CHARTER PARTIES

GENCON - Clause 1

Loading/Discharging Port or Place

The indication of the ports

Concerning the loading and discharging port; Clause 1 of the GENCON charter party writes the following:

“The said Vessel shall, as soon as her prior commitments have been completed, proceed to the loading port(s) or place(s) stated in Box 10 or so near thereto as she may safely get and lie always afloat, and there load a full and complete cargo (if shipment of deck cargo agreed same to be at the Charterers' risk and responsibility) as stated in Box 12, which the Charterers bind themselves to ship, and being so loaded the Vessel shall proceed to the discharging port(s) or place(s) stated in Box 11 as ordered on signing Bills of Lading, or so near thereto as she may safely get and lie always afloat, and there deliver the cargo.”

a fixed berth, e.g.: berth 2 at Matadi;
a fixed port e.g.: one safe berth Le Havre;
a fixed area, e.g.: one safe port/one safe berth Australia;
one good/safe port Northern Range;
a port or an area to be indicated later, e.g.: US Gulf for order;
several ports, e.g.: berth 1 at Fort the France and one safe berth at Port of Spain.

Northern Range implies that the Charterer can load the ship between Portland and cape Hatteras (see also the North Atlantic Ocean). Sometimes one or several ports are excluded from the area (e.g. Chester excluded).

If a port can be indicated later and is therefore not included in the charter party, it is highly recommended to mention when the Charterer must indicate the port. For this, the following clause can be used: "Loading ports to be nominated by Charterers latest when vessel is passing Gibraltar" or "Discharging port to be nominated by Charterers latest at commencement of loading".

If the loading or discharging ports are rightly stipulated, the ports to be indicated are called "option ports" and the holder of the bill of lading has the right to require that the entire cargo or only one part of it be discharged in one or several ports of his choice. However he will indicate the discharging port as soon as possible so that the Ship Owner can take the necessary steps in order to avoid the ship incurring unnecessary expenses by waiting for a berth.

The indication of a fixed area is especially current when goods (generally grain or grain products) which are loaded on board, are not yet sold when the ship is leaving the harbour. Between the ship Owner and the Charterer it is then agreed to sail to a certain area, between two extreme points. Examples of fixed areas are:

"one good/safe port ARA range";
"one good/safe continental port between Le Havre and Hamburg, both included";
"to Liverpool or to one good and safe port on the west coast of Great Britain";
"one good and safe port Northern Range" as mentioned before.
"Land's End for orders". In that case, the master will be informed by radio of his discharging port, off Land’s End.

If several loading and discharging ports are indicated in the charter party than the Ship Owner can insert a clause in the charter party which allows him to follow the most advantageous geographical rotation in order to reduce the distance sailed to minimum.

Good and safe port/berth
(Including an anchorage)

"Or so near thereto as she may safely get and lie always afloat".

A port or a berth is considered a safe port, if there are no nautical obstacles to reach this port/berth with a loaded ship. During its laytime the ship must always remain safely afloat and thus not lie aground at low water ( Bes, J., Scheepvaarttermen, Amsterdam, V.H.C. De Boer, Jr., 1953, 90). . This is sometimes described as follows: "…. at all times of the tide always afloat". If at low water, the ship will rest on the bottom as this is often the case in small ports (R. Thames, R. Humber, R. Plate, e.a.) then this must be mentioned in the charter party as follows: "Not Always Afloat But Safely Aground (NAABSA)". The Ship Owner must be certain that in such a port his ship will lie on soft mud without any risk of damage to the hull.

Not only nautical obstacles such as strong winds, heavy swell, weak quays, etc., but also political circumstances in times of political tensions can make a port unsafe. (See in that respect, Clause 16, War Risk.)

The interpretation of the expression "…. or so near thereto as she may safely get and lie always afloat…." has already caused many difficulties due to its large diversity, especially with regards to the destination port. The captain will judge where his ship can go and remain, however, he will have to satisfy his obligations and deliver the goods in the agreed harbour unless an extraordinary event of a permanent nature that could not be foreseen, happened. In such circumstances, the partial discharge of the goods in barges or in another port, if caused by the draft of the ship or the discharge of the complete cargo in another port if it is impossible to call at the destination port, all additional expenses will be for the Charterer. If the event could have been foreseen, the ship cannot claim any additional expenses from the Charterer, but will have to bear these expenses herself. In this sense the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Caen (25 April 1958) said: ".... que de l'exonération d'un cas de force majeure exceptionnel, imprévisible et irrésistible, faisant momentanément obstacle à l'entrée d'un port; elle ne saurait s'appliquer à l'événement qui pourrait être connu lors de la signature de la convention; il appartenait à l'armateur qui seul connaît les caractéristiques de son navire de se renseigner, préalablement au contrat, sur les possibilités pour lui d'exécuter son obligation de décharger au port convenu".

However, in that respect, there are, internationally, a number of contradictions. In this way, in the United Kingdom the Charterer is always responsible for the loading and discharging port. In the Scandinavian countries there is negligence on the part of the Charterer if he and not the master was informed about the condition of the loading or discharging port. Anyway, the Ship Owner or the master must always obtain the necessary information about the loading and/or discharging port. In case the port is unsafe for the ship, the Ship Owner or the master must protest to the Charterer to allow him to designate another port.

Data which is related to particular circumstances such as: rotation of discharging ports, transhipment on barges, maximum allowed draft, etc. is incorporated in additional clauses.

Regarding transhipment, it can be agreed that if it concerns a named harbour by the Charterer, which is not always accessible for the ship, the possible transhipment will be for account of the Charterer:

“Lighterage if any, to be at the expense of the cargo”

[ back to top ]