CHARTER PARTIES

Gencon - Clause 1

GRT/NRT

The gross and the net tonnage of the ship which must be entered in box 6 can be important for the assessment of some dues such as: ports and canal dues, pilotage dues, cost for tugs, agency fees, etc. We know that under the voyage charter party, these are variable costs which are borne by the Ship Owner so that they are of no importance for the Charterer. The gross and the net tonnage of the ship is, however, important for the port agent who must make-up the "disbursements account" of the ship.

DWT All Told on Summer Load Line in Metric Tons (abt.)

The deadweight cargo carrying capacity (DWCC) of the ship is very important because it tells the minimum quantity of cargo the ship can load.

The quantity of goods that a ship can load can be determined in several ways and depends on:

- the deadweight capacity all told of the ship (DWAT);
- the deadweight cargo carrying capacity of the ship (DWCC);
- the bale space of the ship;
- the grain space of the ship.

The deadweight capacity all told of a ship is the maximum total number of tons (of 1,000 or 1016 kilograms) of cargo, bunkers, water, victualling, loose inventory and spare parts that a ship can carry. The deadweight is therefore the difference between the displacement of the ship on its maximum draft (the loaded loadline) and the displacement of the empty ship in running condition (the empty load line) i.e. the ship with exclusively its fixed inventory on board and - for steam ships - with the boilers on level. The deadweight is therefore the maximum quantity of weight (not only cargo but also fuel e.a.) that the ship can load. Hence, in English one speaks of the deadweight all told (DWAT). In French one speaks of "port and lourd total" and in Dutch of "draagvermogen".

The deadweight cargo carrying capacity of a ship is the minimum number of tons (of 1000 or 1016 kilograms.) of exclusively cargo that the ship can carry. Therefore, in the deadweight cargo carrying capacity of a ship, neither bunkers, nor water, nor fuel, etc. is included. Only cargo is taken into account. Sometimes in English the term "deadweight cargo capacity" (DWCC) is used. To obtain the deadweight cargo carrying capacity of a ship it is enough to deduct the bunkers, the water, the ship's store et al. from the the deadweight all told.

The deadweight all told of a ship is a constant, but the deadweight cargo capacity is variable. If for instance, on a certain voyage, the ship takes (needs) less fuel, than the ship will be able to take proportionally more cargo on board. The Ship Owner and the Charterer must take this judiciously into account in order to use the carrying capacity of the ship to its maximum. It goes without saying that the charter party must clearly state whether the deadweight all told or the deadweight cargo capacity is considered. In the GENCON charter party this is clearly indicated in box 7, with DWT all told on summer load line in metric tons (abt.). With the word abt. (about; approximately) a margin of 10% is permitted. Of course, this does not mean that the Ship Owner is not bound to give the deadweight as correctly as possible. According to the Belgian legislation the tonnage can amount to 1/40e less than stated in the charter party (Art. 119, Book II, Commercial Code).

Note

The carrying and all told deadweight of the ship must both be put in relation to the allowed draft, in the port of loading as well as in the discharging port. The Plimsoll marks must also be taken into account. At its maximum draft the ship must be even keel.

The bale space is the cubic contents of the ship that is available for the transport of goods packed in bales, boxes, crates, etc. It is the loadable space under deck which is obtained by multiplying the length of each hold with the breadth - measured between the inside of the cargo battens on half the length of the hold - and with the depth - measured between the upper part of the ceiling and lower part of the beams.

The grain space is the space which the ship has available for cargo in bulk. With bulk transports, the cargo can spread itself to all sides and can also use the space between the beams which is not the case with packed goods. The grain space does not relate only to grain in bulk, but to all unpacked cargoes such as coal, ore, phosphates, etc. The grain space is obtained by adding to the calculation of the bale space half of the space between the beams and the space outside the cargo battens. The grain space is always larger than the bale space.

The bale space and the grain space are particularly important during the negotiations of the contract of affreightment (fixture) and are usually incorporated in the GENCON charter party in the additional clauses.

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