A Charter Party is a document confirming the contract by which the shipowner agrees to lease and charterer agrees to hire the whole ship or only part of it for one voyage or more,or for period of time,on terms and conditions set forth in the Charter Party.
Charter Parties we can divide by 3 categories:
Voyage charter party - charter party for the carriage of a full cargo at stipulated rate per ton
Sometimes for one voyage only between ports to be named on arrival in given area.
When the ship is on voyage charter the Master is particularly concerned about the laytime,dispatch and demurrage clauses and the notice of readiness to load or discharge.
In voyage charter the vessel's stay in port is paid for by shipowner ,for this reason the charter party should specify a definite number of days for loading or discharging.These days are called laydays and may be stipulated as running days,working days weather working days
And excepted days.It is the master responsibility to stick to the terms and conditions included in charter party.the charterer assumes no responsibility for the operation of the ship but generally tries to control cargo handling operations.
Time Charter Party is the type of charter party by which charterer hires the ship for a specified period of time and for specified sum of money per day.
In this type of charter there is no laytime,dispatch or demurrage.The charterer pays for fuel,pilot,tugs,entering and clearing fee,harbor dues,stevedoring expenses,crew overtime unless the charter party provides otherwise.
Bare boat charter this is a type of charter where the charterer is allowed to appoint the entire crew including master ,c/eng.The charterer pays for:fuel,pilotage,provision,stores,harbour dues,employs and pays the crew and is responsible for maintenance of the ship.
There are various forms of charter parties but most important parts are common to all of them.
The most widely used form consists of two parts.
Part A contains the name of shipowner,charterers,name of the ship,her size ,class,speed ,fuel consumption,present position,period of hire,port of delivery,time of delivery,cargo to be loaded,place of arbitration and signatures of both the owner and charterer.
There are also particulars concerning laydays,rate of loading or discharging,costs of loading - discharging,demurrage,dispatch.
Part B contains various clauses dealing with all the particulars the owners should provide,the responsibility of master,owner,suspension of hire,loss of ship,overtimes,lien,salvage,war clauses,general average clause,strike clauses,cancelling clause.
The charter party is usually signed by shipowner and charterer