Receivers

[j.sabourn]

I suppose this would apply more to Tankership people than dry cargo. Although grain cargoes could change hands a couple of times while in transit. As oil cargoes are very expensive and lucrative cargoes what is the largest number of times one can remember when the cargo has changed hands before reaching destination.? How was the name of the receiver on the original Bills of Laden changed, this I assume must have been by radio. I suppose the same practice must be carried out today. Cheers John Sabourn

[Ivan Cloherty]

I suppose this would apply more to Tankership people than dry cargo. Although grain cargoes could change hands a couple of times while in transit. As oil cargoes are very expensive and lucrative cargoes what is the largest number of times one can remember when the cargo has changed hands before reaching destination.? How was the name of the receiver on the original Bills of Laden changed, this I assume must have been by radio. I suppose the same practice must be carried out today. Cheers John Sabourn

John, as far as I can recall oil and grain (and a lot of other goods) were shipped on "To Order" Bills of Lading and the goods remained the property of the shipper until he endorsed them to a consignee (used to be by Telex), this consignee could then endorse them to another consignee by the same method. The Master of the ship is fully protected legally against an old set of B/L's being presented before the final consignee presents theirs. We did this a lot with cement cargoes in the 70's both in Nigeria and the Gulf States. Don't know what the number is for changing hands, but we have on occasions changed the receivers four or five times, but it was always the owners (or time charters if vssl on T/C) who relayed the final destination to the Master, the ship was never directed until the final receivers paid any excess freight to cover waiting time, if any.

[John Arton]

John
Ivan is spot on with his post. I can only recall one or two occasions where B/L's were altered at sea on orders from Head Office.
Usually the ships agent was then one to endorse the B/L with the final receivers name when he presented them at the Customs House Long Room (yes the term still exists in a number of countries).
My last company on each ship we used to carry blank B/L's that we could use should the agent not have received his blank one from the Company prior to loading due to late change of orders and on one occasion one of the operators tried to force one of our Captains into issueing a false B/L changing the nature of the cargo so as to make it a non hazardous one and that meant that the ship could tank clean some tanks alongside without the need to go out to sea to clean and then return to back load thus incurring large expenses. The Captain refused and the operator started threatening him but it was the operator who got the heave ho when the captain reported him to the fleet manager.
The operator then went on to set up his own company carrying chemicals on time chartered ships but the last we saw of him was him being led down the gangway of an airplane in handcuffs after being arrested for carrying illegal arms from Russia to West Africa.
rgds
JA