fixture is practically concluded. When the charter party comes to be made up, the broker must see that the terms as agreed in the negotiations are embodied in the charter party, and must also see that no material additions or deletions are made therein. As indicated above, an owner agreeing to load at a named port, laydays to commence on steamer's arrival and due notice of readiness given, might find that a particular dock or berth had been inserted in the charter party, which would mean that the ship would not be an "arrived" ship until she was in that berth. This small addition might involve serious delay to the steamer if that particular berth should not be available on her arrival at the port.

Negotiations in connection with chartering may be carried through verbally, or by telegraph, telephone, or post, and in any case, confirmation in writing of any offers or acceptance of offers should at once be made; in fact, if a steamer is placed before a charterer, it is more satisfactory, in order to enable him to keep it well in view, to put the steamer with her leading particulars before the charterer by letter, and, vice versa, any orders put before an owner should be in writing. In practice, however, there are numerous orders which may be mentioned verbally to certain owners who show no interest, or who have no available tonnage at the moment, and, on the other hand, numbers of steamers may be mentioned to charterers who have no immediate business to propose for them; in such cases, of course, where there is no likelihood of negotiations developing, it is not usual to record everything by letter.

"

In the negotiations between an owner and a charterer, through the medium of a broker or brokers, it is customary for one party or the other to make a firm offer," that is, an offer at a definite rate, and stipulating certain definite terms. This firm offer " usually stipulates for a reply within a specified period, or otherwise it is implied that a reply be given within a reasonable time. An unconditional acceptance coming from the other party within the time specified closes the business, which is completed later by the drawing up of the charter party. If a certain standard or recognized charter party is specially mentioned or implied, this is understood to be the usual printed form, without addition or alteration, except for the writing necessary to complete the different clauses,

"

but in cases where the charterer proposes a private charter, or one not well known, the owner will insist on seeing the charter party before fixing. If the charterer has made a firm offer," the owner may accept conditionally; for instance, he may accept subject to details of the charter party being found satisfactory, or he may accept with some alteration in the terms proposed by the charterer. Conditional acceptance is really equivalent to a counter-offer, that is, a new offer made by the owner, and it is then up to the charterer to accept or decline. When an owner makes a conditional acceptance, and it is then agreed to by the charterer, this closes the

contract.

A broker, when negotiating chartering business, must be very careful to see that any statement he makes, in regard to either the steamer or any other matter, is as given to him by the owner or charterer, as the case may be, and, in fact, no guarantee should be given by the broker, as a broker, about any material point. If there has been any inadvertent misrepresentation, this will no doubt be noticed when the charter party is put before the principals for signature, and, if it is of such a nature as to cause one or other of the parties to refuse to sign the charter party, it will be very important for the broker to be in a position to show that the statement to which objection is made was made by him in good faith on the information given to him by his principal-owner or charterer.

Time Chartering.

Time chartering is frequently made a speciality by brokers. Time charter is the hiring of a vessel by a charterer for a period of time, usually so many months, but in some cases it may be for a voyage on time charter basis, that is, at a rate according to the time the steamer is occupied on the voyage. In the case of a time charter, it is obvious that a charterer must have very full details of the vessel he intends to charter, more so than in the case of a voyage charter, under which an owner undertakes to ship a particular cargo on behalf of a particular charterer from one or more ports to one or more ports. In the latter case, the main particulars of the steamer required are her size, deadweight, and position, but, in the former case, as the charterer will be using the

steamer for a considerable period in his own trade, he naturally requires to know all the capabilities of the vessel which he is going to charter. Time chartering is frequently resorted to by large liner companies who may temporarily require to augment their fleet; in other cases by merchants who have more or less regular cargoes to shift from one place to another, and who think that by chartering a steamer for a period they can overtake their requirements in this direction better and/or cheaper than by chartering a steamer for each particular voyage they may require to make. Some charterers take tonnage on time charter anticipating a rise in the market, in which case they would sub-let on time charter the steamer or steamers, or re-let them for voyages.

In time charters, as previously pointed out, the owner pays the crew, insurance, stores, provisions, and general upkeep of the steamer; and charterers pay the bunker coal and all port dues and other charges incidental to the cargoes he ships and the ports to which he trades the steamer. The charterer may in some cases be given the option of appointing his own master, but even in that case the wages of the master are payable by the owner.

Brokers specializing in time charter keep in touch with the liner companies which frequently require to augment their fleets temporarily by the addition of outside tonnage, and with the various owners who have steamers of the size and type required. and who are favourable to chartering their steamers on a time basis, Besides the liner companies, there are, as indicated, various other charterers who go in for time charter tonnage; merchants who have commitments to cover over a period may decide that they can fulfil their engagements better by taking tonnage on time rather than voyage by voyage; and speculative charterers. The broker who lays himself out for this branch of shipbroking is more likely to be in a position to find tonnage for time orders in the market, or to find suitable time business for any steamers desiring such employment, than the "general" broker.

MAIN

Stone

CHAPTER X

SUNDRY CHARTER PARTIES

Differences-Coal-Timber-Time

Charter-General-Ore

Grain-Cement-Other Forms-Cotton-Rice-Java Sugar -Cuba Sugar-Baltimore Berth Grain-Mediterranean Iron OreNitrate-Uniform General Charter-Narvik Ore-Seville OreTharsis Ore-Rio Ore-Kainit-Esparto—Cork Waste-Case OilMauritius Sugar-Wheat from Portland-Wheat from AustraliaAustralian Timber-Indian Deadweight-Calcutta Coal-Salt— Lumber-Tank Steamer Voyage-Tank Steamer Creosote-Christmas Island Phosphate-Safaga Bay Phosphate-Florida Phosphate -China Clay-Wood Pulp-Cotton Seed-Sulphur-Poti OrePitwood-Chalk-Time Charter-Government Form.

As indicated in previous chapters, there are numerous forms of charter parties, in addition to the standard forms called "Chamber of Shipping Forms." For rice cargoes from Burma, cotton from the United States, grain from North America, sugar from Cuba and from Java, there are forms of charter party in use which by custom have become recognized as the forms to be used in these trades, and in connection with negotiations for freight in any of these trades, it is implied, unless specially stipulated, that the charter party to be used will be one of these recognized forms. Even, however, in these forms, material alterations of some of the clauses may be made, or additional clauses or parts of clauses may be added, and these modifications of the printed form require careful perusal. Numerous charterers have their own private form of charter party, some of which are well known to the shipping community, but, although a number of the private charter parties in the same trade may be apparently very similar, there is always the possibility of some omission or addition in one or other of the forms which may tend to the detriment of the shipowner.

Main Differences.

The main differences in the various forms of charter party are confined to rates of freight and method of payment; time allowed for and costs of loading and discharging of cargo; options as to

loading ports; options as to discharging ports; options as to the loading of several different kinds of merchandise; regulations as to lightening; regulations as to dunnaging; certain restrictions and regulations as to the loading of different cargoes; the transfer in some cases of certain costs of loading and/or discharging and/or port charges from owner to charterer, or vice versa; various regulations as to the stowage and ventilation of fruit or other perishable cargoes; permission for deck cargo; commission or brokerages; appointing of agents.

In the coal trade all charter parties in use from the United Kingdom ports are, Chamber of Shipping standard forms, and even in other countries adaptations of these forms are mostly used. A typical coal charter is discussed fully in an earlier chapter, and we shall now refer briefly to the other approved charter parties of the Chamber of Shipping.

Coal

(which includes Coke and Patent Fuel).

WELSH COAL CHARTER, 1896, for shipment of coal and fuel from Wales to various ports of the world for which the other Welsh forms mentioned below are not applicable.

WELSH COAL Charter for MONTE VIDEO, BUENOS AYRES, ETC. This charter party is for the shipment of coal to the River Plate, and is very similar to the Welsh form mentioned above, with two clauses added in regard to lighterage at discharging ports, and giving charterers certain options as to discharging ports.

CHAMBER OF SHIPPING WELSH COAL CHARTER, 1896, TO THE DANUBE, ROSARIO, RIVERS PARANA OR URUGUAY. There is a clause in this charter party stipulating that any lighterage which may be necessary to enable the steamer to reach her port of discharge is to be at steamer's expense, but at the risk of charterers or consignees, and any time lost thereby is not to count as lay-days.

COAL FROM EAST COAST AND FROM SCOTLAND. There are three charter parties for the shipment of coal and/or fuel from the East Coast ports, as in the case of and similar to the Welsh charters, and there are also three charters applicable to Scotch ports, i.e. coal to the Plate ports, to the Danube, and to the French Bay and