Sea Waybill

Receipt of goods and contract of carriage

A sea waybill is a transport document issued by a shipping company as alternative to a B/L. It only performs two functions of a B/L, that is, as a receipt of goods and a contract of carriage. In other words, a sea waybill is not a document of title or a negotiable document, and thus can only be made out to a named consignee-the importer. The sea waybill indicates the “on board” loading of the goods and can be used in cases where no marine or ocean B/L, i.e., no document of title is required. For receipt of the goods, presentation of the sea waybill by the consignee named therein is not required, which can speed up processing at the port of destination.