There are four main functions of bill of lading:
The bill of lading is evidence of the contact for carriage between the shipper and the carrier.
The bill of lading acts as a receipt of the goods from the shipping company to the shipper. While there is no indication of damage to the goods, a bill of lading is said to be clean.
A bill of lading is a quasi negotiable document. Any transferee for value who takes possession of an endorsed bill of lading obtains a good title to it, provided the transferor had a good title in the first place.
A bill of lading acts as a document of title to goods being shipped. The goods will be released from the port only against production of one of tile original bills of lading. Original bills of lading are usually issued in sets of two or three (the number of originals will be indicated on the bill of lading). As any one original bill of lading will enable the possessor to obtain the goods, possession of a complete set is required before control of the goods is assured. Shipping companies often issue unsigned copies of bill of lading for record purposes. These unsigned copies are not documents of title.
The shipper can demand that the ship - owner supply bills of lading proving that the goods have been actually shipped. For this reason, most bill of lading forms are already printed as shipped bills and commence with the wording: "shipped in apparent good order and condition". It confirms the goods are actually on board the vessel. This is the most satisfactory type of receipt and it is stressed the importer will normally require the exporter to produce bills of lading as evidence that goods have been shipped on board. The goods will be released from the port only against production of one of the original bills of lading. Here" production" means ______.