mate’s receipt- The mate’s receipt provides evidence in writing of the receipt of the cargo described therein on board of the ship. Normally the carrier demands the return of the mate’s receipt before a B/L is issued. The mate’s receipt may be used as evidence that its holder has remained in (constructive) possession of the goods.
ship’s manifest- The ship’s manifest is a document required by customs and border patrol agencies from the ship-owner listing all cargoes on board of a ship when departing from a given port. It provides evidence in writing and is usually drawn up by the ship’s officers.
voyage charter (v/c)- A voyage charter (party) constitutes evidence in writing of a contractual relation (the contract of affreightment for a voyage) between the (disponent) owner ship and the voyage charterer of a ship. Essentially it relates to a contract for the use of (the cargo holds of) a ship for the duration of a voyage from A to B.
sea waybill (w/b)- Like bills of lading, the sea way-bill is 1) a cargo receipt and 2) written evidence of the contract of carriage between the shipper and the carrier. However, unlike the B/L, the sea way-bill is not a document of title and must not be presented to the carrier.
delivery order (d/o)- A delivery order is an instruction to deliver the goods described in the delivery order to the person identified in the D/O upon presentation of the document. Delivery orders can be issued by the carrier (ship's D/O) or by the merchant (merchant's D/O). The carrier is not bound by a merchant's D/O unless he has accepted to be bound (under English bailment law, this is an 'attornment': an acknowledgment by the carrier (bailee) that he now holds the carried goods for the person identified in the D/O).
D/O's are used for different purposes:
- in some ports, the holder of the B/L has to surrender the B/L to the ship's agent and then receives a D/O in return, with which he can collect his goods ('Laissez-suivre', 'Laat-Volgen');
- D/O's can be used to split up a cargo between different parties;
- the holder of the B/L can use a D/O if he wants the cargo delivered to another person, but does not want, or can no longer endorse the B/L to that other person.
6. bill of lading (B/L)- A bill of lading combines four functions at once.
It is a cargo receipt which evidences of the fact that the carrier has taken over the goods for carriage (or even that the goods have been loaded on board) to the agreed destination and for delivery to the consignee.
It is written evidence of the contractual relation (contract of carriage) between the shipper and the carrier and of the ‘bill of lading contract’ between the carrier and subsequent holders of that B/L.
It is a document that gives its holder the exclusive right to claim delivery of the carried goods from the carrier. It is therefore a 'document of title' to the goods carried under this bill of lading, which allows property in these goods to be transferred or the goods to be pledged through a transfer/pledge of the bill of lading.
The original document (or at least one of the originals) must be presented to the carrier in order to obtain delivery of the cargo. It is not sufficient for the holder to simply prove that he is the holder, the physical document must be presented to the carrier ('presentation rule').
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