Feeder Vs. Ocean Vessel: Which One Must the On Board Notation Indicate?

Intro

Under a port-to-port LC (fields 44E and 44F), the bank expects a marine bill of lading that evidences shipment on board the ocean-going vessel performing the voyage from the stated port of loading to the stated port of discharge.

In practice, many BLs also show a pre-carriage or feeder vessel, and this sometimes leads to an on-board notation being placed on the wrong ship — even when the place of receipt and port of loading are the same.

Domenico’s case is a perfect example of this common but critical mistake.

QUESTION

Dear,

I have a credit with a port-to-port routing:

44E: ANY PORT IN CHINA – 44F: LA SPEZIA PORT, ITALY

The presented BL is a received for shipment BL and contains:

• Pre-carried by: V.2543E / ZHONG YI RUN JIANG
• Vessel: MSC ISCHIA – Voy. FD545W
• Place of Receipt: Wuhan
• Port of Loading: Wuhan
• Port of Discharge: La Spezia
• Place of Delivery: La Spezia

On-board notation states:

“Loaded on board M/V ZHONG YI RUN JIANG, Voyage 2543E, at Wuhan on 2025.10.31.”

Question: Is this on-board notation correct?

Thanks for your answer.

Regards,

Domenico

_________

ANSWER

Dear Domenico,

Thank you for your question.

According to ICC’s Recommendations in Respect of the Requirements for an On Board Notation (Document 470/1128), when a bill of lading shows:

• a place of receipt different from
• the port of loading, and
• there is pre-carriage,

then the rules for a valid on-board notation are the same whether the BL is pre-printed shipped on board or received for shipment:

1. The dated on-board notation must state the name of the ocean-going vessel that actually performs the port-to-port carriage.
2. It must also indicate the port of loading.
3. The date of this notation is taken as the date of shipment.

In your document:

• ZHONG YI RUN JIANG is clearly the pre-carriage (feeder) vessel.
• MSC ISCHIA is the ocean vessel for the China → Italy leg.

However, the on-board notation states loading on board ZHONG YI RUN JIANG—the feeder vessel—not MSC ISCHIA.

Under ICC guidance, this is not acceptable for a port-to-port LC.

Therefore, the BL is discrepant due to an incorrect on-board notation.

For a deeper dive into this frequent confusion, you may find this useful:

“Feeder Vessel vs. Ocean Vessel – Can They Be the Same?”

https://mroldman.net/feeder-vessel-vs-ocean-vessel-can-they-be-the-same/

Best regards,

Mr. Old Man