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English Correspondence for International
Trade
Unit 10
Shipment
Part
One
Basic Knowledge
Concerned
1.
The
Domain of Shipment
Shipment is one of the essential links
in the chain of international trade. The main
activities
of
it
include
custom
clearance,
vessel
chartering
or
shipping
space
booking,
obtaining
shipping
documents after
passing goods to the shipping company and sending
shipping advice. Goods can
be
transported by road, rail or air, but in most
cases of international trade, by sea.
This unit focuses on the most common
conveyance method
—
ocean
transportation, and on the
necessary
work related to shipment from the perspective and
position of an exporter.
2.
The Requirements of
Shipment
In
a
sales
contract,
a
sales
confirmation
or
a
Letter
of
Credit,
terms
of
shipment
are
indispensable. Terms of shipment, which
indicate the latest shipment time, ports of
loading and
unloading/destination,
shipment
documents
needed
and
stipulation
of
partial
shipment
and
transshipment, are the
requirements of shipment agreed by both the seller
and the buyer who enter
into the sales
contract.
In addition to these
requirements, more instructions about shipment are
given to the seller by
the buyer. It is
a written document called the “shipping
instructions”, which states, other than what
has
been
regulated
in
the
sales
contract
or
the
Letter
of
Credit,
the
packing
requirements
and
shipping marks of the
cargo.
3.
The Bill of Lading
The Bill of Lading, or the Ocean Bill
of Lading, or B/L for short, is the document that
the
carrier, i.e. the shipping company
makes, signs and issues to the consignor/exporter
after receiving
the cargo entrusted by
the latter. It is a cargo receipt, an evidence of
the carriage contract and most
importantly, the document of
title/ownership to the goods.
Under
the
payment
method
of
L/C,
B/L
is
always
one
of
the
key
documents
that
the
beneficiary/exporter
needs
to
submit
when
he/she
asks
for
negotiation
in
the
negotiation
bank.
Under the payment
method of collection, i.e. D/P or D/A, B/L is also
one of the core documents
that the
importer pays or signs to receive.
4.
The Shipping Advice
After
the
goods
are
loaded
on
board
the
ship,
the
exporter
should
immediately
send
the
shipping
advice to the importer informing the latter about
the details of the shipment so that the
importer
can
make
preparation
for
receiving
the
goods
and
considering
the
sales
distribution
channels and more urgently, buy
insurance if the trade term is FOB or CFR.
Teletransmission is
preferred for
sending the shipping advice under FOB or CFR for
the sake of speed.
5.
Method of Shipment
In
international trade, shipment can be made by sea,
air, rail, truck and parcel post. In order to
deliver goods more efficiently, we also
have multimodal transport and land bridge
transport. The
choice
of
shipping
methods
depends
on
the
nature
of
the
products,
the
distance
to
be
shipped,
available means of
transportation, and relative freight costs.
Part Two
Letter-writing Guide
For letters written by the
importer
1.
Reminding or urging the exporter of
when and how to ship the goods
74
English Correspondence for
International Trade
We refer to
Contract 1342 signed between us on August 1, 2012
for Men’s Shirts,
which stipulates that the latest
shipment date is October 20, 2012.
我们于
2012
年
8
月
1
日签订的
EU1342
号关于男士衬衫的合同规定
,
最迟装船期为
2012
年
10
月
20
日
?
We are eager
to know the details about the shipment of the 10
containers of bathroom
equipment we ordered last month.
我们迫切地想知道上月我们所订的
1
0
个集装箱浴室设备的具体发运情况
?
Due to an unexpected development we
were wondering whether you could advance shipment
of the
consignment from November to October.
鉴于可能出现意想不到的状况
, <
/p>
我们想知道贵方能否将这批货物的装运期从
11
< br>月提前
到
10
月
?
2.
Expressing the reason why
punctual shipment is required
As our company is in urgent need of the
goods we would like to emphasize again the
importance of the punctual
shipment within the validity of the L/C.
因为本公司急需这批货
,
所以我们想再次强调在信用证有效期内准时装运的重要性
?
Please strictly adhere to the
latest shipment date indicated in the L/C because
our distributors
have been
waiting for the arrival of these Chinese art
crafts with high anticipation.
请严格遵照信用证中有关最迟装运期的规定
,
因为我们的分销商们一直在满怀希望地
等待着这批中国工艺品的到达
?
Delay of the shipment will lead to the
irretrievable disastrous loss when the Christmas
season
passes.
延误了装运期会带来不可挽回的巨大损失
,
因为到时圣诞节的销售旺季已过
?
3.
Indicating
the consequences of the exporter’s action
of shipment
In case you
should fail to effect the shipment by the end of
this month we would have to
lodge a claim against you for the loss
as is stipulated in the sales confirmation signed
by both
of us in January of
this year.
如果贵方到本月底前还不发货的话
,
我们将不得不按照今年
1
月双方所签的
销售确认书
中的有关规定对你们提出索赔
?
If your first consignment is promptly
delivered and proves to conform to the samples we
confirmed we are quite
willing to offer more orders.
如果贵方的首批货物能及时运来
,
且产品品质与我们之前确认的样品品质相符的话
,
我
们会很乐意下更多的订单
?
For letters written by the
exporter
1.
Informing the importer of details of
the shipment
We are glad to inform you
that the goods have already been shipped by...
我们高兴地告知贵方
,
货物已由
……
船起运
?
Here is the fax of the shipping advice
where it is clearly stated that the cargo will
reach you
within 7 days.
这是装运通知的传真件
,
上面清楚地
显示了这批货将在
7
天内抵达贵方
?<
/p>
This is the copy of the B/L
and you can prepare for receiving the consignment
according to
the
information it contains.
这是提单的复印件
,
贵方可根据单上的信息去准备接货
?
2.
Declining the
importer’s push
on shipment
75
English
Correspondence for International Trade
We
feel sorry that we really cannot ship the cargo
before... because...
我们很
抱歉真的无法在
……
之前装运该批货物
,
原因是
……
We felt apologetic that we really have
no way to make shipment on...
我方实
在无法于
……(
日期
)
装运货物
,
谨向贵方表示歉意
?
Your request of advancing the shipment
date by one month is absolutely beyond our
capability although we
strongly wish we could have complied with your
request.
尽管我们很想满足贵方欲把装运期提前一个月的愿望
,
但这一要求大大超出了我们的
能力范围
?
Part 3
Commonly
Used Expressions and Sentence Patterns
Expressions
1.
shipper/consignor
2.
shipping
service
shipping company
forwarding agent
3.
shipping instruction
shipping advice
4.
on board
5.
optional port
6.
make a partial shipment
7.
be transshipped (at)
8.
book shipping space on... for...
9.
to be ready for shipment
10.
ship goods
by S.S. (M.V
.)
11.
within the stipulated time
12.
advance (postpone) shipment
13.
advise (inform, notify) sb.
14.
effect (make) shipment
15.
shipping
docu
ments covering …
be sent through
… bank
be airmailed
16.
The steamer
is scheduled to leave … on...
17.
The consignment under contract No. ...
has been shipped via...
18.
One set of... have been sent to you.
Sentence Patterns
1.
Shipping
Instructions
（装船要求）
1)
to be ready
for shipment
备妥待运
We are glad
to inform you that the goods you ordered are ready
for shipment. Please let us
have your
instructions for shipping marks and dispatch.
我们很高兴地通知你方所订购的货物已备妥待运，请告知唛头及装运要求。
2)
to ship
goods by S.S. (M.V
.)
由
…
轮装运
货物
Please try your utmost to
ship our goods by S.S. “Peace” which is due to
arrive at Hamburg
on 8 May, and confirm
by return that the goods will be ready in time.
76
English
Correspondence for International Trade
请尽力用“和平”号轮装运我方货物，该轮预定于
5
月
8
日抵汉堡。请函复确认货物将
按时备妥。
3)
to
book shipping space
订舱位
Please book
the necessary shipping space in advance to ensue
timely dispatch of the goods
ordered.
请预订所需的舱位以保证及时装运所订购的货物。
4)
within the
stipulated time
在规定的时间内
As our
users are in urgent need of the consignment,
please get the goods dispatched within
the stipulated time.
由于我方客户急需此货物，请按规定的时间发运。
5)
to advance
(postpone) shipment
提前（推迟）装运
Owing
to
the
delay
in
opening
the
relative
L/C,
shipment
cannot
be
made
in
May
as
contracted
and should be postponed until June.
由于开
证推迟，无法按合同于
5
月发货，将延至
6
月。
6)
to mark
刷唛
Please ensure that all the cases are
marked clearly with our initials in a triangle,
under which
comes the destination with
the contract number below.
请务必清楚地在所有箱子上
将我公司首字母写在三角形内，
其下方为目的港名，
下面为
合同编号。
2.
Shipping
Advice
（装船通知）
1)
to advise
(inform, notify) sb.
通知某人
We
are
pleased
to
inform
you
that
the
goods
under
S/C
No.
3125
went
forward
per
m/v
“Washington”
of
the
Pacific
Line
on
7
May,
and
the
relevant
shipping
samples
had
been
dispatched to you by air before the
steamer sailed.
兹通知
< br>3125
号售货确认书项下货物已于
5
< br>月
7
日装太平洋航运公司“华盛顿”号轮，
有关货样已于该轮启航前航邮给你方。
2)
to effect
shipment
装运
Shipment is to
be effect (made) during March to May in three
equal lots..
3/4
月份装船。
The
shipment
of
bath
towels
under
Contract No. 756
will
be
effected
by
M.V
.
“
Goddess
”
,
which
is scheduled to leave here on June 20. Please
arrange insurance for this cargo.
第
756
号合同项下浴巾货物将由“女神”轮装运，该轮定于
6
月
20
日启航，请办理保
险。
3)
to be transshipped (at)
转船
We
have pleasure in notifying you that we have
shipped today by m.v.
“
Yellow
River
”
200
cartons of alarm clocks. They are to be
transshipped at Hong Kong and are expected to
reach
your port early next month.
兹通知已由
“黄河”
号轮发运
200
箱闹钟。此货物将在新加坡转船，预定于下月初到达
你方港口。
2) to make a
partial shipment
分批装运
If you
desire earlier delivery, we can only make a
partial shipment of 50 tons of rice in July
and the balance of 50 tons in August. <
/p>
如果你方要求提前装运，
我们只能于
7<
/p>
月份批装运其中的
50
吨大米，
其余的
50
吨将于
8<
/p>
月装运。
77
English Correspondence for
International Trade
3.
Shipping Documents
（装运单据）
1)
Shipping
documents covering
…
的装运单据
Enclosed
please find one set of the shipping documents
covering the consignment, which
comprises: the commercial invoice, bill
of lading, packing list, certificate of origin and
insurance certificate.
现附上这批
货物的装运单据一套，包括商业发票、
提单、
装箱单、
原产地证盒保险凭证
等。
2)
to be sent
through
…
bank
由某银行转交
The originals of the shipping documents
are being sent to you through the Bank of China.
装运单据正本正通过中国银行寄送你方。
3)
to be
airmailed
空邮
In compliance
with the terms of the contract, a full set of
duplicate documents were airmailed
to you immediately after the goods were
shipped.
按照合同条款，在货物装船后即将全套单据副本空邮给你方。
Part 4
Sample Letters
Sample
1
Urging Shipment
Dear Sirs,
Our
Order No 116 for 200 Bales of Grade 1 Wool
We wish to draw
your attention to the fact that up to the moment
no news has come from
you
about the shipment of the above order.
When
we
placed
the
order,
we
made
it
clear
that
we
were
in
urgent
need
of
the
goods.
It
will
inconvenience us greatly if we cannot
get the goods at the contracted time in March.
Please let us
know, as soon as you can, when you can effect
shipment of the above order.
Yours faithfully
Sample 2
Shipping Advice
Dear Sirs,
We
are pleased to inform you that the following goods
under our Contract No. CC1200 have now
been shipped by S.S.
“
Feng
Qing
”
sailing tomorrow from
Guangzhou to Sydney.
Order No. C120
10 Bales Grey Cotton Cloth
Order No. C135
10 Bales White Cotton Cloth
Copies of the relative shipping
documents are enclosed, thus you may find no
trouble in taking
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