TRANSHIPMENT OF GOODS

Midway between importation and exportation is Transhipment of Goods. The term "transhipment " means the act of transferring cargo from one ship to another. It is also used to denote the transference of goods from one railway to another, but in this case it is a misnomer.

Ports for Transhipments.—Transhipment can only take place at certain ports designated by the Customs authorities. These ports are Glasgow, Goole, Grimsby, Hartlepool, Hull, Leith, Liverpool, London, Newcastle, Newhaven, Poole, Southampton, and Swansea.

Goods for Transhipment.-All goods imported for transhipment are regarded as in the position of goods entered for exportation only. Such goods must be reported as "in transit,' and be described in the ship's report by their specific name, such as wool, cotton, &c., and not under a general denomination such as " merchandise or "contents unknown." Should any goods. intended for transhipment not have been entered in the ship's report as "in transit," the report will have to be amended.

Transhipment.-Transhipment may take place by water or by land; therefore as soon as the vessel arrives a delivery order must be obtained from the ship owners and a licensed lighterman or licensed carman be instructed to place a lighter or cart alongside the importing vessel.

Bonds. In order to tranship goods a bond similar to that described on page 76 has to be entered into by the consignees of the goods. A bond note has also to be signed (see form on next page). Before applying for a bond note the importer must present a Transhipment Bond Warrant (see next page), containing a full description of the goods, to the clerk having charge of the ship's report, who, if the warrant agrees with the ship's report, will write on the warrant the word "correct," adding his initials.

A Transhipment Delivery Order (see page 113) is then signed for the goods described in the warrant, and also a Transhipment Lighter Note or Cart Note and a Shipping Bill similar to that on page 78. These are merely orders to the Customs officers on

board the exporting ship to allow and witness the shipment of the goods. On receipt of the Transhipment Delivery Order, the Customs officer in charge of the importing vessel allows the goods to be delivered into a licensed lighter or van for conveyance to the export vessel. A Transhipment Lighter Note or Cart Note is given with the goods, and this, together with the Shipping Bill, is given to the officer on board the exporting vessel, who thereupon certifies to the shipment of the goods. He will also, if required, give a Mate's Receipt, but this is not always necessary, e.g., for goods shipped from the foreign port on a "through" Bill of Lading, which covers transhipment.

Marks and

Nos.

dated

Notice under General Bond, Bond Note for Transhipment & Exportation. Bond Office, Customs, Liverpool, Fourth day of October, 1898. THESE are to Certify that Brown, Beane & Co., Values. of No. 375, Tithebarn Street, Liverpool, has given Security as required by law for the due Transhipment and Exportation of the undermentioned Goods, viz. :

Duty Free Goods: Goods.

Amount of Duty, £52 10s.

On board the "Alexandra," for Havre.

The above Goods reported Fourth day of October, 1898, ex the "St.
George," Smith Master, @ Rio de Janeiro.

Signature of Exporter or

of or Agent}

William Johnson

Clerk of the Bonds.

In the For Harve

from

For Transhipment only.

"Alexandra,"

4th October, 1898.

Wilson Master.

Foreign Goods in Transit: Reported Inwards by the "St. George
1898, and for which Transit Bond has been

Rio de Janeiro

Fifty-two pounds ten shillings by Brown, Beane & Co.
Total value £135.
Received

4th October 189 8.

The following is printed on the back of the foregoing :

For Transhipment only.

Bond Office, Customs, Liverpool. 2nd day of August, 1898.

THESE are to certify that. Brown, Beane & Co. have given security as required by law for the due Transhipment of

BL

Ꭱ

1/60 = Sixty Bags Raw Coffee, seventy-five hundredweights. Total value, £135.

Amount of Duty, £52 10s.

on board the "Alexandra."

Master, for Havre.

The above Goods reported by Berry & Rawnsley,

Clerk of the Bonds.

the Fourth day of

October, 1898, ex the "St. George," Smith Master, from Rio de Janeiro.

Prince's Dock,

I declare the value of the above-named Foreign Goods to be £ 135.

TRANSHIPMENT DELIVERY ORDER.

189

Searcher.

CUSTOM HOUSE,

Export Branch, Liverpool, 4th October, 18 98.

To the Officer of Customs on board the "St. George," Captain Smith. Send up in charge of an officer of Customs, to be delivered into

the custody of the proper officers at Prince's Dock.

CHAPTER XV

IMPORTATION OF GOODS

We have already mentioned that the imports into this country consist mainly of raw materials and food stuffs. With the exception of cotton, which is to a considerable extent sold before it is shipped, the raw materials imported are chiefly "on consignment," that is to say, they are sent by the owner abroad for sale on his account. The same obtains with regard to a large proportion of the food stuffs imported. At the same time a very large import trade is done against "orders."

Imports against "Orders."-We will take these first, but we may premise by saying that the Customs formalities referred to further on are the same for all imports, whether "on consignment ” or against "orders."

Sometimes a merchant in this country imports goods on his own account or on "joint account' " with another merchant in anticipation of a rise in the market price of the goods, but in the majority of cases imports against "orders" consist of goods ordered through the home merchant by an actual manufacturer.

For instance, if a cotton spinner receives an order in, say, the month of December for yarn to be delivered in the following April, he goes to a merchant who deals in the particular kind of cotton required (we will say in this case "fine" Broach- -a class of cotton grown around Broach and Surat on the West Coast of India), and asks what the price is for early March shipment (or sailing) from Bombay. The merchant, who receives from his firm in Bombay daily telegraphic advices of the prices ruling for the different kinds of cotton, at once names a price, and if this suits the spinner a bargain is struck there and then, and is afterwards confirmed in writing. The merchant the same day telegraphs to his firm in Bombay that he has sold amongst others, say, 100 bales of "fine" Broach, at 37d. per lb. c.i.f., early March shipment, from Bombay to Liverpool, and such other particulars as may be necessary. The Bombay firm then buys the cotton (in Indian weights, and at a rupee price, of course), fixes (i.e., sells) exchange, and engages freight.

In due course the Bill of Lading will be received, together with an Invoice and Weight Note, as described further on.

In this case the buyer will probably be drawn upon by a "clean" draft at 3 m/s. On receipt of the Bill of Lading he will forward the document to a shipping agent in Liverpool, with instructions to clear and forward the goods. The shipping agent will then attend to the Customs formalities and other proceedings necessary (which are described further on), and will send a Debit Note for the charges incurred. The insurance will be covered by the merchant.

Another case where goods are imported against orders is that of a merchant or dealer in this country ordering produce direct from a firm abroad, for instance, a produce merchant in London ordering, say, Tapioca from a firm in Singapore. The procedure in this case would be very similar to that already described, except that the order might be telegraphed direct, instead of through the home firm, and that, instead of the buyer being drawn upon, the drawee would probably be a London bank designated by the buyer. Before this could be done the buyer would, of course, have to make an arrangement with the London bank to "accept" the drafts, that is to say, he would have to " open a credit," as it is called. There are two kinds of credits, viz., "open credits" and documentary credits."

An open credit in the above case would be "Letter of Credit" signed by the London bank authorising the firm abroad to draw on them, at say, 3 m/s for any sum or sums not exceeding in the aggregate a certain specified amount, say, £5,000, and undertaking to "accept" " the bills on presentation. It is usually stipulated that the credit is not to remain in force after a specified date, and the firm accredited is requested to state in each draft Against your L/C No. This Letter of Credit would be forwarded by the London firm to the firm abroad, in order that it may, if necessary, be produced when the bills are negotiated abroad, as proof that the firm is authorised to draw on the bank. It will thus be seen that an "open credit" refers to "clean" bills, the documents against which the bills are drawn not having to be produced.