If you do shipping rather frequently, and know that shipping is lame (no I'm kidding), and take note of your invoices and such, you will know that shipping consist of an amazing array of charges.
One such charge is utilizing Telex. Now what the heck is telex?
A telex release is simply a message that is sent by the shipping line or agent at load port to their office or agent at discharge port advising that the shipper or exporter has surrendered one or all of the original bills of lading that have been issued to them , and that the cargo can be released to the consignee shown on the bill of lading without presentation of any original bill of lading .. This usually is requested only if the consignee is a direct consignee (not a bank or To Order). As you can see, it's eerily related to surrendered Bill of Ladings.
Why would the shipper or exporter request a telex release?
Several reasons as below:
-The consignee at destination is a duplicate office of the shipper – example – if say DHL Global Forwarding is the shipper shown on the bill of lading and they are shipping some cargo to their office overseas, as there is no negotiation involved, they do not ' t require an original bill of lading at the destination port.
The shipper did not process his documentation in time and the ship that is carrying his cargo has already reached or reaching the destination and the original bills will not reach the consignee in time for them to clear before the expiration of free days some cases, an NVOCC operator may request for a telex release from the line so that they can issue their house bill of lading to their customer.
-Many of the shippers / exporters that follow the principle of No.1 above use "Express Release" instead of a Telex Release.
What's next?
Current shipping ways are always ever evolving, and Telex is one of them. One fine day, they might possibly abolish Telex entirely and use a much more efficient communications platform for delivering information. Till then, Telex is here to stay.
PS: It is called a Telex Release because in the past, such release instruction to the discharge port was sent by Telex .. Nowadays, it is sent by e-mail, but the name telex release stuck.
Happy shipping to East Malaysia !
