charters the ship from the ship-owner and uses it to carry the goods. It falls into 3 kinds: voyage charter, time charter and demise charter.
22. The time of delivery refers to the time limit during which the seller shall deliver the goods to the buyer at the agreed place by the agreed methods. There are the following ways to stipulate the time of delivery in the contract. In stipulate the time of delivery we have to pay attention to the followings:
(1) The shipment date should be made in such a manner that it facilitates the seller and enables the seller to effect shipment on time and perform the relevant obligations stipulated in the contract. For instance, the seller should be given a period of reasonable time for arranging the supply of the contracted goods.
(2) Different shipment period should be fixed, based on the availability of shipping space, for contracted goods of different nature. An unreasonable short time for shipment shall cause no little inconvenience to the seller.
(3) According to the relevant stipulations of (Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits): Expressions such as “prompt”; “immediately”, “as soon as possible” and the like should not be used. If they are used banks will disregard them.
(4) Unless otherwise stipulated in the credit, the expression “shipment” used in stipulating an earliest and/or a latest shipment date will be understood to include the expressions “ loading on board”, “dispatch”, “accepted for carriage”, “flight date”, “date of post receipt”, \and in the case of a credit calling for or allowing a multi-modal transport document the expression “taking in charge” .
(5) If the expression “on or about” and similar expressions are used, banks will interpret them as a stipulation that shipment is to be made during the period from the five days before to five days after the specified date, both end days included. The words “to”, “until”, “till”, “from” and words of similar expressions applied to any date or period in the credit referring to shipment will be understood to include the date mentioned. The word “after” will be understood to exclude the date mentioned. The term “first half”, “second half” of a month shall be construed respectively as the 1st to the 15th, and the 16th to the last day of such month, all dates inclusive. The terms “beginning”, “middle”, or “end” of a month shall be construed respectively as the 1st to the 10th, the 11th to the 20th', and the 21st to the last day of such month, all dates inclusive.
23. The Bill of Lading has three important functions. a.It is a receipt for goods signed by the shipping company and given to the shippers; b.It is also evidence of a contract of carriage between the shipping company and shippers. In addition, c.it is a document of title because the legal owner of the Bill of Lading is the owner of the goods. For this reason the Bill of Lading can be used to transfer the goods-from one owner to another. “When the exporters complete it, they can write the buyer’s name in the space, “consignee”. This means the consignee is the legal owner of the goods,
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as named on Bill of Lading. Otherwise the exporters can write “to other” in the consignee space. Underneath “to order” they write the name and address of the agent. Then the agent in the importing country can endorse the bill to the buyer. In this way the importers can transfer the consignment to their customers. This means that there has to be a separate Bill of Lading for each consignee and several consignments can not be consolidated on to one bill.
24. There are several types of Bills of Lading which are categorized in different ways. (1). On board B/L and received for shipment B/L
According to whether the goods are loaded or not, the bills of lading can be classified into on board(or shipped) B/L and received(or received for shipment) B/L.
A shipped on board B/L is evidence that the goods have been loaded on board a certain steamer. It commences with the wording “Shipped in apparent good order and condition”, According to general foreign trade practices, only the shipped on board B/L is accepted by banks for payment under a L/C.
(2). Clean bill and unclean bill
According to whether there are notes on the B/L, it falls into 2 kinds: clean B/L and unclean B/L. A clean B/L shows that the goods have been shipped on board a vessel in apparent good order and condition, and there is no modification of the shipowner.
This bill of lading is called “clean” or “unclaused”. It confirms that the goods have not suffered apparent or outside damage and there does not seem to be any defect in the packing. By issuing clean bill of lading, the shipowner admits his full liability of the cargo described in the Bill under the law and his contract. This type is much favored by banks for financial settlement purpose. Unclean B/L is generally marked “insufficiently packed”, “covers old and stained”, “wet by rain”, “…packed in damaged condition”, “unclean”, “foul”, etc.
There are many recurring types of such clauses including inadequate packaging, unprotected machinery, wet or stained cartons, damaged crates, etc. This type of B/L is usually unacceptable to a bank. But not all B/L(s) which are noted are unclean B/L. (3). A straight B/L, An order B/L and A blank B/L
According to whether the B/L is transferable, it is divided into 3 kinds: straight B/L, order B/L and blank B/L.
A straight B/L is made out so that only the named consignee at the destination is entitled to take delivery of the goods under the bill. The consignee is designated by the shipper. The carrier has to hand over the cargo to the named consignee, not to any third party in possession of the bill. This kind of B/L is not transferable. The shipper cannot pass the bill to a third party by endorsement. So the bill is of very restricted application. When the goods are shipped on a non-commercial basis, such as samples or exhibits, materials in aid of other countries, or when the goods are extremely valuable, a straight B/L is generally issued.
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An order B/L indicates that the bill is made out to the order of or to order of …any person named in such a bill, which may be transferred /negotiated after endorsement. So it is sometimes called transferable B/L. It is because of this that nowadays, it is commonly used in international practice. A blank B/L is also called open B/L or bearer B/L. It refers to the bill in which the name of a definite consignee is not mentioned. The area in B/L calling for the name of the consignee is left blank, with neither the name of the consignee nor the phraseology of “to order” filled in. This kind of B/L can be transferred/ negotiable without endorsement. There usually appear in the box of consignee words like “to bearer” and holder of the B/L can take delivery of the goods against the surrender of B/L, i.e., ownership of the goods passes when the bill is handed over to anyone. (4). Direct B/L, A transshipment B/L, A through B/L
According to the modes of transport, it can be divided into 3 kinds.
A direct B/L is referred to the consignment carried to the port of destination directly without transshipment.
A transhipment B/L is issued by shipping companies when there is no direct service between the port of loading and port of destination, and the ship owner arranges to tranship the cargo at an intermediate port at his expense. This kind of Bill usually bears such a clause “Transhipment to be made”
A through B/L is issued when the entire voyage involves more than one carrier, where the ocean shipment forms only part of the complete journey and, subsequent thereto, the goods have to be carried by other land or sea carriers. The first carrier issues the bill and collects the freight for the entire voyage, and arranges transshipment and forwarding of the goods at the intermediate port. The shipper prefers this kind of B/L because of the trouble having been saved to deal with other carriers by himself.
(5). A long form B/L, A short form B/L
According to the contents of the B/L, it can be divided into 2 forms: Long Form B/L and Short Form B/L
A long form B/L refers to the B/L on the back of which all the detailed terms and conditions about the rights and obligations of the carrier and the consignor are listed as an integral part of the bill. It is more frequently used.
A short form B/L is a document which omits the terms and conditions on the back of B/L. (6). A freight prepaid B/L, A freight to be collected B/L
According to the time for payment of freight, it can be divided into 2 types.
A freight prepaid B/L means that all the freight is paid by the consignor when B/L is issued by the carrier on which “freight prepaid” is indicated.
A freight to be collected B/L refers to the B/L on which “freight payable at destination” is indicated.
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(7). A liner B/L, A charter party B/L
According to the types of the carrying vessels, it can be classified into a liner B/L and a charter party B/L.
(8). Other types of B/L
Besides the above-mentioned types of B/L there are some other types such as: container B/L; on Deck B/L; stale B/L; groupage B/L; house B/L; antedated B/L and advanced B/L. 1. 答：包装重要性体现在以下几个方面：
（1）是实现商品价值和使用价值的重要手段，是商品生产和消费之间的桥梁。
（2）出口商品需经过长距离辗转运输，有时需多次装卸、搬运和存储，包装可保证商品质量和数量完整，方便货物装卸、搬运、储存。
（3）商品生产过程，包装是最后一道工序；在流通领域中，包装具有保护商品、美化商品、宣传商品、提高售价的重要作用，并可作为对外竞争的重要手段。 约定包装条件的意义在于：
（1）不仅起到保护和美化商品作用，且包装本身还是货物说明的组成部分。
（2）按一些国家法律解释，如一方违反了所约定的包装条件，另一方有权提出索赔，甚至拒收货物。
2. 答：（1）必须适应商品特性。 （2）必须适应各种不同运输方式的要求。 （3）必须考虑有关国家的法律规定和客户要求。
（4）要保证包装牢固的前提下节省费用，便于各环节有关人员进行操作以免使货物遭受损失。
3. 答：（1）按包装方式，可分为单件运输包装和集合运输包装，后者又分为集装包和集装袋。
（2）按包装造型，可分为箱、袋、桶和捆等方式。
（3）按包装材料，可分为纸制，金属、木制、麻制品、玻璃制品、陶瓷制品及竹、柳、草制品包装等。
（4）按包装质地，可分为软性，半硬性和硬性包装。 （5）按包装程度，可分为全部包装和局部包装。
4. 答：（1）便于陈列展销，以吸引顾客和供消费者选购。 （2）便于识别商品，以便消费者了解，看货成交。 （3）便于携带和使用，为消费者提供方便。
（4）要有艺术吸引力，以便吸引顾客、提高售价、扩大销路。
5. 答：（1）包装的装潢画面要美观大方，富有艺术吸引力，突出特点，图案和色彩要适应有关国家民族习惯和爱好，便于扩大出口。
（2）包装上的文字说明应同装潢画面紧密配合，互相衬托，以达到宣传和促销目的，使用文字应简明扼要，并能让顾客看懂，必要时可中、外文并用。
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（3）包装上标签应注意有关国家的标签管理条例，尤其是食品、药品、服装。 （4）销售包装还应注意条形码技术的使用问题。
6. 答：（1）有效提高结算效率和准确性，也方便了顾客。
（2）有利于提高国际间贸易信息传递的准确性，使交易双方及时了解对方 商品有关资料和本国商品在对方的销售情况。
（3）条形码的使用是有效促使名优商品打入许多国家超级市场的前提条件。 7. 答：定牌生产产生的原因有：
（1）世界许多国家超级市场、大百货公司和专业商店在其经营出售商品上标有本商店使用的商标或品牌，以扩大本企业知名度并显示该商品身价。
（2）出口厂商为利用买方经营能力及商业信誉和品牌声誉，以提高商品售价和扩大销路，也采用定牌生产。
我国出口贸易中定牌生产具体做法有：
（1）在商品或包装上，打印上外商所指定的商标或品牌，而不标明生产国别和出口厂商名称。
（2）在商品或包装上，表明我国的商标或品牌，同时加注国外商号名称或表示其商号的标记。
（3）在商品或包装上，采用买方指定商标或品牌，同时注明“中国制造”字样。 8. 答：制定原因为： （1）运输标志内容较多。 （2）有时要加进一些不必要项目。
（3）各国和各种运输方式之间对运输标志的要求差异较大，不能适应国际货物流动量的增加和多式联运的开展，不利于电子计算机在运输和单证流转方面的应用。 作用有：
（1）减少了运输标志内容，节省出口成本、时间和费用。 （2）提高计算机操作和审单效率，加速船舶和资金周转。
（3）消除因运输标志内容过多和繁杂而可能造成的失误和困难，保证交货的顺利进行。 9. 答：
（1）对包装要求应当明确具体，做到明确规定包装材料、造型、规格。除传统商品外不宜采用“按惯常方式包装”等含糊包装术语。另外，除非买卖双方对具体内容事先充分交换意见或在长期业务往来中就问题取得一致认识，包装条款一定要明确具体。
（2）应订明包装费用由何方负担。按惯例，包装费用一般在货价之内，包装条款中无须另行订明。若买方坚持要求对原本不需包装的商品实施特殊包装，导致包装费用超出正常，增加产品成本，或包装物料刚好构成产品成本增加时，则订明包装费用负担。若卖方同意接受买方提供包装，包装条款中还应订明寄送包装方法，包装送达日期，送交包装延迟责任及运送包装费用负担等内容。进口合同中对包装技术性较强的商品通常在单价后注明“包括包装费用”，以免发生纠纷。
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