Bill of Lading (BOL):

A bill of lading in shipping is a record of the traded goods which have been received on board. It is a document that establishes an agreement between a shipper and a transportation company for the transportation of goods. Carrier issues these records to the shipper.

A bill of lading indicates a particular carrier through which the goods have been transported to their final destination and the conditions for transporting the shipments to its final destination. Land, Ocean and Air are the means used for bill of lading.

It is also a receipt for the cargo being shipped, which contain the shipment details and their parties involved. It may also act as a legal transportation contract. 

For vessels, there are two types of bill of lading:

 A straight bill of lading, which is non-negotiable and negotiable or shippers's order bill of lading. The later can be bought, traded or sold while the goods are in transit. The customer usually needs an  original as proof  of ownership to take possession of goods.

There is also liner bill of lading with no pre-printed terms and conditions on it's back side, instead relationship between the carrier and the shipper should be governed by the carrier's standard condition of carriage.

Order bill of lading is the bill uses express words to make the bill negotiable. This means that delivery is to be made to the further order to the consignee using words such as " delivery to A Ltd. or to order or to assigns. The cargo is only delivered to the bonafide holder of the bill of lading, and it has to be verified by an agent who issues delivery order and the verified bill of lading

- is the most modern type bill which is widely used all over the         world.

- ensures the safety of delivery of cargo to a bonafide holder of   B/L.

- since ship visits several foreign ports where the language,   practice, procedures may be different, the master might be inconvenienced during the delivery of the cargo.People might fraudulently collect the cargo.

- to overcome this difficulty and avoid future claims and litigation, the consignee or the holder is required to surrender the bill of lading to the ship's agent at the discharge port who will verify the genuineness the bill of lading. When satisfied, the agent will issue the delivery order and the verified bill of lading. Now any person can collect the cargo from the ship by surrendering the bill of lading and delivery note to the ship.

All goods which have not been paid in advance and shipped under "To Order" of the bill of lading can be categorized into two types:

1.  To Order, Blank Endorsed: 

     Not consigned to any named party "To Order" of consignor with the intended-consignee's name given under notify party. The consignor must sign and stamp (endorse) this bill of lading so that it's title can be transferred.

2.   To Order, Bank:

       Consigned to a bank with the intended consignee's name given under notify party. The bank endorses the B/L to the intended consignee against payment of (or a pledge to pay) the amount of the accompanying bill of exchange 'To order B/Ls are used commonly in the letter of credit transactions and may be bought, sold or traded or used as security for borrowing money from the bank or landers.

Bill of lading on the basis of method of operation:

1. Received for shipment B/L - This B/L is sent from agent/charter      to shipper. The endorsement of this bill ensures that the carrier        has received goods but does not confirm it is on board of the            assigned vessel.

2. Shipper B/L - This B/L is issued when cargo is loaded on                 board. It binds the ship owner and shipper directly.

3. A clean B/L - Is one which states that the cargo has been loaded      on board the ship in apparent good order and condition. Such          B/L will not bear any clause or notation which expressively              declares a defective condition of goods and/or the packing. The        opposite term is a soiled B/L. It reflects that the goods were              received by a carrier in anything but good condition.

4. Through B/L - This B/L is a legal document that allows for             direct delivery of cargo from point A to point B. The bill                 allows  the transportation of goods both within domestic border       and through international shipments as it serves as receipt of             cargo, a contract of carriage and sometimes title of the product         as well.

5.  Combined transport B/L - This bill gives information about           cargo being transported  in large containers by sea and land i.e         through multi modal transport.

6.  Dirty B/L - If a shipper raises an objection about the condition         of the cargo is in good order, he/she can include a clause                   thereby causing the B/L to be "claused or dirty" along with               the remark as per the finding of the cargo condition. E.g torn           packing, broken cargo, shortage in the quantity of the goods etc.

THE B/L COMPRISES THE FOLLOWING DETAILS:

1. The complete name and official address of the receiver and shipper.
2. The purchase order or reference/invoice nos. which helps the shipper and the consignee to release the goods for pickup or accepted at delivery.
3. The date and the pickup acts as a reference to track a freight.
4. The details of the items including the nos. and units being shipped, and weight and dimensions of the product along with the nature of the cargo carried e.g. dangerous goods etc.
5. If the goods are hazardous, department for transportation for hazardous material designation is tagged, ans it is cited on the bill to follow special rules and regulations
6. The details of packaging used such as crates, plates, cartons, pills, drums etc.
7. Any special notes or instructions for the carrier.

   B/L TRACKING:

Different companies use different B/L which makes it difficult to track them unless a specific tracking service is provided by the carrier. There are few companies which tie up with the shipping carriers to track the B/L for easy trade.