Quiz for Export Clerks
Q1: A cargo of timber has been loaded in Malaysia and shipped to India via Singapore. You are the agent for
the ocean carrier at Singapore. You are approached by the consignee (Consignee A) of the bill of lading
issued in Malaysia, who surrenders to you the full set of original bills of lading issued in Malaysia. Consignee
A asks you to issue three split or switch bills at Singapore which divides the timber into three parcels, show
Consignee A as the shipper, three separate Indian consignees, and change the port of loading to Singapore.
What should you do?
A: You must refer the request for split bills of lading to your principal (and the ship owner if the ship
owner is not your principal) and obtain their authority in writing to issue the split bills of lading showing different
shippers/consignees. However, even if your principal authorizes you to change the port of loading on the split
bills to Singapore you must refuse to do so as this is a false statement intended to deceive the three Indian
consignees.
Q2: The shipper of a cargo has requested that the bill of lading show on its face a full cargo description, which
includes the sale value, for his Letter of Credit purposes. What should the agent do?
A: REFUSE – the agent should refuse this request as the mention of the sale price on the face of the
bill of lading may be seen by a court as an “ad valorem” declaration of value and may deprive the carrier of his
right to exclude or limit his liability. If the carrier loses his right to limit liability then he will certainly claim the
difference from his agent.
Q3: You are the agent for the time charterer of a ship and have been instructed by your principals to issue
“freight prepaid” bills of lading to the shipper. Before you can do so, you receive a notification from the head
owners of the ship informing you that you are not authorised to issue bills of lading because the charter hire
has not been received by them. The owners notify you that they will hold you responsible for the freight in the
event that you issue the bs/l contrary to their instructions. The bills of lading are charterparty bills and will be
issued on behalf of the Master and owners. Should you follow the instructions of A) the time charterer or B)
the owner.
A: The answer is B. Although you are the agent for the time charterers and are not the agent for the
owners, if you issue bills of lading on behalf of the owners when they have instructed not to do so you would
be liable to them for the consequences.
Q4: Twenty containers are to be shipped from the USA to Norway. Fourteen containers are loaded on the ship
on 31st March, and the last container is loaded on 1st April. The shipper’s Letter of Credit expires on 31st
March and he needs a bill of lading with a “shipped on board” date of 31st March. What “shipped on board”
date should be entered on the bill of lading?
A. The only correct date is 1st April which is the only date when all the cargo carried under the bill of
lading is on board the ship. Under no circumstances should the “shipped on board” date be prior to the date
on which the completion of loading occurred. The date on the bill of lading should be the “date of last loading”.
If the bill of lading is dated 31st March and the price of the commodity shipped changes on 1st April, the
consignee would have a claim against the carrier for his losses.
Q5: If the shipper on the bill of lading informs you that the original set of bills has been lost due to a flood in
their offices and asks for another set. What should you do?
A: Request and obtain your principal’s written authority to issue a second set of bills. Then send a
message to the agent at the “place of delivery” on the bill of lading advising them that you are issuing a
“duplicate set of bills of lading”. Only then, should you issue a second set of bills with exactly the same details
as the original set, including the word “duplicate originals” on the front of the bills of lading.
Quiz for Export Clerks
Q1: A cargo of timber has been loaded in Malaysia and shipped to India via Singapore. You are the agent for
the ocean carrier at Singapore. You are approached by the consignee (Consignee A) of the bill of lading
issued in Malaysia, who surrenders to you the full set of original bills of lading issued in Malaysia. Consignee
A asks you to issue three split or switch bills at Singapore which divides the timber into three parcels, show
Consignee A as the shipper, three separate Indian consignees, and change the port of loading to Singapore.
What should you do?
Q2: The shipper of a cargo has requested that the bill of lading show on its face a full cargo description, which
includes the sale value, for his Letter of Credit purposes. What should the agent do?
Q3: You are the agent for the time charterer of a ship and have been instructed by your principals to issue
“freight prepaid” bills of lading to the shipper. Before you can do so, you receive a notification from the head
owners of the ship informing you that you are not authorised to issue bills of lading because the charter hire
has not been received by them. The owners notify you that they will hold you responsible for the freight in the
event that you issue the bs/l contrary to their instructions. The bills of lading are charterparty bills and will be
issued on behalf of the Master and owners. Should you follow the instructions of A) the time charterer or B)
the owner.
Q4: Twenty containers are to be shipped from the USA to Norway. Fourteen containers are loaded on the ship
on 31st March, and the last container is loaded on 1st April. The shipper’s Letter of Credit expires on 31st
March and he needs a bill of lading with a “shipped on board” date of 31st March. What “shipped on board”
date should be entered on the bill of lading?
Q5: If the shipper on the bill of lading informs you that the original set of bills has been lost due to a flood in
their offices and asks for another set. What should you do?
Quiz for Import Clerks
Q1: You are the agent for a shipping line. The consignee has presented an original NVOCC bill of lading,
which has been negotiated through a bank and is stamped “freight prepaid”. The consignee is unable to
produce the shipping line’s original bill of lading, but is obviously the owner of the cargo. Do you have the right
to refuse delivery of the cargo?
A: YES – as the agent for the shipping line you must collect the line’s bill of lading in exchange for
delivery of the cargo. In addition, you can only deliver the cargo to the consignee on the shipping line’s bill
of lading, or to any party to whom the consignee allows release. The consignee on the shipping line’s bill
of lading is unlikely to be the same entity as the consignee on the NVOCC bill of lading. The shipping line’s
original bill of lading may be with the loadport agent awaiting the payment of freight by the shipper, or there
may be a dispute between the NVOCC and his customers. You are the agent for the shipping line and you
should not become involved in these disputes.
Q2: The shipper paid freight late and the b/l was never issued by the loadport agent. The ship has arrived at
the discharge port and the shipper has asked for a “telex release” to avoid delay. What is a “telex release”?
Can the discharge port agent agree to this request?
A: “Telex release” is release of cargo against an instruction from one agent to another, in which the bs/l
are handed to a third country agent, rather than to the discharge port agent. The third country agent confirms
to the discharge port agent that the original bs/l have been collected and that delivery can be affected to a
named consignee. The discharge port agent can only perform a “telex release” if the principal authorises him
to do so. If there is no “blanket” authorization from the principal (possibly in the Agency Manual) the agent
must obtain the principal’s authority. The agent must obtain full details of the cargo to be released (not just a
container number or a b/l number) and proof of identity from the named consignees before cargo is released.
Q3: An original bill of lading has been surrendered and the holder of the bill of lading, who is not mentioned
on the bill of lading, is demanding delivery of the cargo. The consignee on the bill of lading is “to order” of
the shipper. The shipper has endorsed the b/l without giving any instructions as to who the cargo should be
delivered to. Can the agent deliver to the holder of the b/l?
A: Yes – if the “to order” party has endorsed the b/l by a simple stamp and signature this is an
“endorsement in blank”. Any person to whom the b/l is intentionally passed can claim to be the valid holder of
the b/l and therefore entitled to delivery of the cargo.
Q4: The notify party on the b/l has handed to you a full set of original bs/l which have been endorsed by him.
The bs/l are “to order” bills. Can you release cargo to the notify party?
A: No. A “to order” b/l must be endorsed by the shipper. Even though the full set of originals has been
handed in, the notify party is not a valid holder of the bs/l unless the shipper endorses them. He could have
obtained possession of the bs/l by fraud (or even by accident).
Q5: Several used cars were shipped at Bremerhaven for Nigeria. The shipper requested a sea waybill be
issued and that the cars be released at Nigeria to the consignee on the sea waybill (Consignee A). After the
cars had arrived at Nigeria, but before the agent had issued a delivery order, the shipper notified the carrier
that he should deliver to a different consignee (Consignee B). Consignee A produces the original sea waybill
and demands a delivery order. Consignee B is also demanding a delivery order be issued. Who should the
agent release the cargo to?
A: From a legal point of view the correct receiver is Consignee B. A sea waybill is not a document of
title and possession of the original sea waybill does not confer ownership. The consignee on a sea waybill
has no legal status; the waybill is a contract between the carrier and the shipper, and the shipper is entitled to
change the consignee if he so wishes provided he does so before the cargo is released. However, an agent
should always refer to his principal for instructions when two parties are claiming the same cargo. It may be
that the local courts will have to decide which of the two parties is entitled to delivery.
Quiz for Import Clerks
Q1: You are the agent for a shipping line. The consignee has presented an original NVOCC bill of lading,
which has been negotiated through a bank and is stamped “freight prepaid”. The consignee is unable to
produce the shipping line’s original bill of lading, but is obviously the owner of the cargo. Do you have the right
to refuse delivery of the cargo?
Q2: The shipper paid freight late and the b/l was never issued by the loadport agent. The ship has arrived at
the discharge port and the shipper has asked for a “telex release” to avoid delay. What is a “telex release”?
Can the discharge port agent agree to this request?
Q3: An original bill of lading has been surrendered and the holder of the bill of lading, who is not mentioned
on the bill of lading, is demanding delivery of the cargo. The consignee on the bill of lading is “to order” of
the shipper. The shipper has endorsed the b/l without giving any instructions as to who the cargo should be
delivered to. Can the agent deliver to the holder of the b/l?
Q4: The notify party on the b/l has handed to you a full set of original bs/l which have been endorsed by him.
The bs/l are “to order” bills. Can you release cargo to the notify party?
Q5: Several used cars were shipped at Bremerhaven for Nigeria. The shipper requested a sea waybill be
issued and that the cars be released at Nigeria to the consignee on the sea waybill (Consignee A). After the
cars had arrived at Nigeria, but before the agent had issued a delivery order, the shipper notified the carrier
that he should deliver to a different consignee (Consignee B). Consignee A produces the original sea waybill
and demands a delivery order. Consignee B is also demanding a delivery order be issued. Who should the
agent release the cargo to?