BILL OF LADING IN THE OCEAN FREIGHT

Bill of Lading also referred as a B/L or BOL. This document issued by a carrier acknowledging that specified goods have been received on board as cargo for conveyance to a named place for delivery to the consignee. Besides other points it serves the following purposes:

1. It is an evidence of a contract of carriage between carrier and shipper;
2. It is a receipt for goods;
3. It is a document of title on your shipped goods.

There are number of different types of B/Ls. Here are two most commonly used types of NON-NEGOTIABLE B/Ls:

• Express release B/L = Telex release = Surrender and;
• Release endorsed upon a set of originals B/L

NON-NEGOTIABLE means that the document itself does not give title to the goods. The consignee (recipient) named in the B/L must identify himself to claim the goods. (vs. NEGOTIABLE, issued “to the order of” is the title of the goods. I.e. the B/L can be bought, sold or traded while goods are in transit.)

EXPRESS RELEASE means that you do not have to provide originals Bill of Ladings in order to claim your goods at the destination. Shipment on express release should be released at the destination upon surrender a copy of the B/L. Express release B/L should state -- “ZERO (0) – NO ORIGINALS REQUIRED FOR RELEASE”.

“SET OF ORIGINAL REQUIRED” means that goods cannot be released to the consignee unless the consignee had surrendered a set of originals B/Ls.

With us, unless you had requested B/L upon set of originals in advance, after your timely payment of our final freight invoice, in few days after Estimated Time of Departure (ETD) (sometimes it takes a little longer) we e-mail to you a copy of carriers Express Release Bill of Lading in a file attached. Print the Bill of Lading and keep it in your records in order to claim your cargo at the destination.

Notice: Several countries around the world, particularly Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Certain countries in Africa, do not accept express releases. Carrier should specify it upon issue of B/L. Then we will mail you a set of originals Bill of Ladings by USPS First Class Mail within USA/Canada for free. Expedited or international mail must be prepaid.

If shipper/receptionist requires a set of originals B/L for shipments to countries that DO accept express release, then $50 fee will be added on top of cost of the mail.