Bill of Lading for International Shipping Services

For moving companies the B/L is the customer receipt on his move. On international relocation there are 2 types of b/l, there is the house bill of lading and there is the ocean b/l. what is the difference?

The house bill of lading is provided to the agent overseas, and can be provided to the customer. Most shipping companies will no provide the bill of lading to customer after his full payments of invoice. The ocean bill of lading is between the shipping company and the shipping line, in the Terminology of services you can find who is a company that can issue an ocean bill of lading, brokers cannot.

The customer can collect the B/L from the company who is providing the service which isn’t necessary. It is only recommended on Door to Port services where the customer will require to clear customs on his own. The law requires that the mover prepare a Bill of Lading for every shipment.

Some important things to remember about your Bill of Lading:
• The information on a bill of lading is required to be exact about the shipping company and the consignee who is the receiver of goods on the other end.
• The bill of lading requires providing the shipping company sending your goods and the Shipping agent on the other end who would be receiving the shipment.
• The bill of lading must show the exact amount of goods as listed on your inventory.

If you have your bill of lading remember to keep the b/l with you where it will be readily available to you. You should also keep your original written contract agreement with your shipping company. These two important documents should always be kept together.

There are 13 items that your Bill of Lading must include. These items are:

1. Who is the Shipper name and address & tell from where it’s shipped from.
2. Consigned to Order Of – who is the receiver on the other end
3. Notify Party - The name, address, and telephone number must contact in relation to the transportation of the shipment.
4. Vessel-Voyage No. – Name of vessel the goods where loaded on.
5. Port of Loading – it must be indicated on the b/l from what port the shipment was loaded and the loading date.
6. Port of Discharge – The port which the shipment will arrive to and be cleared from, including the ETA of shipment to the port.
7. Container # -  if your shipment is in a consolidated or containerized the number of container must be present on the b/l
8. Full description of goods – The Company must provide the B/L with a full description of goods loaded on container, number of pcs, type, and number of packages.
9. On vehicles - The identification vin number(s) of the vehicle(s) in which are loaded onto container
10. Place and date where the b/l was issued
11. The gross weight of shipment
12. Special remarks – The shipping company need to advise the notify part for special instructions if needed.
13. Each attachment to the bill of lading. Each attachment is an integral part of the bill of lading contract. The following two items must be added as

 

attachments:
 •  The contract.
 •  The inventory

 

A shipping company and not a broker will issue there on b/l, other companies will issue the b/l under a freight forwarder or by a third party. Once you have you shipping company who is licensed by the FMC under NOV or FF. (see Terminology of services page) Who can issue the b/l under there company and not by third party you know you are using the right company who will have full knowledge and information up to date to track of your shipment.