A bill of lading is a document certifying that the contract of carriage of goods by sea and that the goods have been received or loaded by the carrier, and that the carrier warrants that the goods are delivered thereagainst. Only by bill of lading can goods be extracted, so in international trade, especially under the FOB, CFR conditions, bill of lading is of great significance, is considered as the representative and symbol of goods.


So the Bill of lading is so important, once lost how to deal with?


1. The first reaction after the loss of the bill of lading is to contact the freight forwarding or shipping company, in fact, should also notify the consignee.


2. Three consecutive days should be published in newspapers at or above the city level, stating that the b/L has been lost.


3. The shipping company will issue a letter of guarantee for loss of b/L, fill in the b/L number, box seal number and other information as required, and send the original with official seal back to the shipping company.


4. The most important part is the deposit. If the bill of lading is lost, the shipping company will generally require a deposit of 2-3 times the value of the goods, and the detention period is one to two years. This number and time is not certain, can be negotiated, this time is very test of the freight forwarding.


5. Statement of the newspaper and the loss guarantee, together with the agreed deposit, shall be signed by the shipping company and shipping company in triplicate in the presence of the forwarder.


6. If it still takes some time for the goods to arrive at the port, the shipping company will renew the original Bill of lading. If you have arrived at the port, even beyond the free container period and free heap period, then in order to avoid high port miscellaneous fees, you can ask the forwarder to help apply, it is good to have one more free day. In addition, do not send the original bill of lading to foreign countries, choose telex release bill of lading to save time.