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CHARTER PARTIES
GENCON - Clause 1
Present Position
During the negotiations of the contract of affreightment the place where the ship is located must be stated as accurately as possible in box 8. This position can be defined in several ways such as: "now discharging at…." or "now on passage to…..". If the correct position of the ship, at the moment of the fixture is not known then this it is indicated with the words "now trading".
Expected ready to Load (abt)
The date on which the ship must be ready to start loading must be indicated in box 9 and in the GENCON charter party be described as follows "…. and expected ready to load under this charter about the date indicated in box 9,…..".
The date on which the ship must be ready to load stands in close relation with the position of the ship and both cannot always be ascertained with certainty by the Ship Owner as a result of, for instance, delay during the previous voyage (strike, stoppage in the port, etc.). For that reason in the GENCON charter party, the word "about" is added to the words "Expected ready to load" (see box 9), which should allow for a reasonable margin with regard to the arrival of the ship in the first (or only) port of loading. The expression "about" must usually be interpreted in accordance with the uses and customs of the place. It can sometimes mean 3 to 4 days for faraway ships. To avoid possible difficulties, a "Cancelling clause" is inserted, i.e. very last day date of delivery.
Often, to the date that the ship must be ready to load, besides the word "about", the words "all going well" are added. For example: "…. now discharging at…... and expected ready to load under this charter party about 20th April, all going well" (Packard, W., Sea-Trading, Volume 3, Trading London, Fairplay Publications, 1986, 58). Sometimes the following description is given: "…. about 20th April but not before this date…. or to load about 1/5th April…..".
Anyway, the Ship Owner (or the operator) must keep the Charterer (or his broker) informed (via tel., telex, fax, e-mail) of the arrival the ship in the first (or only) port of loading.
