Cargo Manifest & Bill of Lading (B/L)

A manifest or ship's manifest is a document listing the cargo, passengers, and crew
of a ship, aircraft, or vehicle, for the use of customs and other ofcialsl Where such
a list is limited to identifying passengers, it is a passenger manifest or passenger
list; conversely, such a list limited to identifying cargo is a cargo manifest or cargo
listl The manifest may be used by people having an interest in the transport to
ensure that passengers and cargo listed as having been placed on board the
transport at the beginning of its passage continue to be on board when it arrives at
its destinationl

A cargo manifest and a bill of lading may carry similar information and the
concepts are not always clearly distinguishedl In some cases, a single document
may serve both purposesl In general, a bill of lading serves as a legal instrument
focusing on and documenting such issues as ownership, whereas a cargo manifest
is often more concerned with physical aspects of the cargo, such as weight and sizel
When the cargo is being shipped by several diferent shipping companies on the
same vessel, there will usually be separate bills of lading for each company, but
only a single consolidated cargo manifestl On the other hand, if the cargo contains
dangerous goods, there may be a separate dangerous cargo manifestl

Manifest will have, for customs, information on the cargo manifest such as its
consignor, consignee, quantity of goods, origin, destination and valuel

Bill of lading (sometimes abbreviated as B/L or BoL) is a document issued by a

carrier (or his agent) to acknowledge receipt of cargo for shipmentl In British
English the term relates to ship transport only, and in American English to any type
of transportation of goodsl

A bill of lading must be negotiable, and serves three main functions:

 it is a conclusive receipt, ilel an acknowledgement that the goods have been

loaded; and

 it contains or evidences the terms of the contract of carriage; and

 it serves as a document of title to the goods, subject to the nemo dat rulel
Nemo dat quod non habet, literally meaning "no one gives what he doesn't have")

Dangerous Cargo Documentation in Container ship

Documents relating to dangerous (DG) cargo on board are subject to scrutiny by
port ofcials, PSC inspectors and other concerned partiesl Thus any irregularities in
such documentation may result in fnes, detention or other such serious
implications for the vessell

DG cargo require special care after they are loaded on board shipl The containers
carrying DG cargo need proper documentationl The article here is about procedures
and guidelines on such cargo documentsl

Documentation related to the carriage of Dangerous Cargo on board container ships

will mainly consist of the following:

1) The vessel must be in possession of a valid Document of compliance (DOC)

with special requirements for ships carrying dangerous goodsl The appendix to this
document will contain information indicating class wise allowable locations for
stowage of dangerous goods on boardl

2) Each dangerous cargo shipment shall be accompanied by a Dangerous Goods

List or Manifestl This manifest shall be set out in accordance to the pertinent
regulation of SOLAS and MARPOL conventions and the IMDG codel DG Manifests
shall be fled on board and maintained load port wisel

3) Each dangerous cargo shipment shall also be accompanied by a Dangerous

Goods Declarationl
This is a signed certifcate or declaration that the consignment, as ofered for
carriage, is properly packaged, marked, labeled or placarded as appropriate and in
proper condition for carriagel

This declaration may be combined with the container packing certifcate as required
by the pertinent regulation of SOLAS and MARPOL conventions and the IMDG codel
DG Declarations shall be fled on board and maintained discharge port wisel

4) When dangerous goods are carried on board, appropriate information shall be

immediately available at all times for use in emergency response to accidents and
incidents involving dangerous goods in transportl
This information may be in the form of separate documents, safety data sheets or
the Emergency Response Procedures for Ships Carrying Dangerous Goods (EMS
Guide) for use in conjunction with the transport document and the Medical First Aid
Guide for Use in Accidents Involving Dangerous Goods (MFAG)l

5) Where required for reporting to port authorities, the Chief Ofcer shall prepare an
updated dangerous cargo listl This list shall contain at least the following
information: Stow position, Container number, Line operator, Port of loading /
discharge, DG class, UN number, proper shipping name, weight, fash point and
EMSl Such list for reporting to authorities shall be made with utmost cautionl

6) The Chief Ofcer shall prepare a copy of the dangerous cargo stowage plan
(indicating DG class & location) along with a dangerous cargo list (indicating
Location, Container number, DG class and UN number), and these along with any
special guidelines from shippers, shall be kept on Bridge (for ready reference of the
watch keeping ofcer) and in Fire wallets at gangwaysl

7) The Chief Ofcer obtain Container packing certifcate from shipper or agentl
Certifcate indicating correct loading of a dangerous goods container and the
observance of the regulations set out in the IMDG Code (International Maritime
Dangerous Goods Code)l The container packing certifcate is issued by the person
responsible for packing the containerl

Temperature records in refrigerated containers:

Introduction: When transporting refrigerated containers, maintaining the cold
chain often causes problemsl For this reason it is necessary to maintain
temperature records in order to provide evidence of the temperatures during
transportl Since a refrigerated container is a complex system, a variety of diferent
temperatures in a number of operating modes can be measured and recordedl The
interpretation of temperature records of this type is a constant source of
disagreementl The following sections will show what options are available for
recording temperatures, as well as the various possible meanings of the recorded
temperatures and how these can be assessedl

Data logger recorders may monitor both air and a cargo pulp temperature within a
reefer unit and the data is stored in an electronic memoryl

At sea, all reefer containers shall be monitored by checking physically at least Twice
daily (weather permitting)l All monitored data for each reefer container on board
shall be entered in a reefer monitoring log and retained for 3 yearsl Some reefer
containers with special cargo (elgl: VIP cargo) come with instructions for more
frequent monitoring and reportingl Such instructions shall be strictly followedl