to the letters of credit they have issued, indicating that freight forwarder’s bill of lading is not acceptable.

Why issuing banks disallow freight forwarder’s bill of lading?
What happens if issuing bank forbids presentation of a freight forwarder’s bill of lading under a letter of credit?

If an issuing bank wants to prohibit presentation of a freight forwarder’s bill of lading, can achieve this aim simply by adding a condition under field 47-A Additional Conditions.

Below you can find some example texts, disallowing presentation of freight forwarder’s bill of lading.

Sample Texts from Selected Letters of Credit

Forwarder’s bill of lading not acceptable.
Transport documents issued by freight forwarder are not acceptable.
Goods must be shipped through the nominated liner which will be advised by the applicant in a certified format with applicant’s seal, a copy of the same must be presented for negotiation and the bill of lading, (freight forwarder’s bill of lading is not acceptable) must evidence that the goods have been shipped on the liner specified therein.

Why issuing banks disallow freight forwarder’s bill of lading?

Issuing banks want to secure themselves as much as possible by requesting not a freight forwarder’s bill of lading, but a carrier’s bill of lading.

A carrier’s bill of lading, which is known as master bill of lading, give more security to the issuing banks comparing to freight forwarder’s bill of lading, which is known as house bill of lading.

What Does the Letter of Credit Rules Tell About Disallowing Freight Forwarder’s Bill of Lading?

UCP 600:

UCP 600 sub-article 14(l) states that

“A transport document may be issued by any party other than a carrier, owner, master or charterer provided that the transport document meets the requirements of articles 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 or 24 of these rules.”

UCP 600 sub-article 20(a) states that

a.A bill of lading, however named, must appear to:
i. indicate the name of the carrier and be signed by:
– the carrier or a named agent for or on behalf of the carrier, or
– the master or a named agent for or on behalf of the master.

ISBP 745:

ISBP 745 states that

“A stipulation in a credit that “Freight Forwarder’s Bills of Lading are not acceptable” or “House Bills of Lading are not acceptable” or words of similar effect has no meaning in the context of the title, format, content or signing of a bill of lading unless the credit provides specific requirements detailing how the bill of lading is to be issued and signed. In the absence of these requirements, such a stipulation is to be disregarded, and the bill of lading presented is to be examined according to the requirements of UCP 600 article 20″.

According to latest version of international standard banking practices, “Freight Forwarder’s Bills of Lading are not acceptable” or “House Bills of Lading are not acceptable” stipulations in a letter of credit has no meaning unless banks defines how the bill of lading is to be issued and signed.
If no specific requirements have been mentioned in the letter of credit in regards to issuance and signature of the bill of lading, then banks, nominated bank, confirming bank and issuing bank, have to disregard such a stipulation.

Official Opinion R643 / TA669rev – 2005-2008:
If a transport document states “freight forwarder bills of lading are not acceptable” or “house bills of lading not acceptable”, can the freight forwarder or agent sign the bill of lading according to the requirements expressed in sub-article 20 (a) (i)?
Query
ICC Opinion TA 572 – Issue No. 1 (October 2004) describes the situation in which the documentary credit states that “Transport document issued by Freight Forwarder not acceptable”. The conclusion of the Opinion was that ” … the bank would be obliged to accept a bill of lading that was signed ‘as carrier’ irrespective of any knowledge it may have as to the capacity of the issuer” – i.e., even when the transport document was entitled “FBL BIFA Negotiable FIATA Multimodal Transport Bill of Lading”.
a-The above Opinion was given subject to UCP 500, and we ask you kindly to inform us if the same position would apply under UCP 600.
b-Also kindly advise if the conclusion above would be the same had the documentary credit stated that “House bill of lading not acceptable” or similar.
Analysis
One of the reasons behind conditions such as “freight forwarder bills of lading are not acceptable” or “house bills of lading not acceptable” is to require the issuance of a bill of lading by the carrier, albeit that the freight forwarder or agent could sign the bill of lading according to the requirements expressed in sub-article 20 (a) (i). If a freight forwarder or agent signs as carrier, the bill of lading becomes a carrier document.
Conclusion
The same position applies under UCP 600.
If the credit states “house bill of lading not acceptable” or similar, the same position will apply.

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