Types of Bill of Lading

 Classification of Bill of Lading | Types of Bill of Lading

Classification of Bill of Lading

The Bill of Lading can be divided based on different attributes.
Let us discuss the types of bills of lading. 
Based on carrier

1. Master Bill of Lading (MBL): Once goods are received by the shipping line/carrier and the vessel is sailed, the shipping line issues a Bill of Lading to the booking party (in case of direct booking, the booking party is the shipper, but if house B/L is involved then booking party will be a freight forwarder), that Bill of Lading is known as the Master Bill of Lading. 

2. House Bill of Lading (HBL): Once goods are received by the shipping line, and the vessel is sailed, the shipping line issues a Master Bill of Lading to the freight forwarder, and the freight forwarder issues a House Bill of Lading to the shipper. For each HBL there is an MBL.
Based on payment & condition of goods
3. Clean Bill of Lading: Carrier issues a Clean Bill of Lading once the goods are received in good condition, and there is no damage to the goods.
4. Claused Bill of Lading (Dirty Bill of Lading): If goods or containers are received in damaged condition, the carrier issues a bill of lading mentioning all details of the damages is known as a Claused or Dirty Bill of Lading.

Based on ownership of goods

5. Order Bill of Lading: The Bill of Lading which is consigned "To order," "To the order" or "To the order of ABC limited" is known as Order Bill of Lading. In the case of an Order Bill of Lading, ownership can be transferred to the third party by endorsing it on the backside of BL.

6. Bearer Bill of Lading: In the case of the Bearer Bill of Lading, whoever holds the physical Bill of Lading will be allowed to take the delivery. In the Bearer Bill of Lading, the consignee field is kept blank, or "Bearer" is mentioned in the consignee field.

7. Seawaybill: Seaway Bill is similar to a Bill of Lading, which acts as a Contract of Carriage and Receipt of the Goods, Seaway Bill confirms that the mentioned goods are loaded on the said vessel, and the same will be shipped from one place to another. But the Seaway Bill does not act as a Document of title, so it can not be used for negotiation with a bank, Seaway Bill can not be used if a Letter of credit is involved, in the case of Seaway Bill the ownership can not be transferred to the third party, the consignee is not required to submit original and endorsed copy of Seaway Bill to the carrier for taking delivery of goods, the carrier will identify the consignee, verify based on the details mentioned in the Seaway Bill and deliver the goods to the consignee.

Based on Vessel status

8. Received for Shipment Bill of Lading (RFS Bill of Lading): When the shipment is handed over to the carrier inside the port or terminal, but it's not yet loaded onto the vessel, in this point time if the shipper required that Bill of lading, carrier issues a Received for Shipment (RFS) Bill of Lading. RFS B/L only confirms that the goods are received by the carrier for loading onto the vessel but still need to load.

9. Shipped on board Bill of Lading (SOB Bill of Lading): After shipment is at port or terminal, loaded onto the vessel and the vessel is sailed, the carrier will issue a Shipped On Board Bill of Lading. The shipped On Board Bill of Lading confirms that the carrier received the goods and loaded them onto the vessel.

10. Stale Bill of Lading: A regular Bill of Lading is converted into the Stale Bill of Lading unless it is presented to the nominated bank within the presentation period.

Based on the type of transportation

11. Combined transport or Multimodal Bill of Lading: When more than one mode of transportation is involved in a shipment (e.g. rail and sea), the Bill of Lading issued for the entire shipment is known as a Multimodal Bill of Lading which is also known as Combined Transport Bill of Lading.

12. Through Bill of Lading: Through Bill of Lading is a Bill of Lading that covers the receipt of goods at the point of origin to the delivery of the same at the place of delivery, more than one mode of transport can be used.

13. Charter Party Bill of Lading: Mostly in bulk cargo, charterers hire the vessel from the ship-owners (terms and conditions are as per the Charter party contract) and handle all the operations. In this case, Charterer and shipper enter into an agreement named a "Contract of carriage," and the charterer issues a Charter Party Bill of Lading.

14. Ocean Bill of Lading: The Bill of Lading used for overseas transportation through international water is known as the Ocean Bill of Lading.

15. Direct Bill of Lading: Sometimes the vessel in which the goods are loaded in place of origin delivers the goods at the final place of destination, in this case, the Direct Bill of Lading is issued.

Based on post-issuance activities

16. Surrendered Bill of Lading: After the departure of the vessel, it takes 2-3 days to issue the Original Bill of Lading, after the shipper sends those documents to the consignee which takes another 3-5 days (depending on the distance), so as a whole it takes more than a week time for the documents to get delivered to the consignee. Now think, if the transit time is less than one week, the consignee will receive the Bill of lading after the arrival of the vessel which may lead to Demurrage/ Detention charges.

17. Switch Bill of Lading: Switch Bill of Lading or Switch B/L is the substitute for the first set of Bills of lading (original Bill of Lading) issued by the carrier or their agent. Switch B/L is the same as the original B/L, which serves the same purpose as the original B/L (first B/L).

If a trader (A) buys a product from a seller (B) and sells the same product to a customer (C) at a higher price (adding their margin), the cargo is shipped directly from the seller's (B) place to the customer (C). The original B/L will show B as the shipper and A as the consignee, but A wants to keep the identity of B to C private for apparent reasons. In this case, A will surrender the original B/L to the carrier or their agent and request a Switch B/L, carrier or agent will issue a new Bill of Lading, which shows A as the shipper & C as the customer, the new B/L is called as the Switch B/L. Switch B/L can be issued at any port of any country (comes in the vessel route) except the country of origin.