This working paper looks into the current status of ship's delivery orders, essentially instruments designed to split a large shipment of (usually bulk) goods travelling under one single bill of lading into several smaller parcels. The first delivery orders were issued by merchants, usually the sellers of the goods, but over time, delivery orders were more and more often issued by representatives of the ship as well. These sellers' delivery orders thus evolved into ship's delivery orders with binding effect on the carrier. Ship's delivery orders are regulated by the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992, and they arguably also qualify as similar documents of title in the sense of Article I(b) of the Hague and Hague-Visby Rules.