Trip Time Charters - Don’t Trip Up …

When can “one time charter trip” be more than a single cargo carrying voyage between two or more ports? This is a question recently considered by the English High Court in a case called the “WEHR TRAVE” [2016]. In brief, the factual background was as follows:

Pursuant to a Charterparty on the New York Produce Exchange Form, Owners chartered their vessel for “one time charter trip via good and safe ports and/or berths via East Mediterranean / Black Sea to Red Sea / Persian Gulf / India / Far East always via Gulf of Aden”. The vessel was to be redelivered at one safe port in charterers’ option Colombo/Busan. The Charterparty duration was expressed to be 40 days “without guarantee” within the trading limits described.

On delivery, and pursuant to Charterers’ voyage orders, the vessel proceeded to the Black Sea, where she loaded cargoes at Sevastopol/Avitla, Novorossiysk and Constantza/Agigea. She then proceeded on her route, discharging at one port in the Red Sea (Jeddah), one port in the Gulf of Oman (Sohar), and three ports in the Persian Gulf (Hamriyah, Jebel Ali and Dammam). The vessel finally berthed at Dammam to discharge her last parcel of cargo.

However, following the vessel completing cargo operations at Dammam, rather than ordering the vessel to proceed to a re-delivery port in the agreed Colombo/Busan range, the Charterers ordered her to proceed to Sohar (Oman), to load a project cargo for delivery at New Mangalore or Cochin (West Coast of India). The question before the Court was whether or not this was a legitimate voyage order. The Court held that it was.

The Court noted that whilst the agreed Charterparty specified a delivery port/range and a redelivery port/range, it did not restrict Charterers to loading the vessel at a single port. The Court said that pursuant to a trip charter a Charterer was – upon paying hire – entitled to call upon the vessel to load and discharge at any port or ports within the trading limits and on the contractual route, subject of course to the parties agreeing something to the contrary.

Accordingly, as Charterers’ “extra voyage” from Sohar (Oman) with a project cargo for delivery at New Mangalore or Cochin was not inconsistent with the contractual route (which was a voyage from Algeciras (where she delivered) to the Colombo / Busan range (for re-delivery), via East Mediterranean and/or Black Sea and/or the Red Sea and/or the Persian Gulf and/or India and/or the Far East always via the Gulf of Aden and always ending in the Colombo / Busan range), their orders to the Vessel were legitimate orders that the Vessel had to comply with.

In light of this decision, Members who wish to restrict a trip charter to a single cargo carrying voyage would be best advised to expressly say so in the agreed fixture recap.