ABSTRACT
Mary signs accept Bill of Lading (BOL) without endorsing it over to anyone else, at which time the BOL is said to blank endorsed. In a Cost Insurance and Freight (CIF) deal, where both the insurance contract and shipped marine bill of lading is secured, these documents become transferable but not as a negotiable instrument in the true sense. If a ship owner is issuing the BOL, then certain international maritime rules apply on the BOL regarding the goods and carriage. These are mostly defined as the Hague Rules. In a charter party shipping agreement different rules may apply. Although under UCP600 intermediaries are now allowed to deal in charter party shipping in a CIF transaction, FTN Exporting strongly advises that intermediaries only use a ship owners endorsed BOL. The handing over of the actual goods is still dependent on the carrier first being paid for freight, because maritime shipping laws define that the carrier has not earned such freight.
