Scrutton On Charterparties And Bills Of Lading 24th Edition, Mainwork

This is the leading statement of the principles behind charterparties and bills of lading, which is the area of law covering parties to the hire and chartering of ships, and the carriage of goods at least partially by sea.

There are three kinds of charterparties: time charters, voyage charters, and demise charters. Voyage and time charterparties are agreements whereby the shipowner retains responsibility for the operation of the ship, for its navigation and management, but the charterer [ie lessee] is granted commercial use. In a voyage charterparty, the charterer loads a cargo for delivery at the agreed destination. In a time charterparty, over an agreed period of time he may direct the ship, within the agreed range and conditions, to carry cargoes procured by him between the places specified by him.

Unlike voyage and time charterers, in the case of demise charters, the bareboat charterer takes over all the responsibilities for the vessel. He employs a crew and provisions, bunkers and runs the ship as his own. Ship operators may use demise charters to ‘charter in’ ships and integrate them into their fleet alongside their own stock.