Electronic Maritime Bill of Lading

The maritime transport and logistics sector in the Kingdom is experiencing an accelerated digital transformation consistent with Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to enhance the Kingdom’s position as a global logistics hub.

The electronic maritime bill of lading is one of the most prominent manifestations of this transformation, as it replaces the traditional paper bill of lading within a package of laws that facilitate dealings through such electronic instruments, including the Electronic Transactions Law issued by Royal Decree No. (M/18) dated 8/3/1428H, and the Commercial Maritime Law issued by Royal Decree No. (M/33) dated 5/4/1440H.

• Concept of the Electronic Maritime Bill of Lading:

The electronic maritime bill of lading is defined as a digital document that performs the same legal and commercial functions as the paper bill of lading in the carriage of goods by sea, provided that it is issued, transferred, and stored electronically through digital platforms, including evidencing the contract of carriage and the particulars and terms of carriage. The Commercial Maritime Law defines a bill of lading as: “A document issued by the carrier at the request of the shipper upon receipt of the goods from the shipper, setting out the particulars and terms of carriage.” (1)

The sea carrier shall issue the bill of lading at the request of the shipper upon receipt of the goods carried by sea (2), provided that the bill of lading includes the following particulars:

1. The name of the carrier, the shipper, and the consignee, and the address of each of them.
2. The description of the goods as stated by the shipper, in particular their nature, their degree of hazard, the number of packages, their weight or volume, the distinguishing marks affixed to them, and their apparent condition, including the condition of the containers in which they were placed.
3. The name of the vessel, if the bill was issued at the time of loading or after loading.
4. The name of the master.
5. The port of loading and the port of discharge.
6. The freight, if payable in full upon arrival, or the portion thereof that is payable.
7. The place of issuance of the bill, the date of its issuance, and the number of originals issued.
8. A statement as to whether the goods are to be carried on deck. (3)

• Evidentiary Value of the Electronic Maritime Bill of Lading:

The Saudi legislator has affirmed the evidentiary effect of electronic transactions, electronic records, and electronic signatures, and has conferred upon them binding probative force. It has not permitted denial of their validity or enforceability, nor the prevention of their enforcement, on the ground that they were effected wholly or partly electronically, provided that such electronic transactions, records, and signatures are carried out in accordance with the conditions stipulated in the Electronic Transactions Law (4). If any law in the Kingdom requires that a document, record, or information submitted to another person be in writing, submitting it in electronic form satisfies that requirement, provided that certain conditions are observed, namely:

1. The electronic record must be retained in the form in which it was created, sent, or received, or in a form that enables proof that its content is identical to the content in the form in which it was created, sent, or received.
2. The electronic record must remain retained in a manner that enables its use and subsequent reference.
3. The information enabling identification of the originator and the addressee, and the date and time of sending and receiving, must be retained with the electronic record. (5)

In the Commercial Maritime Law, the Saudi legislator provides for the permissibility of recording the particulars of the bill of lading in an electronic transport record, provided that the issuance and subsequent use of that record are with the consent of the carrier and the shipper, and provided that the electronic transport record shall have the same effect as the bill of lading in its possession. (6)

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods grants the shipper the right to obtain from the carrier a bill of lading or an electronic transport record. (7)

• Advantages of the Electronic Maritime Bill of Lading:

The electronic maritime bill of lading enables the acceleration of customs procedures and loading and discharge procedures through integration with relevant governmental platforms such as the FASAH platform, which reduces discharge and clearance time from days to hours. It also reduces operational costs associated with printing, transport, and paper storage, and supports transparency and security through a reliable electronic record for tracking the movement of the bill of lading.

Many problems arising from dealing through paper maritime bills of lading can be avoided when dealing through their electronic counterparts, including cases involving endorsement of multiple negotiable paper bills of lading addressed in Article (Two Hundred Seven) of the Commercial Maritime Law, where multiple persons holding copies of a negotiable bill of lading apply for delivery of the goods, or where one of the persons holding one of the bills of lading takes delivery of the goods in good faith before the other holders of such bills. (8)

 

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Sources:

(1) Article One of the Commercial Maritime Law issued by Royal Decree No. (M/33) dated 5/4/1440H.

(2) Article (One Hundred Eighty-One) of the Commercial Maritime Law.

(3) Article (One Hundred Eighty-Two) of the Commercial Maritime Law.

(4) Article (Five) of the Electronic Transactions Law issued by Royal Decree No. (M/18) dated 8/3/1428H.

(5) Articles (Six) and (Seven) of the Electronic Transactions Law.

(6) Article (One Hundred Ninety-Five) of the Commercial Maritime Law.

(7) Article (Thirty-Five) of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea (the Rotterdam Rules), adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 11 December 2008 in New York, to which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia acceded pursuant to Royal Decree No. (M/19) dated 3/2/1440H, as published in Umm Al-Qura Gazette dated 5/2/1440H.

(8) Article (Two Hundred Seven) of the Commercial Maritime Law.