ABSTRACT
Where the sea carrier receives goods into its custody prior to shipment – for example, by reception of the goods into its warehouse at the port of loading – it will issue a ‘received for shipment’ bill of lading. This can be turned into a ‘shipped’ bill of lading by annotating it with the date of shipment. There is no clear authority as to whether such a bill of lading can constitute a document of title. Lloyd J, in The Lycaon,1
assumed that it could be such a document, relying on the decision of the Privy Council in The Marlborough Hill.2 However, the point in issue in that case was the definition of ‘bill of lading’ for the purposes of a statute conferring jurisdiction on the Admiralty Court. Diamond Alkali Export Corp v Fl Bourgeois 3 is claimed to be authority for the contrary proposition that such bills can be documents of title. Again, the issue never directly arose in the case, which merely decided that these documents did not amount to good tender under a cif sale, as they would not evidence the condition of the goods on shipment when risk passed.
