Third International Annual Conference
“Practice of maritime business: Sharing experience.”
Odessa 2007
LAYTIME AND DEMURRAGE
by George Lambrou
Solicitor, Thomas Cooper
CHARTERERS’ OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE CARGO
•The obligation is absolute
•“Best endeavours” to provide cargo is not enough
•Charterers cannot delegate this obligation to anyone el
•Not to shippers
•Not to ship owners
英语人才•Commercial allocation of risk
CHARTERERS’ OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE CARGO
•Distinguish from the obligation to load within laydays
•Exceptions apply to the duty to load cargo, NOT to the duty to provide cargo
•Breach of this duty before laytime commences = damages for detention, NOT demurrage •Advice: for any delay more than two days, clarify at the time, who is paying •Example: 21 day delay at Illichevsk
EXCEPTIONS TO THE CHARTERES’ OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE CARGO •“force Majeure” does not exist under English Law unless there is a provision in the Charterparty
•Exception 1: Frustration of the Charterparty might exist if the cargo becomes illegal after the Charterparty is concluded
•Example: Ukrainian export licens?
•Exception 2: Express exceptions
•“strikes”, “ice”, “caus beyond the charterers control” only apply to obligation to load, unless expressly stated
•“bringing the cargo to the loading port”
•When does the laytime clock start ticking?我失去了她
•Arrival
•Readiness
•Validly tendered NOR
外研社初中英语教材
COMMENCEMENT OF LAYTIME
ARRIVAL
•Sea passage must have ended: when?
•Port or Berth Charterparty?
•“Illichevsk, one safe berth” or “one safe berth, Illichevsk”
•Berth is where cargo operations can take place
•Where are the port limits?
•Customary waiting place for the port, and in the port
•At the disposal of the Charterers
灯笼英文COMMENCEMENT OF LAYTIME
READINESS
•Ready in all respects to load or discharge
•Actually ready, not “will soon be ready”
•Cargo gear, cranes, cleanliness, cargo space accessible, no pests, no fumigation required
学韩语入门
•Legally ready: free pratique and other formalities
COMMENCEMENT OF LAYTIME
VALIDLY TENDERED NOR
•If the vesl is not “arrived” or “ready” and the NOR is tendered, it will be INVALID. •The conquence of an invalid NOR is that laytime will not commence until:
•The commencement of cargo operations, in the abnce of any rejection of the NOR by Charterers: Charterers will be en to “waive” their reliance on the invalid NOR
•The Charterers “accept” the NOR, even if it has been invalidly tendered: If Charterers accept the NOR and later discover the NOR is invalid they may not be able to cancel this acceptance
COMMENCEMENT OF LAYTIME
PRACTICAL ADVICE
por
•For Charterers:
•If there is any doubt about the validity of the NOR, do not accept the NOR and expressly reject the NOR
•For Owners:
•Press the Master to ensure the NOR is rved at the right place and at the right time
•The NOR should be rved to Charterers and any agents details which are known •Serve subquent NOR’s without prejudice to earlier notices
•Upon arrival at the pilot station
•Upon arrival at any anchorage
•Upon arrival at the berth
•If veral charterers, upon commencement of discharge for each parcel of cargo under each charter at the berth
英语在现翻译
LAYTIME EXCEPTIONS
•“weather permitting”, “weather working day”: must prohibit work, not just delay the speed of work
•“Sundays and holidays excepted”: Holiday is determined by the local custom practice of the port.
flocks•“Unless ud, in which ca time actually ud to count”:
•Exceptions only apply to Laytime. They do not apply to demurrage thus “once on demurrage, always on demurrage”
DEMURRAGE
An predetermined rate of damages for detaining the vesl which the Charterers are liable as a result of their breach of the laytime provisions.
“If the charterer has agreed to load or unload within a fixed period of time…he is answerable for the non-performance of that engagement, whatever the nature of the
impediments, unless they are covered by exceptions in the charterparty or ari through the fault of the shipowner or tho for whom he is responsible” - Lord Finlay (William Alexander v.Akt Hansa) 1920
DEMURRAGE
Express exceptions:
•any exception to demurrage continuing to accrue must be specifically and clearly worded to apply to demurrage.
•Generally worded exceptions to laytime will not apply.
Delay caud by the Shipowner:
•Have Charterers been deprived of their u of the ship?
历年四级作文范文•Was the Shipowner using the ship for his own purpos?
DEMURRAGE
7 Demurrage
Ten running days on demurrage at the rate stated in Box 18 per day or pro rata for any part of a day, payable day by day, to be allowed Merchants altogether at ports of loading and discharging
(Gencon Charterparty 1976)
fairy什么意思Demurrage is “”payable day by day”
Demurrage is payable against the Shipowners invoice
The Shipowners may exerci a lien on the cargo during discharge for demurrage past due
