In order to ensure the safe handover of import and export goods, various documents need to be prepared during the entire transportation process. Each of these documents has its specific purpose, and they are interdependent. They not only link ship, port and cargo, but also distinguish their respective rights and business.


Introduce some main shipping documents according to actual business procedures.




BOOKING NOTE


Consignment note, commonly known as "unloading paper", is a document filled out by the shipper according to the terms of the trade contract and letter of credit and used by the carrier or its agent to handle the consignment of goods. According to the contents of the consignment note, the carrier will accept the consignment after considering the route, port of call, shipping date, shipping space and other conditions of the ship.


SHIPPING ORDER


A shipping order is a document issued to the shipper by the shipping company that has accepted the shipping application submitted by the shipper, by which the captain is ordered to ship the goods. The bill of lading can be used as the basis for shipment and one of the main documents by which the cargo owner can go through the declaration formalities for export goods with the customs. Therefore, the bill of lading is also called the "customs declaration". For the shipper, the bill of lading is the proof of completing the consignment of the goods. For the shipping company or its agent, the bill of lading is the instruction document informing the ship owner to accept the shipment of this batch of goods.


MATES RECEIPT


The receiving order, also known as the mate's receipt, is the receipt of the goods received by the ship and the evidence that the goods have been loaded on board. The Chief Mate on board shall sign the Chief Mate's receipt according to the date, number of pieces and shipping space endorsed on the tally sheet by the tally clerk and after checking with the shipping list. The shipper shall exchange the on board bill of lading with the carrier or its agent against the mate's receipt signed by the mate.


As the main items of the above three documents are basically the same, the practice of some major ports in China is to combine the consignment note, loading note, receipt note, freight notice, etc. into a document of up to nine copies. The functions of each copy are as follows: The first copy is reserved by the booking person for the purpose of preparing shipping documents. The second and third copies are the freight notice, one of which is kept, and the other is collected from the shipper with the account. The fourth copy of the shipping order can only be accepted and loaded by the ship after being stamped with the release seal by the customs. The fifth copy of the receipt and the sixth copy shall be kept at the bottom by the stowage personnel. The seventh and eighth copies are the shipping allocation receipt. The ninth page is the application for payment of port charges for export goods. After the goods are loaded on board, the port area shall collect port charges from the shipper.


BILL OF LADING


A bill of lading is a document of title to goods. The holder of the bill of lading can take delivery of the goods, or negotiate with the bank, or transfer the bill of lading before the ship arrives at the port of destination.


LOADING LIST


The loading list is a summary list of the loading list prepared by the carrier according to the bottom of the loading list, which classifies the goods to be loaded on the whole ship according to the port of destination and the nature of the goods, and is arranged in the order of voyage number and port arrival. Its contents include the number of the loading list, name of goods, number of pieces, packaging form, gross weight, estimated size, and the description of special goods' requirements or precautions for shipment. The loading list is the main basis for the chief mate on board to prepare the stowage plan, and it is also a business document for the on-site tally personnel to tally goods, the port side to arrange lightering, warehousing and unloading, and the carrier to master the situation.


Manifest


The manifest is a summary list of the goods carried by the whole ship according to the cargo port one by one. It is prepared by the shipping company according to the receipt or bill of lading after the goods are loaded on board. Its main contents include the details of the goods, the port of loading and unloading, bill of lading number, name of the ship, name of the shipper and consignee, mark number, etc. This form is used as a proof of the ship's carrying of the listed goods.

CARGO PLAN


The cargo stowage plan is prepared according to the actual loading of cargo. It is a reference for the ship to carry out cargo transportation, storage and unloading, and also a document for tally, berth arrangement and cargo entry at the unloading port.


DELIVERY ORDER


The bill of lading is the certificate that the consignee can take delivery of the goods from the port loading and unloading department in exchange for the carrier or its agent with the original bill of lading or the duplicate bill of lading and the effective guarantee.


Attachment: Type of bill of lading


SHIPPED OR BOARD B/L refers to the bill of lading issued by the carrier to the shipper that the goods have been loaded on board.


RECEIVED FOR SHIPPING B/L.


DIRECT B/L refers to the bill of lading issued when the goods are loaded at the port of loading and then directly sail to the port of discharge for unloading without changing ships.


Through bill of lading or transshipment bill of lading THROUGH B/L refers to the bill of lading issued by the carrier at the port of loading that can be transshipped midway to the port of destination.


Multimodal transport bill of lading MT B/L refers to the bill of lading applicable to the whole process of transportation signed by two or more modes of transport, such as sea, inland river, railway, highway and air.


Liner B/L Liner B/L is a ship that continuously carries cargo between specified ports on a certain route according to the published schedule. Liners can be divided into regular and irregular routes.


Charter Party B/L generally refers to the bill of lading signed by the shipowner to the charterer, or the bill of lading issued by the shipowner or charterer instead of all the charterer's goods.


Straight B/L Only the consignee named on the bill of lading can take delivery of the goods, and generally it is not negotiable.


The ORDER B/L of an order bill of lading usually has an unlisted instruction (only ORDER) and a listed instruction (ORDER OF SHIPPER or ORDER OF CONSIGNEE * * COMPANY; ORDER OF * * BANK). Such bill of lading can be transferred after being endorsed by the order holder.


The bearer B/L or OPEN B/L bill of lading does not contain any words of consignee or ORDER, that is, any holder of the bill of lading has the right to take delivery of the goods.


Clean B/L When the goods are delivered, they are in good condition on the surface, and the carrier has not added any remarks on damage, poor packaging or other obstacles to foreign exchange settlement when issuing the bill of lading.


Unclean B/L When the goods FOUL B/L are delivered, if the package and surface state are not firm and complete, the ship can make comments, which is called unclean B/L.


Parcel Bill of Lading PARCLE RECEIPT or NONNEGOTIABLE RECEIPT is applicable to a small amount of goods, baggage or samples.


Minimum freight bill of lading or minimum bill of lading