CHARTER PARTIES

GENCON - Clause 5

Loading/Discharging

CLAUSE 5

5. Loading/Discharging	50
(a) Costs/Risks	51
The cargo shall be brought into the holds, loaded, stowed and/or trimmed,	52
tallied, lashed and/or secured and taken from the holds and discharged by the	53
Charterers, free of any risk, liability and expense whatsoever to the Owners.	54
The Charterers shall provide and lay all dunnage material as required for the	55
proper stowage and protection of the cargo on board, the Owners allowing the	56
use of all dunnage available on board. The Charterers shall be responsible for	57
and pay the cost of removing their dunnage after discharge of the cargo under	58
this Charter Party and time to count until dunnage has been removed.	59
(b) Cargo Handling Gear	60
Unless the Vessel is gearless or unless it has been agreed between the parties	61
that the Vessel's gear shall not be used and stated as such in Box 15, the	62
Owners shall throughout the duration of loading/discharging give free use of	63
the Vessel's cargo handling gear and of sufficient motive power to operate all	64
such cargo handling gear. All such equipment to be in good working order.	65
Unless caused by negligence of the stevedores, time lost by breakdown of the	66
Vessel's cargo handling gear or motive power - pro rata the total number of	67
cranes/winches required at that time for the loading/discharging of cargo	68
under this Charter Party - shall not count as laytime or time on demurrage.	69
On request the Owners shall provide free of charge cranemen/winchmen from	70
the crew to operate the Vessel's cargo handling gear, unless local regulations	71
prohibit this, in which latter event shore labourers shall be for the account of the	72
Charterers. Cranemen/winchmen shall be under the Charterers' risk and	73
responsibility and as stevedores to be deemed as their servants but shall	74
always work under the supervision of the Master.	75
(c) Stevedore Damage	76
The Charterers shall be responsible for damage (beyond ordinary wear and	77
tear) to any part of the Vessel caused by Stevedores. Such damage shall be	78
notified as soon as reasonably possible by the Master to the Charterers or their	79
agents and to their Stevedores, failing which the Charterers shall not be held	80
responsible. The Master shall endeavour to obtain the Stevedores' written	81
acknowledgement of liability.	82
The Charterers are obliged to repair any stevedore damage prior to completion	83
of the voyage, but must repair stevedore damage affecting the Vessel's	84
seaworthiness or class before the Vessel sails from the port where such	85
damage was caused or found. All additional expenses incurred shall be for the	86
account of the Charterers and any time lost shall be for the account of and shall	87
be paid to the Owners by the Charterers at the demurrage rate.	88

Clause 5 of the 1976 edition of the GENCON Charter Party provided two possibilities of determining the cargo handling costs and risks: the “Gross Terms” and the “F.i.o and Free stowed, Trimmed Terms”.

Under the “Gross Terms” the cargo handling cost/risks in the loading/discharging port were for owner’s account.

Under the “F.i.o. and Free stowed/trimmed” also called “Net Terms” the goods have to loaded and discharged at the expense of the Charterer.

Sometimes a combination of both was used:

“Gross load/free discharge”

In the first case (Gross terms) the goods must be brought alongside the ship, in the port of loading, (by the shipper) so that the ship can load the goods with her own loading gear. In the discharging port the goods must be discharged alongside the ship but not outside the reach of her loading gear.

In the case of Gross Terms the ship takes care of the cargo handling from “hook to hook”. The Charterer only pays for cargo handling on the quay or in lighters.

In Clause 5 of the 1994 edition of the GENCON Charter Party, the gross terms have been deleted so that only the F.i.o. Terms apply. This is due to the fact that most fixtures under the GENCON are based on F.i.o. Terms.

Revised Clause 5 (1994-edition) is composed of three sub-clauses:

Costs/Risks
Cargo Handling Gear
Stevedore Damage.

These sub-clauses can be summarised as follows:

Under the f.i.o.s. and f.i.o.s.t. terms the cargo must be loaded, stowed and eventually trimmed at the risk, liability and expense whatsoever of the Charterer (or of the shipper); the removing of stowage material and the discharging are also at the expense of the Charterer (or of the receiver of goods). It is therefore not sufficient that the Charterer brings goods on the quay, he must also make the necessary arrangements to load and stow them on board. In the discharging port, the discharging of the ship is also done on his responsibility so that with regard to the cargo handling, the Ship Owner is relieved of all risk, liability and expenses. The only thing that the Ship Owner must put at the disposal of the Charterer, according to the GENCON charter party, is the vessel's cargo handling gear (if not agreed to the contrary in box 15) and the necessary driving power. The Ship Owner must also provide cranemen/winchmen but since in most ports this is prohibited by the trade unions, this part of the clause is generally crossed out. If the ship is gearless, then this provision does not apply. This must however clearly be indicated in the charter party (in box 15 or in an additional clause). (See also Worked-out GENCON charter party, Clause 18.)

The Charterer is also responsible for stevedore damage. The master must, as soon as possible, notify the Charterers or their agent and their stevedore of such damage and hold them liable for such damage.

A rather delicate question concerning the cargo handling is the responsibility and the liability regarding the loading, stowing, trimming and discharging of the goods.

Although according to the clauses f.i.o.s. and f.i.o.s.t. the cost for loading, stowing, trimming and discharging of the goods are for the Charterer (shipper, respectively receiver), and free of risk and liability to the owner, this clause does not virtually change anything as to the responsibility of the carrier. The carrier remains at all time responsible for the seaworthiness of his ship and therefore also for the judicious stowing and trimming of the goods on board, even if the loading/discharging/stowing, etc were carried out by the Charterer. The master, not only has the right but also the duty to intervene if the goods are loaded, stowed and trimmed in an unacceptable way so as to bring the security of the crew, of the ship or of the cargo in jeopardy. If the Charterer refuses to observe the directives of the master, with regard to the cargo handling on board, then the master must immediately contact the port agent and/or the Ship Owner who will possibly request the P&I Club or the President of the Court of Commerce to appoint a surveyor.

REMARK

Often the "Gross Terms" are referred to by the expression "Liner Terms". Since that expression, which is used in the liner shipping, is generally very complex, whereby it is sometimes difficult to find out what it implies exactly, it is safer, when concluding a voyage charter agreement, not to use the expression "Liner Terms" (See also Gorton, L., Ihre, R. and Sandevärn, A., Shipbroking and Chartering Practice, London, Lloyd's or London Press, 1980, 136.and the paragraph on Liner term.)

[ back to top ]