Basic transport documentation

The Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean Sea Waybill is a transport contract (contract of carriage) and is only issued as a cargo receipt on a hardcopy or transferred by email. The Sea Waybill will always have a nominated consignee. It is not negotiable and the title to the goods cannot be transferred during the transit. The advantage of the Sea Waybill is that it simplifies the documentation procedure through eliminating the need for physical transfer of paper documents. Although local law and practise may require the surrender of paper documents, the Sea Waybill does facilitate paperless transactions. The term Straight Bill (widely used in the USA) is basically analogous with the Sea Waybill.

The Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean Bill of Lading is a transport contract (contract of carriage) and receipt of cargo in addition to being a document of title (right to take delivery). This feature is recognised by the Bill of Lading being consigned "to order of" which means that it is a negotiable document that transfers the title to the goods. This feature is commonly used when transactions are financed through letters of credit and/or goods are traded during the transit. The title to the goods can be transferred by a simple endorsement on the document by the holder of the Bill of Lading and by handing over the Bill of Lading to the new owner, in much the same way as a personal check is endorsed.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean offers transport also beyond the services provided by own vessels. This is commonly arranged in two different ways using either a Sea Waybill or a Negotiable Bill of Lading.

Combined transport Bill of Lading documents are issued from the place of receipt to the final destination and the freight and charges are calculated on this basis. Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean's carrier liability ends at the final destination, whether this is a port of discharge or a destination beyond.

Transport or forwarding arrangements may be arranged from the port of discharge (base port) to the final destination. In such cases Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean acts as agent on behalf of the shipper and carrier’s liability ends at the base port. If the shipper requests the final destination to be entered in the Bill of Lading a clause stating the nature of the third party on-carriage arrangement is added.