A bill of lading refers to a document that proves that the contract of carriage of goods by sea and the goods have been received or loaded by the carrier, and the carrier keeps the evidence of delivery of the goods. The clauses in the bill of lading about delivering the goods to the named person, or delivering the goods according to the instructions, or delivering the goods to the holder of the bill of lading constitute the guarantee on which the carrier delivers the goods. Then, the contents and main terms of the ocean bill of lading I have compiled are welcome to read and browse.

(1) contents on the front of the bill of lading

At present, although the bill of lading formulated by various shipping companies is not exactly the same in format, the contents are similar. Introduction is as follows:

1. Necessary records

According to the provisions of Article 73 of China's Maritime Law, the front contents of the bill of lading generally include the following items:

(1) Name of goods, marks, number of packages or pieces, weight or volume, description of dangerous nature when transporting dangerous goods:

(Description, marking, number of packages or pieces, weight or quantity of the goods, and description of the dangerous nature of the goods (if applicable);

(2) The name and principal place of business of the carrier.

(3) Name of the ship;

(4) The name of the shipper;

(5) The name of the consignee;

(6) The port of loading and the date when the carrier received the goods at the port of loading;

(7) Port of discharge;

(8) Add the place where the goods are received and the place where the goods are delivered in the multimodal bill of lading.

(nine) the date and place of issuing the bill of lading and the number of original copies issued;

(10) Freight payment;

Signature of the carrier or the person responsible for its actions.

The absence of one or more of the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not affect the nature of the bill of lading, but the bill of lading shall comply with the provisions of Article 71 of this Law.

The above provisions show that the absence of one or more items does not affect the legal status of the bill of lading, but it must comply with the provisions of the maritime law on the definition and function of the bill of lading. When issuing a multimodal bill of lading inland, the name of the ship mentioned in item 3 above is excluded; When issuing ocean bill of lading, the receiving place and delivery place of multimodal bill of lading and the payment of freight are three items, and the other eight items are essential. At present, the contents of bills of lading formulated by shipping companies are similar to this.

2. The provisions of international conventions on the necessary clauses of bills of lading.

According to the third paragraph of Article 3 of The Hague Rules, after receiving the goods, the carrier, the captain or the agent of the carrier shall, at the request of the shipper, issue a bill of lading to the shipper, which includes:

(1) The main marks required to identify the goods are the same as those provided by the shipper in writing before the start of loading;

(2) The number of pieces, pieces, quantity or weight provided by the shipper in writing;

(3) the surface condition of the goods.

In addition, the fourth paragraph of Article 3 of The Hague Rules also stipulates that this bill of lading, as the carrier, has received the preliminary evidence of the goods contained in the bill of lading in accordance with the provisions of the third paragraph (1), (2) and (3). ?

The Visby Rules, which revised The Hague Rules, did not modify the necessary matters stipulated in The Hague Rules, but modified the evidential effect of these matters, stipulating: However, when the bill of lading has been transferred to a bona fide third party, the contrary evidence shall not be adopted. ? This supplement to the evidential effect stipulated in The Hague Rules legally imposes an obligation on the carrier, that is, for a bona fide third party, the carrier shall be responsible for the matters related to the goods recorded in the bill of lading, and cannot take the fact that the goods have not been shipped as a defense. In this way, the cargo record on the bill of lading becomes the final evidence of receiving goods according to the contents of the bill of lading.

The Hamburg Rules specify in detail the contents that must be recorded in the bill of lading. In clause 15 1, * * lists the items that 15 must record:

(1) Name of the goods, marks, number of packages or pieces, or weight or quantity expressed in other ways. If it is dangerous goods, clearly state its dangerous nature, which are provided by the shipper;

(2) the appearance of the goods;

(3) The name of the carrier and the location of its main business office;

(4) The name of the shipper;

(5) If the shipper designates the consignee, the name of the consignee;

(6) The port of loading and the date when the carrier receives the goods at the port of loading as stipulated in the maritime transport contract;

(7) the port of discharge stipulated in the contract of carriage by sea;

(8) If there is more than one original bill of lading, the number of original bills of lading;

(9) The place where the bill of lading is issued.

(10) Signature of the carrier and its representative;

(1 1) The amount of freight payable by the consignee, or other instructions that the freight should be paid by the consignee;

(12) declares that the transportation of goods should comply with the provisions of the Rules, and any clause that deviates from this point and is unfavorable to the shipper or consignee is invalid;

(13) A statement that the goods should or can be shipped on deck;

(14) The date or time limit for delivery of the goods at the port of discharge clearly agreed by the carrier and the shipper;

(15) The carrier's liability limit agreed between the carrier and the shipper is higher than this rule.

Paragraph 3 of article 15 of Hamburg Rules also stipulates that the omission of one or more items specified in this article in the bill of lading does not affect the legal nature of the document as a bill of lading, but the document must meet the requirements specified in paragraph 7 of article 1 (definition of bill of lading). ?

With regard to the evidential validity of the necessary items in the bill of lading, article 16 of Hamburg Rules has the same provisions as those of Visby Rules. That is, the carrier has issued a bill of lading, and considers the goods mentioned in the bill of lading to be preliminary evidence of shipment. When the bill of lading is transferred to a bona fide third party, including the consignee, the contents recorded in the bill of lading have the effect of final evidence.

3. Ordinary records

(1) Matters recorded by the carrier due to business needs, such as voyage number, captain's name, time and place of freight payment, exchange rate, bill of lading number, notifier, etc.

(2) recording the matters that distinguish the responsibilities of the carrier and the shipper; Such as opinions on quantity disputes; Increase the content of reducing or exempting the carrier's liability; In order to expand or emphasize the exemption clause printed on the bill of lading; For some special goods that are easy to be damaged, the seal stamped by the carrier on the bill of lading to exempt such damage liability, etc.

(3) The carrier's exemption clause and the shipper's commitment clause, such as the lower right three paragraphs on the front of COSCO Bill of Lading:

①? The above-mentioned goods with good appearance (unless otherwise specified) have been loaded on the above-mentioned ship, and the goods shall be unloaded at the above-mentioned unloading port or the nearby place where the ship can safely reach and keep floating. ? The weight, size, mark, quantity, quality, content and value are provided by the shipper, and the carrier did not check them when loading. The shipper, the consignee and the holder of this bill of lading hereby expressly accept and agree to all printing, writing or printing regulations, exemptions and conditions contained in this bill of lading and its back. ?

②? In order to prove the above situation, the carrier or his agent has signed this bill of lading (in several copies), one of which will become invalid after completing the delivery procedures. ?

③? Please pay special attention to the exemption clauses and conditions related to the validity of cargo insurance in this bill of lading. ?

According to the provisions of Article 77 of China's Maritime Law, unless the carrier makes reservations in accordance with relevant regulations, the bill of lading issued by the carrier or the person who issues the bill of lading on its behalf is the preliminary evidence that the carrier has received the goods or that the goods have been loaded on board according to the conditions specified in the bill of lading; The evidence presented by the carrier to a third party, including the consignee who accepted the bill of lading in good faith, will not be recognized.

The Hague? There are similar provisions in the Visby Rules and Hamburg Rules, which stipulate the evidential effect of the items recorded in the bill of lading. In view of the above provisions, if the actual condition of the goods is inconsistent with that recorded in the bill of lading when unloading at the port of destination, the carrier shall be liable for the losses caused to the consignee, unless otherwise stipulated by law. As long as the carrier can prove that the above inconsistency is caused by the shipper, it can claim compensation from the shipper.

(2) Back clause of bill of lading

The clauses on the back of the bill of lading, as the basis for supporting the rights and obligations of both parties, range from more than 30 to more than 20. These clauses are generally divided into mandatory clauses and arbitrary clauses. The contents of the mandatory provisions shall not violate the laws of relevant countries, international conventions and port practices. Chapter 4 of China's Maritime Law clearly stipulates in Article 44 of the contract of carriage of goods by sea: The clauses in the contract of carriage of goods by sea and the bill of lading or other transport documents as evidence of the contract that violate the provisions of this chapter are invalid. ? Paragraph 8 of Article 3 of The Hague Rules stipulates that any clause, agreement or agreement in the contract of carriage that exempts the carrier or the ship from loss or damage caused by negligence, fault or failure to perform the responsibilities and obligations stipulated in this Article or related to the goods, or mitigates such responsibilities in other ways than those stipulated in these Rules, shall be null and void. ? The above clauses are mandatory clauses of the bill of lading.

In addition to the mandatory clauses, the arbitrary clauses on the back of the bill of lading, that is, the clauses that are not clearly stipulated in the above-mentioned laws and international conventions and are allowed to be drawn up by the carrier, and the clauses added by the carrier on the back of the bill of lading in the form of printing, engraving, typing or handwriting, which are applicable to some specific ports or special goods, or the clauses required by the shipper. All these clauses indicate the rights, obligations, responsibilities and exemptions between the carrier and the shipper, consignee or holder of bill of lading, and are the basis for resolving disputes between them. Although the terms on the back of various bills of lading are different in quantity and content, there are usually the following main terms:

1. Definition

Definition clause is a clause that clearly defines the meaning and scope of terms or laws and regulations related to bill of lading. Article 1 of COSCO Bill of Lading stipulates that merchants include shipper, consignee, consignor, consignee, bill of lading holder and cargo owner.

In the practice of international trade, there is no objection that the parties to the bill of lading should be the carrier and the shipper. However, whether it is a trade contract concluded on FOB, CIF or CFR, according to the usual practice, once the goods cross the ship's rail at the loading port, the risks and responsibilities are transferred to the consignee or a third party as the buyer. If the goods are lost or damaged during transportation, it is no longer the shipper who claims compensation from the carrier, but the consignee or a third party. In this case, if only the shipper is regarded as a party to the contract, the consignee or the third party will not be a party to the contract and have no right to claim compensation from the carrier. In order to solve this contradiction, Article 1 of British Bill of Lading Law 1855 stipulates that when the bill of lading is transferred to the endorsee or consignee by endorsement, the endorsee or consignee should replace the shipper as an endorser and become a party to the contract, because the definition clauses in The Hague Rules do not involve? Cargo side? The British bill of lading law makes up for this deficiency, and all shipping companies put it into the bill of lading. Cargo side? As a definition clause.

2. Supreme clause

The first clause is printed on the top of the bill of lading according to the carrier's own wishes, and is usually listed as the first clause of the bill of lading to make it clear that the bill of lading is bound by international conventions or applicable to the laws of a certain country. Is it usually stipulated that the bill of lading should be governed by The Hague Rules or The Hague? The Visby Rules or domestic laws that adopt the above rules, such as British Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 197 1 and American Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1936. For example, Article 3 of COSCO Bill of Lading before the implementation of China's Maritime Law stipulates that the obligations, responsibilities, rights and immunities of the carrier shall be governed by The Hague Rules, that is,1International Convention for the Unification of Certain Provisions on Bill of Lading signed in Brussels on August 25th, 924. ? At present, COSCO Bill of Lading is governed by the laws of People's Republic of China (PRC).

The first item appeared on the bill of lading, which was adopted by the parties? Autonomy of will? In a sense, the principle expands the scope of application of international conventions or domestic laws. Courts in various countries usually recognize the validity of major clauses.

3. Jurisdiction clause

In the procedural law, jurisdiction refers to the scope of accepting cases and the authority to handle cases. In this case, it refers to the country where the dispute between the two parties is exercised, that is, the court of which country will try the case of which country, and sometimes the applicable law for the court to solve the dispute is stipulated. Generally, there will be such a clause in the bill of lading, which usually stipulates that disputes arising from the bill of lading shall be exercised by the court of the country where the shipowner is located.

For example, the bill of lading of China COSCO Company stipulates that this bill of lading shall be governed by People's Republic of China (PRC). All disputes under or in connection with this bill of lading shall be decided in accordance with the laws of People's Republic of China (PRC); All legal proceedings against the carrier shall be submitted to the maritime court where the company is located? The maritime courts in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao and Dalian accepted the case.

Strictly speaking, he said, this clause is a combination of jurisdiction clause and applicable law clause.

The validity of the jurisdiction of bill of lading varies from country to country, and some countries regard it as the jurisdiction of agreement and recognize its validity. However, more countries deny its validity on the grounds of inconvenient litigation, or the clause lightens the carrier's responsibility, and claims that their courts have jurisdiction over the disputed cases caused by the bill of lading according to their own procedural laws. Some countries adopt the principle of reciprocity to determine whether it is effective.

The new york Convention and the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards from 65438 to 0958 have been recognized by more than 90 countries, and China is also a party to it. Is it included in the ocean bill of lading? Arbitration clause? Arbitration has replaced litigation, and its award can be recognized and enforced in many States parties to the convention. Therefore, arbitration is a modern way to solve disputes.

4. Carrier's liability clause

Some bills of lading have carrier liability clauses, which stipulate the responsibilities and exemptions that the carrier should bear in the transportation of goods. Generally speaking, according to any law or convention, if the bill of lading has the first clause, there is no need to formulate another carrier's liability clause. Article 3 of COSCO Bill of Lading, Article 4 of Sinotrans Bill of Lading and Article 3 of Huaxia Bill of Lading all stipulate that the division of rights and responsibilities and exemption shall be based on The Hague Rules or applicable. According to this provision, not all the provisions of The Hague Rules are applicable to the bill of lading, but only the provisions on the obligations, rights and immunities of the carrier are applicable to the bill of lading.

The carrier's responsibility in The Hague Rules can be summarized as the carrier's responsibility (obligation) to ensure the seaworthiness of the ship and the responsibility to manage the goods, that is, the carrier should? Is it suitable? With what? Cautious? Effectively manage goods.

5. The carrier's liability period clause (liability period)

There is no separate provision on the carrier's liability period in The Hague Rules, so the bill of lading clauses of all shipping companies include the terms of the beginning and ending time of the carrier's cargo transportation responsibility.

Article 4 of cosco bill of lading stipulates:? The period of responsibility of the carrier shall be from the time of loading the goods to the time of unloading them. The carrier is not responsible for the loss or damage of the goods before loading and after unloading. ?

The first rule of The Hague Rules? Define terms? For what? Freight? What is the definition of (cargo transportation)? Including the time from loading to unloading? .

What are the provisions of the above-mentioned liability period and existing liner transportation? Centralized delivery of warehouse receipts? And then what? Centralized unloading, warehouse delivery? The delivery of goods is not appropriate. So, the laws of some countries, such as the United States? Hart method? Hart law stipulates that the carrier's liability period is from the time of receipt to the time of delivery. According to Hamburg Rules, the carrier's period of responsibility includes the whole period during which the goods are under the control of the carrier at the port of loading, during transportation and at the port of discharge. During the carrier's liability period stipulated in China's Maritime Law, container goods are the same as Hamburg Rules and groceries are the same as Hague Rules.

6. Terms of loading, unloading and delivery (loading, unloading and delivery)

This clause refers to the provisions on the shipper's obligation to provide goods at the loading port and the consignee's obligation to pick up the goods at the unloading port. This clause generally stipulates that the shipper shall provide or pick up the goods day and night at the fastest speed that the ship can load and unload; Otherwise, the cargo party shall bear all expenses arising from the violation of this regulation, such as the loss of waiting time of stevedores, port charges and demurrage charges. It should be noted that this article is difficult to implement. Because there is no charter party and loading and unloading period, it is difficult to charge demurrage. The carrier has issued the bill of lading. If the voyage is short and the goods arrive before the documents, the consignee can't pick up the goods with the documents, and the carrier will still be responsible for the unloading and storage of the goods, so it is difficult to shirk the responsibility of continuing to perform the contract. If the consignee fails to pick up the goods in time, the carrier may unload the goods at the dock or store them in the warehouse, and all risks and expenses after unloading the goods shall be borne by the consignee.

The carrier shall be deemed to have fulfilled its obligation to deliver the goods.

The carrier shall bear the expenses of loading and unloading the goods, but the expenses before and after loading and unloading the goods shall be borne by the shipper and the consignee. However, the bearing of expenses is often related to the provisions of the carrier's responsibility period. Unless otherwise agreed by both parties, such agreement shall prevail. Usually, there are no other clauses in the bill of lading, which stipulate that when the ship arrives at the port according to the port customs or restricted by the port conditions, it cannot or is not allowed to dock at the port to load and unload the goods, and the responsibility shall not be borne by the carrier, and the expenses for transshipment of the goods inside or outside the port shall be borne by the shipper or consignee.

7. Freight and other expenses clauses

This clause usually stipulates that the shipper or consignee shall pay the freight according to the amount, currency name, calculation method, payment method and time recorded on the front of the bill of lading, and other expenses incurred from the time of loading to the time of delivery, and the freight will not be refunded after collection. Article 6 of COSCO Bill of Lading and Article 8 of Sinotrans Bill of Lading stipulate that freight and expenses shall be prepaid before shipment. When the goods arrive at the port of destination, the freight must be paid before delivery. No matter whether it is prepaid or landed, the damage or loss of one of the ships or goods shall be paid to the carrier in full without exception and shall not be returned or deducted. All taxes or any fees related to the goods shall be paid by the goods.

In addition, the clause also stipulates that if the goods to be shipped are perishable goods, low-value goods, live animals (live animals), deck goods and goods for which the carrier has no agent at the port of discharge, the freight and related expenses shall be paid in advance.

Usually, this clause also stipulates that the shipper has an absolute obligation to pay the freight. Even if the ship or cargo is lost or damaged during the voyage, the owner shall still pay the full freight to the carrier. If the loss or damage of the goods is the responsibility of the carrier, the goods may claim compensation from the carrier for part of the loss.

8. Free transhipment clause

Transportation, forwarding, combined transport and transshipment are referred to as free transshipment. This clause stipulates that, if necessary, the carrier can take all reasonable measures at will to complete the transportation of the goods, change the route or port at will or deliver the goods to ships owned or owned by the carrier, or transport them directly or indirectly to the port of destination by rail or other modes of transportation, or transport them to the port of destination for long distance, transshipment, container loading, unloading, onshore or water storage and re-shipment, all at the carrier's risk. The carrier's liability is limited to the part of the transport completed by the ship it operates, and shall not be regarded as a breach of the contract of carriage.

For example, article 13 of cosco bill of lading and article 14 of sinotrans bill of lading have all made the above provisions. This is a free transshipment clause to protect the carrier's rights and interests. When the ship fails to carry, or the port of destination is temporarily crowded, or the port of destination goes on strike, etc. It is unreasonable for the carrier to use another ship or transfer it to the port of destination by other modes of transportation, or to change the port and unload it and then transfer it to the port of destination. The expenses shall be borne by the carrier, but the risks shall be borne by the cargo side. Article 91 of China's Maritime Law stipulates that when the ship cannot unload at the agreed destination port due to force majeure or reasons not attributable to the carrier, the captain has the right to unload at a safe port nearby, which is regarded as the performance of the contract; Otherwise, if the carrier is responsible for transporting the goods to the port of destination and handing over part of the transportation to the actual carrier, the carrier shall also be responsible for this.

9. Option clause

Port selection clause (also called selective delivery clause) usually stipulates that the consignee can choose the port of discharge only if there is an agreement between the carrier and the shipper before shipment and it is indicated in the bill of lading. The consignee shall notify the carrier's agent at the first port indicated on the bill of lading in writing a few hours before the ship arrives at the first port indicated on the bill of lading. Otherwise, the carrier has the right to discharge the goods at this port or any other alternative port, and the contract of carriage is deemed to have been fulfilled. Some bills of lading stipulate that if the consignee fails to choose the unloading port according to the above requirements, the carrier has the right to transport the goods to the final destination port of the ship, and the risks and expenses shall be borne by the shipper and the consignee. When a ship transports goods at a selected port, the consignee is generally required to unload all the goods at the selected unloading port.

10. Liability limit.

The carrier's liability limit refers to the amount of compensation that the carrier should pay for the loss or damage of the goods, and the maximum amount of compensation that the carrier should pay for each piece or unit of goods.

The bill of lading shall stipulate the carrier's liability limit for loss of or damage to the goods in accordance with applicable domestic laws or international conventions. However, before the carrier accepts the goods, if the price of the goods declared by the shipper in writing is higher than the limit and has been filled in the bill of lading, and the freight is charged according to the regulations, it shall be calculated according to the declared value. If there are international conventions or domestic laws in the main provisions, they shall be handled in accordance with the conventions or domestic laws. For example, Article 12 of COSCO Bill of Lading stipulates that when the carrier is responsible for the loss or damage of the goods, the amount of compensation shall be calculated with reference to the net price of the goods plus freight and the insurance premium paid; At the same time, it is also stipulated that although Article 3 of this bill of lading stipulates that the carrier's liability for loss of or damage to the goods shall not exceed 700 yuan RMB per package or per billing unit, the price declared by the shipper in writing before the carrier accepts the goods is higher than this limit, except that the bill of lading has been filled out and the extra freight has been paid according to the regulations.

1 1. Dangerous goods.

This clause stipulates that the shipper must correctly declare the nature of dangerous goods and indicate the signs and labels of dangerous goods. If the shipper fails to inform the carrier of the nature of the dangerous goods in writing in advance and fails to indicate the appearance of the goods in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and regulations, it shall not be shipped; Otherwise, once found, the carrier has the right to make it harmless, abandon or unload the ship, or dispose of it in other ways for the safety of the goods. The shipper and consignee shall be responsible for any loss or damage caused to the carrier by dangerous goods that are not shipped according to the above requirements. When the dangerous goods shipped by the shipper as required endanger the safety of the ship or goods, the carrier still has the right to make them harmless, abandon or unload them or dispose of them in other ways.

If the bill of lading stipulates the Hague rules or The Hague? There is no need to make this provision in the Visby Rules or the corresponding domestic laws.

12. Deck cargo

Since the Hague Rules do not regard deck goods and live animals as goods transported by sea, it is generally stipulated in the bill of lading that the goods should bear the risks of receiving, loading, transporting, keeping and unloading these goods, and the carrier is not responsible for the loss or damage of the goods.

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