Front of bill of lading preferred

The House of Lords has ruled that the information on the face of a bill of lading is to be preferred to inconsistent printed clauses on the back, when deciding whether the bill was an owner’s or a charterer’s bill. The House of Lords applied banking rules in the case, Homburg Houtimport BV v Agrosin Private Ltd , which involved the ship Starsin. Banks only consider the front of bills of lading when negotiating letters of credit.