Telex release: what to send, and to whom
A telex release is a message from the carrier's origin office to its destination office. It says the original bills have been surrendered and the cargo may be released without an original being presented. The name is historical. Nobody has sent a telex in decades.
What it is for
Sea freight is often faster than the post. On a short route, a container can arrive before a courier delivers the originals. The cargo then waits for paperwork that is still somewhere over an ocean. A telex release means the document does not have to travel, but it still exists.
The conditions
Carriers vary, but all of them require these:
All originals surrendered at origin. The full set, endorsed where the bill is to order, handed to the carrier's office at the load port. Not scanned. Physically surrendered.
Freight paid. On a freight-prepaid bill, the carrier will not release anything until it has been paid.
A written request stating the bill of lading number, the vessel and voyage, and the exact consignee at destination. Exact matters. The destination office checks it against their record, and a shortened company name causes a query.
Some carriers also want a letter of indemnity. Most charge a fee.
The sequence on a house bill
If you are an NVOCC issuing your own bill, there are two releases, and the order matters. First, your customer surrenders your house bill to you. Then you obtain the matching release on the master bill from the ocean carrier.
If you release the house bill before you hold the master release, you have told your customer the cargo is theirs while the line still holds it against a document you have not surrendered. That is your exposure, not the line's.
When not to use one
When the bill is your security. The whole value of a negotiable bill on an unpaid shipment is that the buyer cannot collect the goods without it. A telex release hands them the cargo. If you have not been paid, the originals really do need to travel.
Under a letter of credit, where the bank expects to receive an original as part of the presentation. If you surrender the set at origin, you have nothing to present.
Where the sale is still open. If negotiations are continuing or the buyer is hesitating, wait. Once the cargo is released, it is released.
The simpler alternative
If you telex release every shipment to the same customer, ask why the bill is negotiable at all. A sea waybill is a receipt and a contract of carriage, but not a document of title. The goods go to the named consignee on proof of identity. There is nothing to surrender and nothing to release. No originals, no courier, no fee.
The reason to keep a negotiable bill is that you need to control the cargo until you are paid. Where that is not needed, for example an intercompany move or a customer on open account for years, the sea waybill was the right document from the start.