The formats of bills of lading of various shipping companies are similar. The bill of lading generally consists of three originals (ORIGINAL) and three copies (COPY). Any original can be used to pick up the goods, while the copies are only for backup reference and cannot be used to pick up the goods directly. When preparing the bill of lading, the freight forwarder will fill in the contents of each column according to the information provided by the shipper, and fax it to the shipper for confirmation before officially issuing it. The filling method of each column is:
1. Shipper: Fill in the full name and address of the exporter.
2. Consignee: Fill in the name and address of the consignee or “to order” (the difference between the two will be explained in detail in the classification of bills of lading below).
3. Notify Party: Fill in the person who needs to be notified after the agreed goods arrive at the terminal, such as the name, address and phone number of the customer or the customer’s shipping agent.
4. Ocean Vessel: This column will be notified and filled in by the freight forwarder after loading.
5. Voyage No.: Same as above, this column is notified and filled in by the freight forwarder after loading.
6. Place of receipt: Usually the port of shipment.
7. Port of loading: The port of shipment at the place of export.
8. Port of discharge: The port of destination at the place of import, or the transit port under transshipment conditions (transshipment will be explained in detail in the bill of lading classification below).
9. Place of delivery: The actual place of delivery of the goods, which can be the same as the port of destination. In the case of transshipment, it is the final port of delivery.
10. Transport marks and classifications of goods: If there are several categories in a batch of goods, they must be filled in separately.
11. Name and quantity of goods, etc. (Munber and Description of Goods).
12. Gross weight of goods: Generally in kilograms.
13. Cargo volume (Measurement): generally in cubic meters.
14. Onboard date (Onbord Dated): the time when the cargo is loaded onto the ship, which is an important indicator for calculating the shipping schedule, indicating that the shipment is completed.
15. Signature of the issuer of the bill of lading (Sign by): the signature of the shipping company or freight forwarder.
16. Freight (Freight): FOB means Freight Collect (Freight Collect); CNF/CIF means Freight Prepaid (Freight Prepaid).