ABSTRACT
The issue, therefore, remains in doubt, although such documents are expressly brought within the scope of COGSA 1992 . It is, in any event, almost indisputable that a ‘received for shipment’ bill that is turned into a ‘shipped’ bill by annotation of the date of shipment constitutes a document of title, as it then becomes indistinguishable from a ‘shipped’ bill of lading. At the other end of the spectrum is a ‘received for shipment’ bill of lading that is issued by someone other than the actual sea carrier, such as a freight forwarder. In The Maheno , 4 such a document was assumed not to be a document of title, although the actual decision proceeded on the basis that the forwarder had not contracted as carrier.
