A carrier’s notation disclaiming responsibility for the quantity of the cargo’s contents; the quantity declared is thus purely the shipper’s statement. If there is a dispute because less than contract quantity is delivered, the carrier wishes to be free from liability and that the receiver has to claim directly against the shipper or insurer.

Shipper’s load and tally.

Under a term import documentary credit the bank releases the documents on receipt from the negotiating bank but the importer does not pay the bank until the maturity of the draft under the relative credit. This direct liability is called Surrender Bill of Lading (SBL), i.e. when we hand over the bill of lading we surrender title to the goods and our power of sale over the goods.

Non-delivery of cargo at the intended port. When reported, this results in ship’s agent sending a cargo tracer to see if the cargo has been mis- delivered in another port.

A transport document for maritime shipment, which serves as evidence of the contract of carriage and as a receipt for the goods, but is not a document of title. To take delivery of the goods, presentation of the sea waybill is not required; generally, the receiver is only required to identify himself, which can speed up processing at the port of destination.

A request to narrow, or close up, the spread or margin between foreign currency buying and selling rates of exchange.

Export trade: The party (as between exporter and importer) who enters into a contract of carriage for the international transport of goods. The party receiving the goods (the importer or buyer) may be called the receiver or the consignee. Depending on the Incoterm chosen, either the exporter or importer (or a middleman) can be the shipper.

A form used by a shipper to authorise an airline to issue an air waybill on the shippers behalf. All details of shipment are contained in the form which authorises the airline to sign the air waybill in the name of the shipper.

A carrier’s notation disclaiming responsibility for the quantity of the cargo’s contents; the quantity declared is thus purely the shipper’s statement. If there is a dispute because less than contract quantity is delivered, the carrier wishes to be free from liability and that the receiver has to claim directly against the shipper or insurer.

This is an alternative to a bill of lading used in consolidation of container shipments. It does not give legal title to the goods.

Documents often attached to bills of exchange payable overseas.
The basic documents usually consist of:
• Invoices
• Insurance policy
• Bill of lading.
Others may include:
• Air Waybill/Air Consignment Note
• Certificate of Origin
• Certificate of Quality
• Veterinary Certificate
• Consular Invoice
• Weight Certificate
• Packing List.

Excess of sales over purchases or of foreign currency assets over liabilities. (This is opposite to long or overbought).

Non-delivery of cargo at the intended port. When reported, this results in ship’s agent sending a cargo tracer to see if the cargo has been mis-delivered in another port.

A simplified B/L which contains a reference to or an abbreviation of the carrier’s full B/L or carriage conditions.

A financial instrument payable upon presentation or demand. It must be presented for payment by its holder (payee, endorsee, or bearer) within reasonable time.

The operation of presenting to the drawee a bill drawn at a period after sight, and obtaining their acceptance which contains the date on which the bill is sighted.

A single bill of exchange is distinguished as one in a set: the latter being marked as ‘First (second, etc.) of Exchange’ and the former ‘Sola of Exchange’.

Some documentary credits may allow for a negotiable set of documents to be forwarded direct to the customer as well as to the bank/branch concerned. In this case the customer could gain control of the goods before they have paid for them. This is a direct liability from the time of establishment of the credit.

A duty based on some measure of quantity, such as weight, length, or number of units.

Foreign Exchange bought and sold for immediate delivery - in practice almost invariably for delivery two business days after the conclusion of the deal.

Rate of exchange quoted for purchases and sales of a foreign currency for immediate delivery and payment.

An insurance clause relating to ‘strikes, riots and civil commotion’.

Said to contain/said to weigh. These are notations on transport documents by which carriers give notice that they do not wish to accept responsibility for the accuracy of a shipper’s declarations as to the content, weight or quantity of a particular shipment.

A form of guarantee, usually indistinguishable from the demand guarantee. Origin lies in the fact that American legislation prevented American banks from directly issuing guarantees, so they resorted to the device of the “standby credit”. In function the standby is usually used more as a security device, like a bank guarantee, than as a payment device, like a documentary credit. Under a standby credit the beneficiary usually obtains payment by presentation to a bank of a draft and some form of written demand, which may include a statement that the principal is in breach of their contractual obligations. Standby credits may be issued so as to be governed by either the UCP500 or the URDG458 (to the extent permitted by national law). A standby credit can be used to backup a payment commitment - thus, an exporter may agree to sell on open account terms, granting the importer 90-day credit terms, on the condition that the importer open a standby credit in the exporter’s favour; if the importer fails to honour the exporter’s invoices, the exporter simply draws against the standby.

A document issued when goods are entrusted to a shipping company for carriage. It can serve as a formal receipt for the goods by the ship owner, a memorandum of the contract of carriage, and documentary evidence of control over the goods. The holder or consignee of the bill has the right to claim delivery of the goods from the shipping company when they arrive at the port of destination. Bills of lading may be negotiable (order B/L) or non-negotiation (straight B/L). Bills of lading may also be distinguished by the mode of transport used for the shipment. See marine bill of lading, multimodal transport bill of lading, air waybill, railway consignment note and sea waybill.

B/L terminology:

• Ocean/Marine The classic B/L, a negotiable instrument used for goods shipped on board ocean-going vessels.

• On Board/Shipped A B/L evidencing the loading on board of cargo in good condition.

• Received for Shipment A B/L which only evidences that goods have been received, not that they have been loaded on board; common with container shipments delivered to port terminal; must be converted by subsequent “on board” notation if shipper needs an ‘on board’ or ‘shipped’ document for payment under a documentary credit.

• Clean A B/L which contains no notation indicating that the goods have been wholly or partially lost/damaged.

• Dirty/Foul/Claused A B/L with a notation to the effect that the goods have been partially/wholly lost or damaged.

• Straight A non-negotiable B/L; consignee only needs to identify himself to pick up the goods.

• Order A negotiable B/L, issued ‘to the order’ of a particular party, commonly the shipper.

• Through A B/L used when shipment involves successive transport stages with different carriers.

• Direct A B/L for direct transport between loading and discharging ports.

• Multimodal/Combined Transport A B/L issued to cover transport involving successive stages via different transport modes, e.g. road transport followed by sea followed again by road transport.

• FIATA FBL (FBL) A standard form B/L issued by a freight forwarder; considered under the UCP500 - along with other forwarder bills in which the agents accept full responsibility as a carrier - as acceptable as a clean on board B/L issued by a carrier.

• House A B/L issued by a forwarder in its own name (house) covering grouped consignments.

• Freight Pre-Paid A B/L indicating on it that the freight has been paid.

• Liner A B/L issued subject to the terms and conditions of a shipping line.

• Short-Form A B/L which does not contain the full terms and conditions of the contract of carriage; instead, it contains an abbreviated version of the carrier’s condition, with a reference to the full set of conditions.

• Stale A B/L which is presented late (for documentary credit purposes, a B/L must be presented within a certain number of days after shipment).

• Full Set of Originals For documentary credit or collection purposes, the buyer may require the seller to produce a full set (commonly up to three) of signed originals - that is, B/L’s which bear the original signature of the ship’s master or agent.

• Waybill A non-negotiable transport document.

A non-negotiable bill of lading, which specifies the consignee to whom the goods are to be delivered. The carrier is contractually obliged to deliver the goods to that person only. It is often used when payment for the goods has been made in advance.

Unloading goods from a container.

The placing of cargo in a ship’s hold in such a fashion as to assure safe and stable transport.

Loading goods inside a container.

Charges added to ocean freight, variously, for bunker (fuel), currency fluctuation, congestion, port detention, or extra risk insurance.

A surety bond is a guarantee, usually issued by an insurance or surety company, that a particular company will perform according to a contract. In order to collect payment under such a bond, the beneficiary normally must prove actual default on the part of the counterparty, as by furnishing a court judgment, arbitral award or official certificate. Surety ship bonds may be issued subject to the ICC Uniform Rules for Contract Bonds.

Under a term import documentary credit the bank releases the documents on receipt from the negotiating bank but the importer does not pay the bank until the maturity of the draft under the relative credit. This direct liability is called Surrender Bill of Lading (SBL), i.e. when we hand over the bill of lading we surrender title to the goods and our power of sale over the goods.

The trading of almost identical products (such as oil) from different locations to save transportation costs.

An agreement where one party provides foreign currency or local currency to another in a spot transaction while at the same time entering into a contract to repurchase the currency at some future time.

International electronic funds transfer via the system known as SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Inter-bank Financial Telecommunications), offered by most major banks.