how an ocean bill of lading works
an ocean bill of lading allows the shipper to move goods across international waters this document or contract provides the specifics involving the nature of the shipment including what and how much material is being transported along with where the goods will be shipped other information outlined in the contract includes the value of the goods shipped and the type of packing used during transport the shipper receives the contract when the goods are picked up the document must be signed by both the shipper and the carrier once the shipment is complete the document is given to the receiver upon delivery and receipt the receiver must also sign the contract if a shipper has not sold the goods before they arrive the bill of lading is a blank endorsement considered negotiable and the receiver s line may read to order of there is an additional document known as an inland bill of lading that is required if the goods are to be transported first over land this inland bill only allows the materials to reach the shore while the ocean bill allows the goods to be transported overseas inland bills of lading are required if the shipment needs to travel further in the destination country after it arrives at the dock example of ocean bill of ladingocean bills of lading as mentioned above are used when goods are transported overseas through waterways when a car manufacturer ships vehicles to a dealership overseas it needs an ocean bill of lading to complete the transfer of goods if the vehicles must be transferred further into the destination country so further from the port it must have an inland bill of lading to move the vehicles so a u s based dealership will sign an ocean bill of lading with a japanese carmaker for the transport of vehicles to the united states an additional inland bill of lading is required if the shipment arrives in seattle but is destined for billings montana common types of ocean bills of ladingthere are several different types of ocean bills of lading that are used the straight bill of lading is non negotiable and is marked as such the only person who has a claim to the goods when they reach the destination port is the person named on the bill these bills generally involve parties that have open accounts where the shipper may not require the funds from the receiver up front the non negotiable ocean bill of lading allows the buyer to receive the goods upon showing identification a shipper s order is a negotiable bill of lading and is generally put into place when the shipper wishes to ensure certain terms and conditions are met before the shipment is released to the receiver this is used when the receiver s payment is backed by a letter of credit 