Sea-Carriage Documents Act 1997

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears –

bill of lading means a bill of lading (including a received for shipment bill of lading) which is capable of transfer – by endorsement; or as a bearer bill, by delivery without endorsement;

contract of carriage, in relation to a sea-carriage document, means – in the case of a bill of lading or a sea waybill, the contract of carriage contained in, or evidenced by, the document; or in the case of a ship's delivery order, the contract of carriage in association with which the order is given;

data message means information generated, stored or communicated by electronic, optical or analogous means including, but not limited to, electronic data interchange, electronic mail, telegram, telex and telecopy;

goods, in relation to a sea-carriage document, means the goods to which the document relates;

identification, in relation to the identification of a person in a sea-carriage document, includes the identification of the person by a description which allows for the person's identity to be varied, in accordance with the document, after its issue;

lawful holder, in relation to a bill of lading, means a person who – has come into possession of the bill, in good faith, as the consignee of the goods, by virtue of being identified in the bill; or has come into possession of the bill, in good faith, as a result of the completion, by delivery of the bill – of any endorsement of the bill; or in the case of a bearer bill, of any other transfer of the bill; or would be the lawful holder of the bill under paragraph (a) or (b) had not the person come into possession of the bill as the result of a transaction effected at a time when possession of the bill no longer gave a right (as against the carrier) to possession of the goods;

sea-carriage document means a bill of lading, a sea waybill or a ship's delivery order;

sea waybill means a document other than a bill of lading which – is issued by the carrier of the goods; and is a receipt for the goods; and contains or evidences a contract for the carriage of the goods by sea; and identifies the person to whom delivery of the goods is to be made by the carrier in accordance with the contract;

ship's delivery order means a document other than a bill of lading or a sea waybill which – is given in association with a contract for the carriage of goods by sea including those to which the document relates; and contains an undertaking by the carrier to deliver the goods to which the document relates to a person identified in the document.