Main functions of a bill of lading

Bill of lading fulfills three main roles and several sub-roles, as stated below:
1. Receipt for cargo
a) Receipt for the quantity of goods;
b) Condition of the goods when they were taken on board;
2. Evidence of a contract of carriage
3. Document of title (the right to ownership of property with or without possession)
a) Right of ownership (the right to claim cargo; it is a negotiable document);
b) Security for payment;

I would like to describe how the above-mentioned functions operate.
Bill of lading as a receipt for cargo means that the document is issued to evidence that the consignee received the goods. Quantity of goods should be stated on the face of a bill of lading in the section “Particulars declared by the shipper but not acknowledged by the carrier”. The number and description of goods including their gross weight (in kilograms) and measurement (in cubic meters) shall be stated as the evidence of cargo’s quantity. The words “shipped on board in apparent good order and condition…” give the evidence of the good condition of shipper's cargo when received, loaded or shipped by carrier. In this case the bill of lading is “clean”. If cargo is damaged when presented for loading the damage has to be referred to in writing on the face of the bill of lading. If any adverse endorsements are included the bill of lading the document is known as “claused”.
Bill of lading is an evidence of the terms of the contract of carriage, but not the actual contract. The contract is essentially between two parties and the bill of lading is only signed by one of them. The bill of lading is not issued until the cargo is shipped on board, but the agreement between the consignor and the shipowner was made before the cargo was actually loaded.
Bill of lading is also considered as a document of title to the goods. It is a transferable