Sea Waybill (SWB)

A sea waybill (SWB), often called an express release, is the ocean equivalent of an air waybill: a receipt for the goods and evidence of the contract of carriage, but not a document of title. Nothing has to be surrendered at destination, so the cargo is never held up waiting for couriered originals.

How a sea waybill works

The CMI Uniform Rules for Sea Waybills (1990), which apply when a carrier's waybill terms adopt them, set out the mechanics:

• The carrier "shall deliver the goods to the consignee upon production of proper identification" and is not liable for wrong delivery if it took reasonable care to check that the claimant is the consignee (rule 7)
• The shipper keeps the right of control and can change the consignee up to the time the consignee claims delivery at destination, unless it transferred that right to the consignee, noted on the waybill, before the carrier received the goods (rule 6)
• The carrier's liability is the same as if a bill of lading had been issued: any convention or national law that would have applied compulsorily still applies (rule 4), so on US trades COGSA and its $500 package limit still govern

Sea waybill vs bill of lading

US law draws the same line. A bill is negotiable when it states that the goods are to be delivered to the order of a consignee; a bill that states the goods are to be delivered to a named consignee is nonnegotiable, cannot be made negotiable by endorsement, and must be marked "nonnegotiable" or "not negotiable" (49 U.S.C. 80103). A sea waybill is always the second kind. A telex release sits between the two: a bill of lading is issued and its originals are surrendered at origin.

When a sea waybill fits and when it doesn't

• Fits: shipments between related companies, open-account sales where the buyer pays after arrival, and repeat buyers who have prepaid. It removes the risk of lost originals and the fees for issuing replacements
• Doesn't fit: sales where the seller needs the document to control the goods until paid, cargo sold while afloat, and most letter of credit transactions, which normally call for a full set of order bills. Check the credit before choosing
• Get the consignee right: because the named consignee can collect the cargo on identification, a wrong or incomplete name is a release problem at destination, not just a typo

An NVOCC can issue its house bill as a waybill in the same way. Airlift's ocean freight bookings offer an original bill, a telex release or an express (sea waybill) release, chosen at booking.