2. INTRODUCTION
• Carriage of goods by sea from any port of India to another port
outside India is governed by the Carriage of Sea Act, 1925. This act
follows all the recommendations given by the Maritime convention
which was held in brussels.
• Carriage of Goods by Sea Act is mainly governed by the Bill of
Lading, which tells the shipper the number of goods loaded, the
quality of goods and other particulars about the product that is in
the carrier.
• This act include all the provisions with respect to warranty of sea
worthiness, application of rules in bills of lading, prescribed routes of
sailing ships, etc.
3. DUTIES OF CARRIER BY SEA
• Carriage of goods by Sea act imposes certain duties on the carrier of goods.
These duties include,
• A carrier, before and at the time of beginning of voyage is bound to,
• The carrier shall also load, carry and handle the goods carefully and
discharge the carried goods
• After receiving the goods, carrier shall issue a bill of lading to the shipper
containing all particulars related to good’s quantity, weight, packing, date of
voyage, etc.
Make the ship seaworthy
Equip the ship properly
Make the refrigerating chambers, holds
etc. to carry and preserve the goods
4. LIABILITIES OF CARRIER BY SEA
• According to Sea act, any clause of the contract of affreightment
which relives the carrier from any liability to pay compensation in
case of loss/ damage of goods from negligence is to be considered void.
• Shipowner is not liable for any damage arising due to unworthiness
of ship unless such damages occur due to any failure of performing
act on the part of shipowner.
• Carriers are also allowed to surrender whole/ any part of their rights
to increase their liabilities and responsibilities.
• The carrier and ship are to be discharged from all liabilities unless
the suit is brought within one year of delivery of goods.
5. CONTD…
• The carrier is also not responsible for any loss arising from,
Neglect of
servants in
navigation of
ship
Act of god
Latent defects in
the goods (not
discoverable by
due diligence)
Fire (unless
caused by the
fault of the
carrier)
Act of war
Act of public
enemies
Act/ omission of
shipper or any of
his agents
Quarantine
restrictions
Inherent defect
in the goods
Insufficiency in
making/ packing
Strikes, lock-
outs, riots
6. BILL OF LADING
• A bill of lading/ BL is known as a legal document issued by the carrier to
shipper which contains the details of type, quantity, destination, etc. of goods
that are being carried, which serves the purpose of prima facie evidence in case
of any discrepancy.
• It serves as a receipt of shipment when the carrier delivers goods at a
predetermined destination.
• The functions of a bill of laden is,
Receipt of goods shipped/ in
the owner’s custody
Evidence of existing contracts
w.r.t to goods
Title documents of the goods
mentioned
7. PROCESS OF B/L
Issuance
Assignment
by
Delegation
Signature
When the actual
carrier takes the
charge of goods, the
carrier on demand of
shipper, must issue a
bill of lading
B/L must be signed by the person
having authority over carrier. (if
signed by master of the ship, he is
deemed to have signed on behalf of
the carrier
Signature on B/L must
be in handwriting,
printed and stamped
by any electronic
means which is
consistent with the
law of the country
8. CONTENTS OF B/L
Condition of
Goods
Name & place
of business of
carrier
Name of the
shipper
Name of
Consignee (if
made by the
shipper)
Port of loading
Place of
issuance of B/L
Freight to the
extent it is
payable by
consignee
Period/ Date of
Delivery
Limits of
liability as
decided by the
parties
9. SIGNING OF B/L
• Master of the ship should consider below mentioned points while
signing the bill of lading,
Quantity of Cargo
Date & Description of Cargo
Payments of Freight
Description of Voyage
Terms and conditions mentioned
as per contract
10. CHARTER PARTY BILL OF
LADING
• It is a form of bill of lading used under the sea carriage. According to which,
when a shipper arrange to charter their goods to final destination, such
vessel is considered as chartered. Such vessel then move the goods
exclusively for such shipper who decided the charter.
• Charter party is a form of contract by which a ship owner lets others use the
ship in transportation of cargo. In this form of contract the ship owner
manages the navigation of the ship, but ships carrying capacity is decided by
the charterer.
• Mainly, there are three types of charter, Voyage Charter
Demise Charter
Time Charter
11. CONTRACT OF AFFREIGHTMENT
LIABILITY
• Contract of affreightment is a contract between the ship owner and
charterer, in which the ship owner agrees to carry goods of charterer
in the ship or gives use of whole/ partial part of ship’s space for the
carriage of goods on a specific voyage.
• A contract of affreightment can be in any form,
Bill of lading
•Where the goods are to be carried in
a general ship
A Charter party
•Where an entire ship/ a part of ship
is placed at the disposal of merchant
12. CONTD…
• Contract of affreightment, whether in form of a charter party/ bills of
lading is governed by the Bills of lading act, 1856 and Carriage of
goods by sea act, 1925.
• Terms included in any contract of affreightment in carriage by sea
are of two types,
Express Terms - Where both parties
specifically agrees to duties embodied in the
contract
Implied Terms – Those terms which law
implies in every contract unless specifically
excluded
13. CONCLUSION
• Transportation of goods by sea has developed in last few years. Such
transportation would not be possible if there were no laws to govern
them. These laws also includes provisions to solve the disputes
relating to extent of carrier’s liability, bill of lading, etc. which makes
a shipment reach safely to its destination.
• It can be said that, the Carriage of goods by sea act defines the term
of shipping, stipulates the prescription period, prescribes the
maximum amount on limitation of owner’s liability, etc.
