What is the difference between House Bill of Lading, Master Bill of Lading..
- House Bill of Lading (HBL) is issued by the NVOCC/Freight Forwarder to the actual customer
- Master Bill of Lading (MBL) is issued by the Shipping Line (Carrier) to the NVOCC/Freight Forwarder – also known as Ocean Bill of Lading
- House Bill of Lading will be an EXACT replica of the Master Bill of Lading issued by the actual Shipping line in respect of cargo details.. The only difference will be that the shipper, consignee and notify party details will be different in the HBL and MBL..
In the HBL
- the Shipper will usually be the actual shipper/exporter of the cargo (or as dictated by the L/C)
- the Consignee will usually be the actual receiver/importer of the cargo (or as dictated by the L/C)
- the Notify could be the same as Consignee or any other party as dictated by the L/C)
In the MBL
- the Shipper will usually be the NVOCC operator or their agent or the Freight Forwarder..
- the Consignee will usually be the destination agent or counterpart or office of the NVOCC operator or the Freight Forwarder
- the Notify could be the same as Consignee or any other party..
The rest of the details like vessel/voyage information, cargo description, number of containers, seal numbers, weight, measurements etc etc will all remain the same..
Unless required otherwise by the L/C, the HBL can also be used as a negotiable document and can be considered the title of goods and receipt of cargo same as an MBL.. In the interest of the NVOCC operator and their insurance coverage/exposure, it is recommended that all the details except the shipper, consignee and notify details on the HBL remain the same on the MBL..
