Bill of Lading (B/L)
A bill of lading is the ocean transport document issued by the carrier or its agent. It has three functions: receipt for the goods, evidence of the contract of carriage, and document of title when issued "to order". It is usually issued as a set of three originals, and at destination the cargo is released only against an original. Check the draft carefully; a wrong name, container number or seal number is hard to correct once the B/L is issued.
Related terms
- Sea Waybill
A sea waybill is a non-negotiable ocean transport document and not a document of title.
- House Bill of Lading (HBL)
A house bill of lading is the B/L a freight forwarder or NVOCC issues to the shipper.
- Master Bill of Lading (MBL)
A master bill of lading is the B/L issued by the ocean carrier for the containers booked with it.
- Telex Release
A telex release lets cargo be collected at destination without an original B/L.
- Letter of Credit (L/C)
A letter of credit is the issuing bank's written undertaking to pay the seller once documents that comply with the credit's terms are presented, usually under the ICC's UCP 600 ru…
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