PART 1

Transport documents commonly used in international trade

1. CMR Document (Road Waybill): It is an international consignment note used by
operators for carriage of goods by roads internationally. It is not a document of title and
so is non-negotiable. It confirms the receipt of goods by the carrier in good condition
unless otherwise specified. It is prepared by the exporter and the freight forwarder and is
addressed to the importer and the carrier. The consigner, the carrier, and the consignee
all need to sign on the form when they prepare/receive it. The exporter is responsible for
its accuracy though it will normally be complete by the carrier.
2. CIM Document (Rail Waybill): It is an international consignment note used by carriers
for carriage of goods by rail internationally. Only the top half of the document is used for
information about the goods and transportation; the bottom section is used during
carriage as various railway companies enter charges and exchange rates. The
conditions of this document lay down the carrier as responsible for the loss/damage of
goods from the time he takes possession till its delivery.
3. Sea Waybill: It is used for sea transport. It is a non-negotiable receipt for the goods
loaded aboard the vessel. It is not a document of title. The consignee does not need to
present any copy of this document while receiving the goods but only needs to establish
itself as the party mentioned in the document. The shipper is in control of the goods until
the very last moment before delivery and may change the delivery instructions as
mentioned in the contract of carriage. Banks involved in documentary credit sales do not
allow the use of this document since goods are likely to be resold more than once in
transit.
4. Master Bill of Lading: It is also called an Ocean BL. It is a negotiable document of title
(except the straight BL). It is a receipt of merchandise and a contract to deliver it as
freight. It is issued in 3 originals by the carrier to the shipper. The holder has the right of
possession of the goods and shipping lines have to deliver the goods upon receipt of
one original of the document. The consignee has to present an original copy to the
carrier in order to take possession of the goods. Here the shipper will usually be the
NVOCC operator or an agent of theirs or the FF and the consignee will usually be the
destination agent or counterpart office of the NVOCC operator or the FF.
a. Straight Bill of Lading: It is non-negotiable (or negotiable only once from the
original consignor to the named consignee). It is different from a sea waybill in

the fact that it needs to be presented by the consignee to the carrier at the place
of delivery in order to take possession of the goods. The laws of some countries
provide that the delivery of goods represented by a Straight BL can be made to
the nominated consignee without surrender of any documentation, by simply
upon production of proof of identity.
b. Order Bill of Lading: It is a BL which consigns the goods to the order of a
specified person (it may even be the seller itself or the sellers bank) like to the
order of ABC Co. or assigns. The seller might transfer the right of the possession
of the goods to the buyer once the payment has been made. This document can
be negotiated by endorsement and delivery. One of the originals of this BL must
be submitted to the carrier at the port of discharge.
c. Bearer Bill of Lading: It is a BL hat may take a number of forms. It may state to
bearer or may mention no consignee. It may also be an order BL that does not
mention to whose order it has been made. It can also be a BL endorsed in blank
when it is simply signed by the holder without specifying for whom they are
intended. This BL is transferred by simple delivery. The last such bearer must
present it to the carrier in order to take delivery of the goods.
5. House Bill of Lading: It is issued by the NVOCC operator or the freight forwarder to the
consignor. This is generally done when a single container is carrying goods shipped by
multiple freight forwards on behalf of their respective consignors. When issued for an
FCL (Full Container Load) shipment (i.e., non-groupage), an HBL should be an exact
replica of the MBL issued by the shipping line in all respects except the shipper,
consignee and notify party details. Here, the shipper will be the actual exporter of the
cargo and the consignee will be the actual importer of the cargo. Unless disallowed by
the LC, the HBL is also treated as a negotiable document and can be considered to fulfill
the roles of a BL.
6. Multimodal Bill of Lading: It is also referred to as a Combined BL. It is used when the
carriage of goods involve more than one modes of transport, for e.g., ay combination of
sea, air, road, and rail transport. It can be issued either as a negotiable form or as a nonnegotiable form indicating a named consignee. When it is issued to order, it becomes a
title of ownership of the goods and so can be negotiated. It is issued by the principal
carrier or the freight forwarder and has full liability by contract carriage over all modes of
transport for the entire journey.
7. Transshipment Bill of Lading: It is used when the shipping company does not have
direct service from the consignors port to the consignees port or there is no direct link
between the ports or where the intended port of entry is blocked or the identity of the

port or country of origin is to be hidden. The cargo needs to be transshipped through an

intermediate port. In such cases all transshipment expenses are borne by the ship
owner. Because transshipment exposes the consignment to a higher probability of
damage or loss, some purchase orders or LCs usually prohibit it.
8. Charter Party Bill of Lading: It is used when a shipper or a group of shippers arrange
to charter their goods to the final destination through a charter vessel. This vessel is
supposed to transport the goods exclusively for such shipper(s). The charterer who
charters this ship issues this BL as a document of title and a proof of receipt of goods.
Banks generally avoid entertaining this BL because it is subject to charter party
agreements between the charterer and the owner of the ship and as a result owners
often have the right to lay claim to the cargo aboard the ship in case of any dispute with
the charterer.
9. Through Bill of Lading: It is also used in the event of more than one modes of
transport. It is almost identical to the multimodal BL. The one major difference is that the
carrier issuing this document takes responsibility of goods for carriage only through that
part of the journey (i.e., using one mode of transport, usually one which is undertaken on
land) which it undertakes.
10. Clean Bill of Lading: It is a BL which states in apparent good order and condition in
unmodified form and without any defects, with reference to the cargo. It is issued after
thoroughly inspecting the goods for any damage, missing quantities or deviation in
specified quality. By issuing this document, the ship-owner admits full liability of the
cargo. This type of BL is favored by banks for financial settlement purposes.
11. Claused Bill of Lading: It is also referred to as a foul/dirty/unclean BL. In case the
cargo is not is perfect condition and shows a shortfall or damage, the ship-owner adds a
clause to the BL to this effect. It can also be labeled so if the consignment deviates from
delivery specifications or expected quality or the ship agent does not agree with one or
more statements mentioned on the BL. For e.g., if the BL shows something like three
cartons missing or unprotected machinery or damaged crates, the ship master will
mention this as a clause in the BL. This is done to reduce ship-owners liability. An
exporter may face difficulty if the BL is adorned with a clause since it is usually not
accepted by banks for LC negotiation or discounting.
12. Stale Bill of Lading: This is a BL which is presented to the consignee or at a bank after
the last date specified in the relevant LC and is as a result not accepted as a valid
document. A BL is generally rejected if it is presented more than 21 days after the arrival
of the shipment. A BL which is issued long after the cargo has been loaded aboard the
vessel is also called a Stale BL.

13. Master Air Waybill: It is used for air transport. It is non-negotiable and covers transport
of cargo between airports. It must name a consignee and is not a document of title;
hence, it is not required to be issued to order and/or to be endorsed. It is issued by the
transport agent and is addressed to the consignor, the consignee and the airline. The
consignee has to produce an original copy of the document to the shipping company in
order to claim the goods. In order to maintain some control over their goods in the
absence of advance payment, consignors often consign their goods to their sales agent
of the freight forwarders agent in the buyers country.
14. House Air Waybill: It is issued by the freight forwarder to the consignor. This is
generally done when the aircraft is carrying goods on behalf of multiple freight
forwarders. The carrier issues the Mater AWB to the FFs and each FF in turn issues a
House AWB to its consignor.
15. Delivery Note: It is a document accompanying the shipment of goods that lists the
description and quantity of goods being delivered. A copy of this document signed by the
consignee is returned to the consignor as proof of delivery. It serves two functions for the
exporter: justifying the removal of products from its store and proof credit delivery to the
importer.