CONTRACT OF AFFREIGHTMENT CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objective
- Main Body
- Charter-Party
- Forms of Charter-Party
- Implied Terms
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor Marked Assignment (TMA)
7.0 References/Further Reading
INTRODUCTION
A contract to carry goods by sea or to provide a ship for that purpose, in consideration of a payment known as freight is called the contract of affreightment.
There are two kinds of contract of carriage of goods by sea. They are usually referred to as contract contained in charter party or contract evidenced by a bill of lading. This unit will be discussing the charter party as a type of contract of affreightment.
OBJECTIVE
The main purpose of this unit is to examine the charter party as a kind of contract of affreightment and also to discuss the implied terms of a charter party. From this unit, learners should be able to distinguish between a contract of affreightment and charter party.
MAIN BODY
Charter-Party
A charter-party is contract between charterer and the ship-owner by which the charterer hires from the ship-owner the use of the ship either for a voyage or a fixed period of time in consideration of money called the freight.
Most charter parties contain well-established terms and are usually in standard form contracts agreed and set out by various conferences and known by such code names like Baltime, Gencon and Shelltime. There are three types of Charter parties and there are certain implied terms under each of these heads as follows:
- The Voyage Charter-Party
- The Time Charter-Party
- The Demise Charter-Party
The Voyage Charter-Party: - here the ship is engaged to carry a full cargo on a simple voyage but however, the vessel is manned and navigated by the owner of the vessel.
The simplicity of this kind of charter –party makes it adaptable to many sorts of transaction.
Time Charter –Party
Here the ship-owner agrees to make the ship available for an agreed period of time and carry goods according to the directions of the charterers, but the manning and navigation of the ship is with the ship-owner. Under the term charter-party, the charterer is entitled for a period of time to direct within agreed limits how the ship shall be used.
Charter-Party by Demise
It is also known as Bareboat Charter. It is demised charter-party where the charterer displaces the owner and for the period of the lease, takes possession and complete control of the ship. Here, the charterer mans and equips the vessel and assumes all responsibilities for its navigation and management. For all practical purposes, he acts as the owner.
Implied Terms
In every voyage charter party the following are the implied terms;
- the ship is seaworthy: that the shipowner undertakes to put the ship fit for the voyage. The test of seaworthiness is whether a prudent shipowner would have made good the defect before sending the ship to sea. If he had known of it. In Ciampa v. British India Steam Navigation Co. (1915) 2 K.B. 774 lemons were loaded at Naples for London. At Marseilles, the ship was required by the French authorities to be fumigated, because she had come from Mombasa, a plague infected part. The fumigation damaged the lemon. It was held that, as the ship was bound to be fumigated at Marseilles, she was not reasonably fit at Naples for the carriage of the lemons and was therefore unseaworthy.
- That the ship shall be ready to commence the voyage without unnecessary deviation in the usual and customary manner. Deviation is defined as an intentional change in the geographical route of the voyage as contracted.
It is noteworthy that if the deviation is to save life then, it is allowed, but not deviation to save property.
- Another implied term in this manner is the shippers obligation not to ship dangerous goods and the word has been defined in section 2 of the Merchant Shipping Act, cap 224 LFN 1990, to mean goods which by reason of their nature, quantity or mode of stowage, are liable either singly or collectively, to endanger the lives of persons on or near any ship, or to imperil any ship, and includes all explosives within the meaning of the Explosives Act.
In Brass v. Maitland (1856) 26 I.J.Q 846, a consignment of bleaching powder containing chloride of lime had been shipped in casks. During the voyage, the chloride of lime corroded the casks and damaged other cargo in the hold. The majority took the view that the shipper would be liable even though he was unaware of the dangerous nature of the goods.
CONCLUSION
It is important to note that contract of affreightment is a contract of carriage of goods by sea and mostly carriage through charter-party and bill of lading transaction.
It is also pertinent to note that the most important aspect of the charter-party agreement is the time charter-party because it is the busiest of them all. Ship owners are expected to adhere largely to the implied terms of the contract of affreightment.
SUMMARY
Charter-party is the major aspect of commercial transaction under the contract of affreightment alongside the contract by Bill of lading because most times they work hand in hand.
TUTOR MARKED ASSIGNMENT
- Briefly explain Charter-party and its importance to the contract of
- Analyse the implied terms under a charter-party.
REFERENCES/FURTHER READING
- Sale of Goods Act,
- Rawlings, Commercial Law, University of London Press,
- Okany Nigeria Commercial Law, Africana-Fep Publisher, Limited,
- Sofowora, General Principles of Business and Coop Law, Soft Associates,
- A Handbook on Carriage of Goods by Sea: Wale Olawoyin, Lecturer, University of Lagos