Owners' Bill of Lading

An owners’ bill of lading is a bill issued on behalf of the registered shipowner as carrier, so the contract of carriage is with the owner rather than a charterer. The distinction matters for who is sued on a cargo claim, who may limit liability, and which res the cargo claimant arrests. A demise clause and an identity-of-carrier clause make the owner the carrier even where a charterer’s or line’s form is used, as upheld in The Berkshire [1974] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 185. By contrast, a charterer’s bill is signed for the charterer as carrier. Whether a bill is an owner’s or a charterer’s bill turns on its terms and the signature, not the form’s heading.