Okuzeka
Maritime & Shipping vocabulary · Chartering & Shipping Documents

Bill of lading

Meaning in maritime & shipping, with examples

nounCore term

In maritime & shipping, bill of lading means: A document issued by the carrier when goods are loaded. It acts as a receipt for the cargo, as evidence of the contract of carriage and as a document of title that can be transferred.

In Turkish: konşimento

How it is used

Shortened to B/L or BL. Masters and agents issue, sign and release bills of lading; a 'clean' B/L has no remarks about damaged cargo. The cargo is normally delivered only against an original B/L.

Example sentences

  1. The agent will issue the bills of lading on behalf of the master after loading.

  2. We cannot sign a clean bill of lading because several bags are torn.

Common collocations

  • issue a bill of lading
  • clean bill of lading
  • original bill of lading
  • sign the bills of lading
  • release the B/L
  • charter partyThe contract between a shipowner and a charterer for hiring a ship, either for a voyage or for a period of time. It sets out the freight or hire, the cargo, the ports and the laytime.
  • freightThe money paid to the carrier for transporting goods by sea. In general English it can also mean the goods themselves.
  • ship's agentA person or company in a port that looks after a ship's business on behalf of the owner or charterer, arranging berths, pilots, customs, crew changes and supplies.
  • masterThe officer in overall command of a merchant ship, legally responsible for the safety of the ship, crew, passengers and cargo. In everyday speech the master is called the captain.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Chartering & Shipping Documents

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: