In liner transportation, the carrier often encounters such trouble that consignee requires to take delivery of goods without submitting the original Bill of Lading.

It is natural to release the cargo against the original Bill of Lading. Bill of Lading is not only a Cargo Receipt issued by the carrier to show that the goods have been taken over, but also a document of title to the goods carried on board the vessel.

It is clear that the holder of the Bill of Lading can unconditionally claim the title to the goods against the carrier or the actual possessor, even if the goods is no longer under control of the carrier.

Therefore the carrier should not deliver the goods if the consignee cannot present a valid Bill of Lading. But this simple truth may not work in practice.

Shipowner some time encountered a powerful local consignee who can force the port operator to delay ship’s berthing, or cause some problems for the carrier. Even the consignee can pick up cargo from port without presenting Bill of Lading to the carrier or carrier's agent. This is true in the shipper's market environment.

On the other hand, it is a great risk for shipowner to release cargo without original Bill of Lading. However there is a bewildering array of scam in today's shipping and trade industry. Once cheated, the true holder of the bill of lading will appear and prove that he is the owner of the goods. The holder of the bill of lading asks the carrier to release the goods, then the carrier has no goods to deliver. In this case, it may lead to serious legal consequences.

What’s more, the carrier shall bear the loss caused by the delivery of the goods without bill of lading. This is considered a fundamental breach of law in various countries. Carriers have no chance of winning in court, nor of gaining the support of insurance companies and shipowners' mutual assurance associations.

Consignee can not submit the original Bill of Lading for the following reasons.

1.      Bill of Lading may be lost or stolen.

2.      Due to the short distance between port of loading and discharging, it may result in late supply of B/L. Therefore, B/L arrival time is normally later than ship's arrival time.

3.      Due to the time limit of the documentary draft, the consignee cannot redeem the B/L to the bank within the agreed time. As a result, although the ship has arrived at the port of discharge, the consignee is still unable to provide the shipping company with the B/L and take delivery of the goods.