From what i have learned so far in shipping, i know that any ORIGINAL bill of lading that is issued has to be duly discharged at the discharge port or final destination.. NO, i don’t mean discharging the cargo covered in the bill of lading..

Duly discharging a bill means that the original bill of lading with all relevant endorsements has been surrendered at the port of discharge or final destination and cargo delivered at which stage the responsibility of the carrier ceases..

In general the ruling is :

• whoever is mentioned as consignee on the bill of lading must take the OBL to the line for delivery..
• if the consignee on the bill of lading is recruiting the services of a clearing and forwarding agent, then the bill of lading should have an endorsement from the consignee authorising the release of the cargo to said C&F agent..
• if the C&F agent on his part recruits someone else to bring the OBL to the line and take release of the cargo, then the C&F agent must further endorse the bill of lading authorising release to the holder of the bill..

Below are the permutations that i have seen so far being used in bills of lading in the consignee field.. If anyone else have seen any other permutations or combinations, please let me know..

If bill is consigned to	Endorsements Required on the bill of lading
A Company	The company’s endoresment stating PLEASE RELEASE TO “CLIENT OR FORWARDER APPROACHING FOR DELIVERY”.. If clearing agent or forwarder approaches for delivery then the obl must carry clients endorsement or stamped and signed original letter head authorising release to forwarder
To Order	Shipper’s endorsement stating DELIVER TO THE ORDER OF “CLIENT APPROACHING FOR DELIVERY”.. If clearing agent or forwarder approaches for delivery then the obl must carry clients endorsement or stamped and signed original letter head authorising release to forwarder
To Order of Bank	Shipper’s endorsement stating DELIVER TO THE ORDER OF “XYZ BANK” and banks’ endorsement stating, DELIVER TO THE ORDER OF “CLIENT APPROACHING FOR DELIVERY”.. If forwarder approaches for delivery then the obl must carry clients endorsement or stamped and signed original letter head authorising release to forwarder
To Order of ZYX	Shipper’s endorsement stating DELIVER TO THE ORDER OF “ZYX”.. If forwarder approaches for delivery then the obl must carry clients endorsement or stamped and signed original letter head authorising release to forwarder
Individual’s Name	Shipper’s endorsement stating DELIVER TO “THE INDIVIDUAL’S NAME”.. Release to be effected only after verification of Original ID of the person presenting the OBL’s for release.. If forwarder approaches for delivery then the obl must carry clients endorsement or stamped and signed original letter head authorising release to forwarder plus the original ID of the client

Now the great debate here is that NOT many of the shipping lines in South Africa seem to be following this.. Some of the clients are debating this requirement because there seems to be a lack of consistency and cohesiveness on the part of the shipping lines when it comes to the requirement of the endorsement.. Some lines are releasing cargo without the endorsement (specially when releasing to a clearing and forwarding agent), some are strictly following above, some are content with releasing cargo to whoever is in possession of the bill of lading..

So to the people from the shipping lines, lets set the record straight for your valued clients.. As a shipping line – Are you following the above or what is your process and procedure in regards to the above.. I would like to facilitate a debate and get a consensus on this subject..

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