Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1 Mate's Receipt
This is the receipt, signed by the Mate of the ship responsible for cargo operations, for goods
received onboard the ship. It should be identical to the Bill of Lading as the Bill of Lading is
based on the Mate's Receipt.
This note or receipt should be endorsed with notes on the condition of the cargo, such as rust
stained, pitting, broken bags, etc. In addition, when there is a dispute in the quantity, the
lower figure of the tally should be used with the number in dispute stated.
The B/L is a document of title giving the holder 'right of possession'. It is evidence that the
holder of the original document is the rightful owner of the goods.
This is a receipt for goods that have been loaded into the vessel. It is a document of title to the
goods and a contract governing the receipt, carriage and delivery of the goods.
The reason why there is such dispute over any endorsement of the B/L is that 'clean' B/Ls as
opposed to 'dirty' B/Ls are required by the banks as a condition of issue of a Letter of Credit
(LoC), the issue of which is a requirement for early payment to the exporter by the bank.
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37.3 Deadfreight
This is a claim made that the ship is not loaded to her full capacity, ie 'her marks', by the charterer
against the operator, although there can be a claim the other way. Examples of this claim would be
on the basis that the ship did not load to her allowable marks or that too much ballast or bunkers
were carried, both of which, if correct, would limit the amount of cargo being carried.
37.4 Laytime
This is the period of time allowed for loading and discharging. A charter party may also be claused
to provide separate laytime for discharge and loading.
37.5 Demurrage
This is the money payable to the owner for delay in loading and/or discharging after the laytime
has expired, for which the owner is not responsible.
It is most important that this notice is tendered immediately on the arrival of the ship, usually to
the agent who will then ensure delivery to the charterer or the charterer's agent unless the agent
is acting for both parties. In many cases the tendering of this notice is required during office
hours so there is reason for urgency in delivery as a few minutes' delay can translate into a
day's delay or, in the case of a weekend, a wait until the Monday morning.
The off-hire is similar, carried out at a time and place of re-delivery specified in the charter party. The
charterer must deliver the vessel in 'the same good order as when delivered to the charterer, fair wear
and tear excepted'.
A re-delivery certificate will be issued. Any repairs required to make good any damage can be carried
out either prior to or after the re-delivery survey, or may wait until a suitable port or dry docking
according to the agreed charter party clauses.
The charterer may be allowed to deliver the vessel 'dirty' and an agreed sum will be paid as
compensation for damages.
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Off-hire can also occur during the period of the charter for a number of reasons and a charter party will
normally contain clauses to this effect, relating to the dry docking of the ship or relating to breakdown
of the ship or cargo equipment, damage or accidents, in fact anything that prevents the normal
operation of the ship to the charterer's requirements. In such an event the charterer is not required to
pay hire money for the duration of the breakdown. This off-hire can be specified as starting after a
certain period and, on busy liner trades, it is not unusual to have the off-hire starting within a very
short period. When ships are on such tight off-hire clauses, it is important that they maintain a running
record of the 'downtime' onboard and what the downtime relates to. A blackout will affect the whole
ship and, if using ship's cargo gear, stop all operations, but a breakdown of only one crane or gantry
will affect only a percentage of the cargo handling capacity.
At the end of the cargo operations, the ship's tally and that of the shore operations should agree.
In the Canadian Transport Company v Court Line Ltd (1940) it was stated:
Referring to the phrase 'the supervision of the stowage by the Captain', these words expressly give
the Master the right, which I think he must have in any case, to supervise the operations of the
charterer in loading and stowing. To the extent that the Master exercises supervision and limits the
charterer's control over the stowage, the charterer's liabilities will be limited to the same degree.
If the charter party states 'supervision' and the Master limits himself to protecting the ship from
damage and ensuring the seaworthiness of his vessel, the charterer will be liable for any damage to
the cargo.
I loaded a deck cargo of timber in Northern Canada for transportation to Europe. The ship was not a timber vessel
and the cargo was loaded high with only chains securing the stow. I pointed out the inadequacy of this stowage to
the charterer to no avail and, after discussions with my operator and because the ship would still be seaworthy,
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we sailed. In the Gulf of Mexico, the ship encountered a storm and rolled heavily, with the resultant breaking of
the chains and loss over the side of a good proportion of the cargo. On arrival at Cristobal the cargo had to be
restowed. All the loss and time delays were to the charterer's account as the charter party stated 'supervision'. I
had also issued a letter of protest to the charterer holding them responsible for any damages to the ship.
If the word 'responsibility' is inserted in the charter party then the ship is responsible not only for
damage to the cargo but also to the ship.
For more serious damage that cannot be repaired in the port, a damage report must be filed with
copies to the stevedores and agent. Responsibility will be decided on by the operators and the
charterers on the basis of your report. Should the stevedores refuse to sign, note this in the place of
their signature.
Most stevedores, not surprisingly, do not report damage unless it is to their own equipment and in their
opinion caused by the ship. You should never admit your responsibility even if it is blatantly obvious. It
is essential that during cargo operations you and your officers take time to examine the working areas
for any signs of damage. This applies particularly to hatch coamings and rails in way of the cargo
working and, of course, the holds themselves.
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the operations and that is if the cargo plan is not being followed. This is very serious, particularly on
ships that have critical stability problems. In such cases the cargo operations must be stopped
immediately until the situation is resolved. You are entitled to take any action required to ensure the
terminal's compliance.
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