Full-time chartering is a complex undertaking. Shipowners give the charterers on time substantial control over the commercial operation of the vessel in exchange for regular payment of rent. Although this arrangement suggests that shipowners have transferred much of the potential exploitation risk to charterers and that charterers can more or less do whatever they want with the vessel, such a first impression on the part of the charterer in time is both misleading and dangerous. In most cases, charter parties and voyage charters include an explicit guarantee from the charterer that the ship will only be ordered to safe ports. In charter parties, such a condition may in most cases be implied (implied warranty), even if there are no express warranty terms. If a travel charter part is silent on the port, it`s more complicated. At common law, the shipowner`s obligation to provide a seaworthy ship is absolute. Even if the shipowner takes all reasonable precautions and takes all necessary precautions to ensure that the ship is seaworthy, he is still liable for violations of the charter party if the ship is not seaworthy. Different charter parties impose different obligations, exclusions and limitations between each company. For this reason, shipowners and charterers should consider obtaining sound and practical legal advice before designing, modifying or supplementing time-charters, voyage charters or bareboat charters.
When dealing with a charter agreement, shipowners and charterers should be particularly aware of their legal risks and contractual liabilities. The United States Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA) and the UK Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1971 (which ratifies and incorporates the Hague-Visby Rules) do NOT apply to charter contracts, but to consignment notes (and similar documents such as ship delivery orders or sea waybills). [6] If the charterer has more time than agreed for loading and unloading, the shipowner may charge the mooring fee. The charterer is responsible for, including but not limited to, hiring the vessel`s crew, marine equipment, navigation and operational matters. In Time Charterparty, the remuneration paid by the time charterer to the shipowner is called rental. In other words, the ship is rented for a specific voyage (Time Charter Trip – TCT) or for a specific period of time (Period Time Charter). In some cases, a time charter may be for a longer period, and timely redelivery at the exact end of the agreed period is not possible. A time charterer who intentionally commits the ship to a final voyage, which apparently means that the ship`s handover will be significantly delayed, violates the chartered party on time. If the shipping market is smaller than when the ship was repaired, the shipowner is unlikely to complain. However, the shipowner will complain if the shipping market is much firmer at the end of the period than it was at the beginning. The amount of additional rent that the on-time charterer would have to pay to the shipowner for the excessively long period may settle the dispute. In Time Charter Party, charter charter is fixed.
The rent can be a daily rate or it can be a rate of as much per ton of carrying capacity per month. Typically, rent is payable in advance and rent can be monthly or bi-monthly. In addition, the location and currency are determined. Time Charter Party`s lease payment clause grants the shipowner the right to withdraw the vessel from the charter if the lease payment is not made by the due date. The seaworthiness obligation also includes a strict obligation to ensure that the ship is able to carry the cargo provided by the charterer. In other words, the term seaworthy includes the term serviceable. A breach of this implied provision gives the charterer the right to terminate the charterer if the delay is so severe as to go to the root of the contract. Otherwise, the only remedy would be damages. Under the terms of the charter agreement, the shipowner must make the ship available to the charterer at the agreed place and, conversely, the charterer must provide the cargo and bring it to the ship for the loading process. The different types of recommendations printed in the header of each charter party are: Accepted – Accepted – Recommended and Approved and can be defined as follows: (These different forms of recommendations have been adopted by: Approved Document Forms published by BIMCO.) Whereas certain conditions of chartering may confer on the shipowner the right to call at ports situated on the normal commercial route;.
