Specifying notice of readiness in a charter party agreement for cargo ships employment

Specifying notice of readiness in a charter party agreement for cargo ships employment

How to tender a notice of readiness ?

Notice of readiness is a notice to the charterer, shipper, receiver or other person as required by the charter party that the vessel has arrived at the port or berth, as the case may be, and is ready to load or discharge. It may be (and is often) given by the ship’s agent on the master’s behalf. (In many cases the Notice of Readiness is sent by the ship’s agent to an agent of the charterer.)

The notice must be given before laytime can commence or within the “laycan” period. Must be given in accordance with the procedure in the Notice Clause or Laytime Clause in the charter party. Is often required to be given during office hours from Monday to Saturday.

Notice of readiness need only be given at the first of two or more load ports, unless the charter party provides otherwise. It may (in common law) be oral, but for practical purposes (and because nearly all charter parties require it) should be given in writing. Notice of Readiness may be tendered by delivery of a printed form or letter, or by telex, fax or cable, unless the charter party provides otherwise. Charterers’, owners’ and agents’ Notice of Readiness forms are often pre-printed for masters to complete, but where necessary the master should write his own notice. (See example below.) It must be addressed to the charterers or their agent (although delivery may be made through the owners’ agent). Should be sent in duplicate with a request that the second copy, with the time and date of acceptance completed, should be returned for the master’s retention.

If receipt of Notice of Readiness is not acknowledged on the first day notice is tendered, daily attempts to have it accepted should be made.

The charter party will normally state that laytime will commence a certain number of hours after Notice of Readiness is given or accepted; the waiting period is usually termed “notice time” or “turn time”. If such a period is not specified, laytime will commence as soon as Notice of Readiness is given.

It is important to the shipowner or time charterer that Notice of Readiness is tendered as soon as the possible. A few minutes’ delay in tendering on a Saturday morning could mean that laytime will not commence until Tuesday morning, even though cargo work starts earlier.

A Court of Appeal decision13 in 2002 established that under a voyage charterparty which requires a Notice of Readiness (NOR) to be served, laytime can commence even when no valid notice has been served, where the following all apply:

1. a NOR in the required form is served on charterers or receivers prior to the vessel’s arrival;
2. the vessel subsequently arrives and is, or is expected to be, ready to discharge, to the knowledge of the charterers; and
3. discharge commences to the order of the charterers or receivers without either having given any indication of rejection or reservation about the NOR already served, or any indication that a further NOR is required before laytime commences.

In these circumstances, charterers can be deemed to have waived their right to rely on the invalidity of the original NOR as from the time of commencement of cargo operations, and laytime will commence in accordance with the charterparty as if a valid NOR had been served at that moment.

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