The international contract of carriage of goods by sea is an agreement reached between the carrier and the shipper to transport the goods from the port of one country to the port of another country by sea and deliver them to the consignee. Generally, the carrier is the owner of the ship or other people who are engaged in maritime freight transportation, and the shipper is the seller or buyer in international trade.

ii. basic forms of international contract of carriage of goods by sea

there are two basic forms of international contract of carriage of goods by sea, one is charter party, and the other is liner contract.

1. Charter Party

A charter party is a contract concluded between the lessor (ship owner) and the lessee (charterer) to hire a ship to transport goods. According to the different chartering methods, chartering contracts can be divided into voyage chartering contracts, time chartering contracts and bareboat chartering contracts.

The rights and obligations of the parties to a charter party are stipulated in the contract, and the parties must abide by the contract. The laws of the relevant countries can only be applied when there is no agreement or no different agreement in the contract, which is clearly stipulated in Article 127 of the Maritime Code of China. However, in the process of contract performance, disputes are still inevitable, so there should also be applicable provisions of law in the contract.

when there is no agreement on the applicable law in the contract, the court or arbitration institution generally determines the application of the flag state law or the law of the place where the contract is concluded according to the principle of the closest connection. Article 269 of the Maritime Code of China stipulates: "The parties to a contract may choose the law applicable to the contract, unless otherwise stipulated by law. If the parties to a contract have no choice, the law of the country with the closest connection to the contract shall apply. "

2. Liner shipping contract

Liner shipping refers to the transportation in which the shipper consigns a certain amount of goods to the ship as the carrier, and the shipping company carries out the transportation according to the fixed route, fixed shipping schedule and fixed freight rate. It is the most widely used form in the transportation of goods by sea. Because liner shipping contracts are mostly expressed in the form of bills of lading, some people call them "bill of lading transportation".

The bill of lading is the most widely used document in international carriage of goods by sea, and it is of great legal significance:

(1) The bill of lading is the evidence for the conclusion of a contract of carriage of goods by sea between the carrier and the shipper. The bill of lading itself is a contract, because it is issued by the carrier and does not need the shipper's signature.

(2) The bill of lading is the receipt of the goods carried by the carrier. From the date of issuance of the bill of lading, the carrier shall bear legal responsibility for the storage and transportation of the goods until delivery at the port of destination. For the seller, obtaining the bill of lading is the proof that it has fulfilled the delivery obligation in the contract.

(3) The bill of lading is a document representing the ownership of the goods. Whoever legally holds the bill of lading is equal to possessing the goods and enjoying the right to dispose of them. The seller can negotiate with the bank on the basis of the bill of lading, and the consignee can pick up the goods on the basis of the bill of lading. Bill of lading belongs to securities, which can be transferred, traded or used as collateral.