A Bill of Lading maybe issued as a House Bill of Lading or a Master Bill of Lading.. A House Bill of Lading (HBL) is issued by an NVOCC operator, or a Freight Forwarder to their customers.. A Master Bill of Lading (MBL) is issued by the Shipping Line (Carrier) to the NVOCC Operator, or Freight Forwarder..

1. TRANSMERIDIAN INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS LTD
KAHL HOUSE, 1ST FLOOR,
JOMO KENYATTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
P.O BOX 5594-00100 GPO, NAIROBI - KENYA
TEL: + 254 (20) 2212007
OFFICE CELL: +254(0) 715 091 594, +254 (0) 731 825 695
Website: www.transmeridianinternationallogistics.com
Email: info@transmeridianinternationallogistics.com
A Bill of Lading maybe issued as a House Bill of Lading or a Master Bill of Lading..
A House Bill of Lading (HBL) is issued by an NVOCC operator, or a Freight Forwarder
to their customers..
A Master Bill of Lading (MBL) is issued by the Shipping Line (Carrier) to the NVOCC
Operator, or Freight Forwarder..
Image for MBL and HBL
When issued for a FCL shipment (non-groupage), a HBL should always be issued on a
back to back basis with a MBL which means that the HBL should be an EXACT replica
of the MBL issued by the actual Shipping line in respect of all details except the shipper,
consignee and notify party details which will be different in the HBL and MBL..
In the HBL
the Shipper will usually be the actual shipper/exporter of the cargo (or as dictated by the
L/C)
the Consignee will usually be the actual receiver/importer of the cargo (or as dictated by
the L/C)
the Notify could be the same as Consignee (or any other party as dictated by the L/C)

2. In the MBL
the Shipper will usually be the NVOCC operator, or their agent or the Freight Forwarder..
the Consignee will usually be the destination agent or counterpart or office of the
NVOCC operator, or the Freight Forwarder
the Notify could be the same as Consignee or any other party..
In the interest of the NVOCC operator and their insurance coverage/exposure, it is
recommended that all the details on the HBL and MBL like vessel/voyage information,
cargo description, number of containers, seal numbers, weight, measurements should
remain the same.. The only difference should be in the shipper, consignee and notify
details..
Unless disallowed by the L/C, the HBL is also used/treated as a negotiable document and
can be considered to fulfill the roles of a bill of lading.. But due care must be taken when
using HBL as a negotiable document as I have come across a counter-productive and
dangerous practice of consigning the HBL and MBL exactly the same which means that
there are two sets of bills of lading issued by two different entities for the same
cargo..!!!!!!
Such issues have happened due to the ignorance of the NVOCC or Freight Forwarder..