To avoid US sanctions, Charterers sometime make payments to owners in currencies other than USD. What if the C/P provides that freight is...

Breaching the UKC policy for commercial reasons is a calculated risk taken frequently. Sometimes the safety margins are however just too...

Voyage charterparties normally specify how many safe ports/berths charterers can ask the vessel to proceed to. If the vessel needs to...

If laytime is exceeded, demurrage kicks in to compensate a shipowner for the loss of prospective freight earnings. But is that all...

An interesting one for those in commercial operations. What time zone should be used to determine whether a demurrage claim is time...

Can charterer’s obligation to provide for a berth upon vessel’s arrival be triggered without the Master tendering notice of readiness?...

Is a document a bill of lading just because it is titled and worded as such? The question was up before Singapore Court of Appeal in The...

Hull cleaning clauses or prolonged port stays clauses are fairly common in time charterparties. Cleaning of the hull is normally on...

A bill of lading will generally state that the cargo has been "shipped in apparent good order and condition". But apparent to whom –...

What does the term OOS mean in C/P? Is it ‘owners option substitute’ giving owners a unilateral right to replace the first vessel; or ‘or...

A voyage charter normally has rider clauses requiring owners to submit specified documents within a certain period of time when making a...

Submitting false documents for clearance of cargo is never a good idea. In the case of The Muammer Yagci [2018], it led to a 4.5 month...

Unpaid freight and switch bills of lading – does the original shipper cease to be liable? llawarra Fortune was voyage chartered by...

"Subject to details", “subject to board approval” and other similar expressions are well known in ship chartering, meaning that the C/P...

Safe berth clause in voyage charters – an express warranty of safety by the charterer? SCOTUS had to resolve this in The Athos I [2020]....

When submitting a demurrage claim, C/Ps usually requires the owner to submit all supporting documents within a certain time period after...

Using switch bills of lading is tricky as highlighted by The Grand Ace 12 [2019]. Vessel loaded two parcels of oil from China and Taiwan....

Coronavirus has the world’s attention. Shipping will clearly be affected. It could lead to disputes, souring some commercial...

Those involved in bulk trade are frequently confronted with [paper] shortage claims with owners usually being on the loosing end when...

Choice of route can affect how cargo is to be cared for, so can owners be held liable for choosing one over the other? In The Santa...

When making a demurrage claim C/Ps usually require submission of all supporting documents. But what are these? What if some of them are...

Can a general indemnity be implied in a voyage charter when a clean B/L is issued for goods which were infact loaded in a pre-damaged...

Altering the standard C/P forms and not having the charters on back to back terms may result in unexpected consequences. In The Alpha...

Is the NOR valid, notwithstanding the vessel had only one anchor at the time of tendering it? Point of dispute in London Arbitration...

Ordering a vessel off the berth in anticipation of bad weather is standard protocol ports follow for safety reasons. This could (and does...

An invalid NOR, a hurricane hitting the port, force majeure, no cargo to load, and a grounded vessel - the ingredients of London...

Is a storm warning sufficient to interrupt laytime? and if bad weather prevents the lightering barges from coming alongside the mother...

Singapore Arbitration 03/19 recently addressed a seemingly straightforward question on 'subject' clause (in relation to vessel's...

Bottom fouling clauses are a standard feature of time charters. There are a variety of clauses and some make the transfer of burden for...

In the absence of a clause giving a party the right to direct the vessel to wait for orders, they nonetheless order the vessel to wait...

Q88 (Tanker Questionnaire) is a key document when it comes to tanker chartering. Just how important a part it can play in the event of a...

Various kinds of C/P issues are bound to arise from the ongoing conflict in Yemen. Most recently, in London Arbitration 16/18, a dispute...

Where a written [charterparty] contract expressly ‘prohibits’ oral modifications through NOM clause, is an oral modification enforceable?...

A case from 1970s, The Corinthian Glory provides some explanation. (caution: case is quite fact specific). Charterers took delivery of...

Port accessibility - who bears the risk if departure is adversely affected? Charterers or owners? What does the term 'always accessible'...