Booking Note

A booking note is the preliminary contract of carriage that reserves cargo space on a named or substitute vessel before the bill of lading issues. Common in liner and parcel trades, it records the freight rate, the laydays or shipment period, the loading and discharge ports, and the cargo description. BIMCO publishes standard forms, including Conlinebooking for liner cargo. Once the goods load and the bill of lading is issued, the bill governs the carriage terms; until then the booking note is the operative contract, and its breach (failure to provide space or to ship) sounds in damages. The booking note is not a document of title and cannot be negotiated.