What Is a Delivery Order and Who Issues It..??

Shipping and Freight Resource Educational Blog http://shippingandfreightresource.com

What is a Delivery Order and who issues it..??

In this article we will discuss about What a Delivery Order is, its importance and who issues it.. This article is based on a user question as below :

Dear sir, pl tell who issues delivery order “overseas counterpart of the freight forwarder or overseas counterpart of the carrier". from Priyankara

In one of my previous articles I wrote in detail about what a Bill of Lading is and its importance in the whole shipping cycle..

A Delivery Order is another such important document in the shipping cycle and in an ideal cycle you can call it the climax of the cycle.. The parting of ways of the cargo and the carrier if you wish.. :)

A Delivery Order is a document issued by the carrier, in exchange for

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1. One or all duly endorsed Original Bill(s) of Lading or duly authorised and issued Bank Guarantee 2. A Telex Release confirmation from the loading port or principal confirming surrender of one or all Original bills of lading issued for the shipment 3. A copy of a Seawaybill issued

releasing the cargo to the legal consignee mentioned in the bill of lading..

Only with this delivery order the consignee can clear the cargo with customs and take delivery of the cargo from the port or terminal or depot or wherever it is stored..

As mentioned in my post about Bill of Lading and duly discharged bills of lading, it is very important that the releasing agent issues the Delivery Order to the right entity as this document is the final frontier before the cargo is released and it cannot be reversed under normal circumstances..

So who issues this important document..?? The Delivery Order is issued by the carrier of the cargo directly if they have their own office at the destination or by their authorised destination agent on behalf of the main carrier..

Depending on the service type of the container which is indicated on the bill of lading, this may also be issued by the Groupage Operator for LCL/LCL cargoes..

In cases where a House Bill of Lading (HBL) has been issued by a Freight Forwarder, the Freight Forwarder's counterpart agent at destination will collect his Original HBL and issue a Release Letter to the main carrier requesting that their Delivery Order be issued to the nominated consignee.. In most cases where HBL is issued, the Master Bill of Lading (MBL) will be either a Seaway Bill or will be Telex Released to facilitate easy release..

Based on this release letter, the main carrier will release the Delivery Order to the nominated consignee..

The issuance of the Delivery Order signifies the end of the shipment cycle for that shipment and once the Delivery Order has been issued, the bill of lading maybe considered as duly discharged and accomplished.. It may also be considered as the end of the contract between the carrier and the consignee for that particular shipment..

This is of course assuming that the consignee takes delivery of the cargo promptly after securing the Delivery Order.. Hmmmm, abandoned cargo is another story all on its own which I will write about in due course..

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