BILLS OF LADING ACT - 1961 (ACT 42)

• Section - 1 - Application Of Rules In Schedule

  • Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Rules contained in Articles 1 to 8 of the Convention which are set out in the Schedule to this Act (hereinafter referred to as "the Rules") shall have effect in relation to and in connection with the carriage of goods by sea in ships carrying goods from any port in Ghana to any other port whether in or outside Ghana.

• Section - 2 - Statement As To Application Of Rules To Be Included In Bills Of Lading

  • Every bill of lading or similar document of title issued in Ghana which contains or is evidence of any contract to which the Rules apply shall contain an express statement that it is to have effect subject to the provisions of the Rules as applied by this Act, and the Rules as so applied shall be deemed to be incorporated in every such bill of lading or similar document of title notwithstanding that it does not contain the express statement required by this section and notwithstanding that the contract pursuant to which such bill of lading or similar document of title is issued, is not governed by the law of Ghana.

• Section - 3 - No Absolute Warranty Of Seaworthiness

  • There shall not be implied in any contract for the carriage of goods by sea to which the Rules apply any absolute undertaking by the carrier of the goods to provide a seaworthy ship.

• Section - 4 - Modification Of Rules 4 And 5 Of Article 3

  • Where under the custom of any trade the weight of any bulk cargo inserted in the bill of lading is a weight ascertained or accepted by a third party other than the carrier or the shipper and the fact that the weight is so ascertained or accepted is stated in the bill of lading then, notwithstanding anything in the Rules, the bill of lading shall not be prima facie evidence against the carrier of the receipt of goods of the weight so inserted in the bill of lading, and the accuracy thereof at the time of shipment shall not be deemed to have been guaranteed by the shipper.

• Section - 5 - Modification Of Rule 5 Of Article 4

  • Rule 5 of Article 4 of the Rules shall be read as though for the reference to lb100" there were substituted "two hundred Ghanaian pounds".

• Section - 6 - Modification Of Article 6

  • Article 6 of the Rules shall, in relation to the carriage of goods by sea in ships carrying goods from any port in Ghana to any other port in Ghana, have effect as though it referred to goods of any class instead of to particular goods and as though the proviso to the second paragraph of the Article were omitted.

• Section - 7 - Consignees Or Endorsees Of Bill Of Lading May Sue

  • (1) Every consignee of goods named in a bill of lading, and every endorsee of a bill of lading to whom the property in the goods therein mentioned passes under the contract in pursuance of which the endorsement was made, shall have transferred to and vested in him all rights, and be subject to the same liabilities in respect of the goods as if the contract expressed in the bill of lading had been made with himself.
    
    (2) Nothing in this section shall prejudice or affect any right of stoppage in transit or any right to claim freight against the original shipper or owner, or any liability of the consignee or endorsee by reason or in consequence of his being a consignee or endorsee, or of his receipt of the goods by reason or in consequence of the consignment or endorsement.

• Section - 8 - Bill Of Lading In Hands Of Consignee, Etc., Conclusive Evidence Of Shipment Against Person Signing

  • (1) A bill of lading in the hands of a consignee or endorsee for valuable consideration representing goods to have been shipped on board a vessel, shall, subject to section 4 of this Act, be conclusive evidence of such shipment as against the master or other person signing the same unless the holder of the bill of lading had actual notice at the time of receiving it that the goods or some of them had not been in fact loaded on board.
    
    (2) A consignee or endorsee or other holder of a bill of lading shall not be entitled to rely on subsection (1) if the misrepresentation in the bill of lading was caused without the fault of the person signing the same and wholly by the fraud of the shipper, or of the holder or some person under whom the holder claims.

• Section - 9 - Savings For Dangerous Goods And Limitations Of Liability

  • Nothing in this Act shall affect the operation of any enactment for the time being in force limiting the liability of the owners of sea-going vessels or relating to the carriage of dangerous goods by sea.

• Section - 10 - Repeals

  • (1) The Carriage of Goods by Sea Ordinance (Cap. 242) is hereby repealed.
    
    (2) The United Kingdom Bills of Lading Act, 1855 (18 and 19 Vict., c.111) shall cease to apply in Ghana after the commencement of this Act but shall continue to apply to bills of lading issued before the commencement of this Act.