WHERE A BILL OF LADING IS CONSIDERED TO BE A CHARTER PARTY BILL OF LADING

Whether three documents should be treated as charter party bills of lading Official Opinion R647 / TA662rev – 2005-2008 From UCP600 – UCP 600 articles 22 and 20; sub-articles 22(a) and 20 (a) (iv) QUERY Article 22 of UCP 600 begins with the wording: “A bill of lading, however named, containing an indication that it is subject to a charter party (charter party bill of lading) must appear to”. [emphasis added].

My questions are as follows:

1. A credit calls for a marine bill of lading, and the document presented appears to comply with the requirements of the credit and article 20 of UCP 600 except that the document contains pre-printed wording “Issued pursuant to charter party dated … ” without specifying any date in the blank space. The document also contains the terms and conditions of carriage that we see on a normal bill of lading, on the reverse of the document and was titled “Bill of Lading”. Should this document be treated as a charter party bill of lading?

2. A credit calls for a marine bill of lading, and the document presented appears to comply with the requirements of the credit and article 20 of UCP 600 except the document contains a stamp “Freight payable as per charter party”. The document also contains the terms and conditions of carriage that we see on a normal bill of lading, on the reverse of the document. Should this document be treated as a charter party bill of lading?

3. The document contains the title “Charter Party Bill of Lading”, and there is no other reference to a charter party on the bill of lading. The document otherwise complies with the requirements of the credit and article 20 of UCP 600 and also contains the terms and conditions of carriage that we see on a normal bill of lading on the reverse of the document for a marine bill of lading. Should this document be treated as a charter party bill of lading? If so, what meaning can be attributed to the words “however named” in article 22?

All 3 documents were signed by an agent as agent for the named carrier.

My comments, for your information, are as follows:

1. Just because the document has pre-printed wording “Issued pursuant to charter party Dated … “, I would not treat this document as a charter party bill of lading unless the sentence is completed with the date.

2. I would not treat the documents referred to in questions 2 and 3 above to be charter party bills of lading.

Analysis

In addition to the wording that appears in sub-article 22 (a) and shown at the beginning of this query, sub-article 20 (a) (vi) states, in relation to bills of lading, “contain no indication that it is subject to a charter party”.

The requirement in sub-article 20 (a) (vi) is for the document examiner to be able to determine whether or not the bill of lading has been issued with a view that it be used in conjunction with a charter party.

Conclusion

1. The document contains the following wording: “Issued pursuant to charter party dated … “. For the purposes of sub-articles 20 (a) (vi) and 22 (a), this represents an indication that it is issued subject to a charter party.

2. Although the content of the bill of lading complies with the requirements of article 20, the inclusion of “freight payable as per charter party” is an indication that the bill of lading was issued subject to a charter party. This document would be considered to be a charter party bill of lading for the purposes of examination under UCP.

3. The document is entitled “Charter Party Bill of Lading”. For the purposes of sub-article 20 (a) (vi) and 22 (a), this represents an indication that it is issued subject to a charter party.

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