House bill of lading against master bill of lading
One shipment can carry two bills of lading at once, and they say different things on purpose. The confusion is worth clearing up because it decides who you can sue and whether you get paid.
Who issues what to whom
The master bill is issued by the ocean carrier to whoever booked the space. On a consolidated shipment that is the NVOCC or forwarder, so the master names them as shipper.
The house bill is issued by that NVOCC or forwarder to the actual exporter. It names the exporter as shipper and the NVOCC as carrier.
So on one container: the line's contract with the NVOCC, and the NVOCC's contract with you. Two contracts of carriage, stacked.
What must match and what must not
Container number, seal number, gross weight, vessel and voyage are physical facts about the box. They appear identically on both, and a mismatch is treated at destination as a misdeclaration rather than a typo.
The parties deliberately differ. That is the mechanism, not an error, and it is what lets several shippers move in one container without appearing on each other's paperwork.
Which one your bank will accept
Here is where it costs money. Under UCP 600 a bank examines whether the transport document was issued by a carrier or its named agent. A house bill issued by a forwarder or NVOCC is routinely refused unless the credit expressly permits it.
Letters of credit often say something like "Forwarder's bill of lading not acceptable". If yours does and you are shipping LCL, you have a problem, because an LCL shipment produces a house bill by definition. Spot that when the credit arrives and ask for an amendment then — not at presentation, when your only route is the buyer's goodwill.
Which one to claim on
Your contract is with whoever issued your bill. If you hold a house bill, your counterparty is the NVOCC, not the ocean line — and the NVOCC's liability is what its own terms say, which may be considerably less than the line's. If the NVOCC has gone under, your recourse has gone with it.
That is not an argument against house bills. It is an argument for knowing which one you hold, and for checking who the NVOCC is on a shipment worth caring about.
The mismatch that breaks origin declarations
Watch the shipper name. Your certificate of origin, your commercial invoice and your house bill all name you. The master bill names the NVOCC. A destination broker comparing the certificate against the master — which happens — sees a different shipper and asks why.
Usually resolved with an explanation. Occasionally resolved with an inspection. Either way it is a day, and the way to avoid it is to make sure the broker has the house bill and knows a master exists behind it.