The form of single transfer, through the transfer or circulation of the bill of lading, can achieve the sale or transfer of the goods carried on it, resulting in the transfer of ownership of the goods. According to the different contents recorded in the “consignee” column, bills of lading can be divided into named bills of lading, instructed bills of lading, and anonymous bills of lading. These three types of bills of lading follow different transfer rules.Article 79 of China’s Maritime Law stipulates three situations for the transfer of a bill of lading: “The transfer of a bill of lading shall be carried out in accordance with the following provisions: (1) a named bill of lading shall not be transferred; (2) an instructed bill of lading shall be transferred through a named endorsement or blank endorsement; (3) an anonymous bill of lading can be transferred without endorsement.”International logisticsThe core function of a bill of lading is to replace goods by sea, and the transfer of the bill of lading transfers the rights represented by the bill of lading. According to the above regulations, bills of lading are divided into two types: transferable and non transferable. A named bill of lading is non transferable, while an instruction bill of lading and a bearer bill of lading are transferable. Overall, the transfer of a bill of lading is closely related to two stages: endorsement and delivery. According to this, the transfer of bills of lading can be divided into two situations: endorsement plus delivery transfer and non endorsement transfer (i.e. delivery transfer). The meaning of delivery is clear, that is, the transfer of possession of the bill of lading.The instruction bill of lading is transferred by endorsement and delivery, and the anonymous bill of lading is transferred by delivery, otherwise it will not have legal effect. The original meaning of endorsement is “on the back”, which is later extended to refer to the act of the holder of the document writing on the back of the document. There is no legal definition for bill of lading endorsement, but its meaning generally refers to the instructions of the transferor of the bill of lading on the reverse side of the bill of lading, who records and signs to extract the goods.
