Sea-Carriage Documents Act 1997 (Tas)

Sea-Carriage Documents Act 1997

An Act to reform the law relating to bills of lading, sea waybills and ship's delivery orders, to repeal the Bills of Lading Act 1857 and to amend the Water-Carriage Act 1918 [Royal Assent 8 May 1997]

Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:

PART 1 - Preliminary

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Sea-Carriage Documents Act 1997 .

2. Commencement This Act commences on a day to be proclaimed.

3. Application This Act applies only in relation to sea-carriage documents coming into existence on or after the date of commencement of this section.

4. Interpretation In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears – bill of lading means a bill of lading (including a received for shipment bill of lading) which is capable of transfer – (a) by endorsement; or (b) as a bearer bill, by delivery without endorsement; contract of carriage, in relation to a sea-carriage document, means – (a) in the case of a bill of lading or a sea waybill, the contract of carriage contained in, or evidenced by, the document; or (b) in the case of a ship's delivery order, the contract of carriage in association with which the order is given; data message means information generated, stored or communicated by electronic, optical or analogous means including, but not limited to, electronic data interchange, electronic mail, telegram, telex and telecopy; goods, in relation to a sea-carriage document, means the goods to which the document relates; identification, in relation to the identification of a person in a sea-carriage document, includes the identification of the person by a description which allows for the person's identity to be varied, in accordance with the document, after its issue; lawful holder, in relation to a bill of lading, means a person who – (a) has come into possession of the bill, in good faith, as the consignee of the goods, by virtue of being identified in the bill; or (b) has come into possession of the bill, in good faith, as a result of the completion, by delivery of the bill – (i) of any endorsement of the bill; or (ii) in the case of a bearer bill, of any other transfer of the bill; or (c) would be the lawful holder of the bill under paragraph (a) or (b) had not the person come into possession of the bill as the result of a transaction effected at a time when possession of the bill no longer gave a right (as against the carrier) to possession of the goods; sea-carriage document means a bill of lading, a sea waybill or a ship's delivery order; sea waybill means a document other than a bill of lading which – (a) is issued by the carrier of the goods; and (b) is a receipt for the goods; and (c) contains or evidences a contract for the carriage of the goods by sea; and (d) identifies the person to whom delivery of the goods is to be made by the carrier in accordance with the contract; ship's delivery order means a document other than a bill of lading or a sea waybill which – (a) is given in association with a contract for the carriage of goods by sea including those to which the document relates; and (b) contains an undertaking by the carrier to deliver the goods to which the document relates to a person identified in the document.