Explanations of Various Bill of Lading Terms

1) Bill of Lading 
　 refers to a document used to evidence a contract of carriage by sea and the taking over or loading of goods by the carrier, and by which the carrier undertakes to deliver the goods at the port of destination. 
2) House Bill of Lading 
　 refers to a bill of lading issued by a freight forwarder. House bills are often issued when goods are shipped from and to inland locations. International freight forwarders commonly use this type of bill. Freight forwarders also use this bill to meet customer requirements for backdating or other demands that the vessel owner cannot fulfill. 
3) Master Bill of Lading 
　 refers to a bill of lading issued by the vessel owner. 
4) Shipped on Board Bill of Lading 
　 refers to a bill of lading issued by the carrier to the shipper confirming that the goods have been loaded on board the vessel. 
5) Received for Shipping Bill of Lading 
　 refers to a bill of lading issued by the carrier when the goods have been received but not yet loaded on board the vessel. 
6) Direct Bill of Lading 
　 refers to a bill of lading issued for goods loaded at the port of shipment and carried directly to the port of discharge without transshipment. 
8) Through Bill of Lading 
　 refers to a bill of lading issued by the carrier at the port of loading covering transportation to the port of destination with transshipment en route. 
9) Multimodal Transport Bill of Lading (MT B/L) 
　 refers to a bill of lading covering a combined transport of goods by two or more modes of transport, such as sea, inland waterway, rail, road, or air, applicable to the entire carriage. 
10) Liner Bill of Lading 
　 Liner vessels operate on fixed routes and schedules, providing continuous freight services between designated ports. Liner vessels can be either fixed schedule or non-fixed schedule types. 
11) Charter Party Bill of Lading 
　 generally refers to a bill of lading issued by the vessel owner to the charterer when using a chartered vessel to carry the charterer's full cargo, or issued by the vessel owner or charterer when not carrying the full cargo load. 
12) Straight Bill of Lading 
　 refers to a bill of lading under which only the consignee named on the bill can take delivery of the goods. It is generally not negotiable. 
13) Order Bill of Lading 
　 usually has either an unnamed order (merely stating ORDER), or a named order (ORDER OF SHIPPER or ORDER OF CONSIGNEE**COMPANY; ORDER OF **BANK). This type of bill can be transferred after endorsement by the order party. 
14) Blank Bill of Lading or Open Bill of Lading 
　 a bill of lading that does not contain any named consignee or the word ORDER, meaning any holder of the bill is entitled to take delivery of the goods. 
15) Clean Bill of Lading 
　 when the goods are delivered for shipment in apparent good order and condition, the carrier issues a bill of lading without any qualifying remarks regarding damage, defective packaging, or other hindrances to settlement. 
16) Foul Bill of Lading 
　 when the packaging or external condition of the goods is not solid or complete upon delivery for shipment, the carrier may add a clause, resulting in a foul bill of lading. 
17) Parcel Receipt or Non-Negotiable Receipt 
　 applicable to small quantities of goods, luggage, or samples. 
18) Minimum Bill of Lading 
　 when the freight charged does not reach the minimum amount stipulated in the tariff, it is calculated at the prescribed minimum freight rate. 
19) Omnibus Bill of Lading or Combined Bill of Lading 
　 refers to combining goods from different batches onto a single bill of lading, or when identical liquid cargo from different batches is loaded into one tank, and several bills are issued, the former is called a combined bill. 
20) Separate Bill of Lading 
　 refers to dividing a single shipment, i.e., goods covered by one shipping order, into 2 or more sets of bills of lading as requested by the shipper. 
21) Stale Bill of Lading 
　 refers to a bill of lading where the date of presentation for negotiation to the bank is too long after the date of loading and sailing, making it impossible to reach the consignee at the port of destination before the vessel arrives. Banks generally do not accept this type of bill. 
22) Switch Bill of Lading 
　 refers to a set of bills issued at an intermediate port to replace the original bill of lading issued at the port of loading, representing that the cargo was shipped from the intermediate port. 
23) Anti-Dated Bill of Lading 
　 refers to a bill of lading where the issuer, at the request of the shipper, dates the bill earlier than the actual completion date of loading the goods on board. 
24) Advanced Bill of Lading 
　 when the shipment date and negotiation period stipulated in the letter of credit are about to expire but the goods are not yet loaded on time (though under the carrier's control or have started loading), the shipper issues a letter of indemnity requesting the carrier to issue the bill early. 
25) On Deck Bill of Lading 
　 refers to a bill of lading indicating that the goods are stowed on the open deck of the vessel and bearing the notation "on deck."