Arrived ship

The Laytime

It is clearly important to determine when laytime commences since this is the key to the division of responsibility for the time spent at the load and/or discharge port. Most charterparties require the owners to serve a notice of readiness at load or discharge port stating that the vessel is ready in all respects for cargo operations, the notice of readiness constitutes the contractual step which is required to trigger the commencement of laytime. Due to this, charterparties usually contain provisions which stipulate when notice of readiness may be contractually served and when laytime commences once notice of readiness has been validly served.

The requirements for a valid notice of readiness to be served:

• The vessel is an arrived vessel
• The vessel is ready to receive or discharge the cargo
• The notice of readiness is tendered to and received by the proper person according to the charterparty
• The notice of readiness is tendered in a contractual way
• The notice of readiness is tendered at a time that is allowed by the charterparty.

"Arrived ship"

Notice of readiness cannot be validly served before the vessel may be qualified as an "arrived ship". To be an "arrived ship", the vessel must have reached the place within the port where the Notice of Readiness may be served. This place is specified, expressly or impliedly, by the charterparty.

'For a ship to be said to have arrived at the port she must, if she cannot proceed immediately to a berth, have reached a position within the port where she is at the immediate and effective disposition of the charterer.'

Under a port charterparty, the vessel must reach the place where vessels usually wait within the port unless, of course, she can proceed directly to the load/discharge berth in which case notice of readiness may be tendered as soon as she enters the port. 

Under a berth charterparty, the vessel must reach the nominated load/discharge berth. These basic propositions may be varied by the inclusion of specific provisions such as "whether in berth or not" ("WIBON") or "whether in port or not" ("WIPON").

"WIBON"/"WIPON" provisions

The effect of a "WIBON" provision may be simply expressed as shorthand for "whether in berth (a berth being available) or not in berth (a berth not being available). This provision was construed mostly for triggering the laytime in case of congestion at the port. However, it has nothing to do with the situation, when the berth is available but the vessel is prevented from proceeding to it by bad weather.

The "WIPON" provision does not appear to have been tested in the Courts. It seems reasonable to suppose, nevertheless, that this will be interpreted similarly to allow notice of readiness to be tendered as soon as the vessel reaches the customary waiting place for the port in the case of congestion within the port even if this is outside port limits.

"Ready in all respects"

Even if the vessel has reached the place within the port which is required by the charterparty, notice of readiness cannot be served unless she is also physically and legally ready in all respects to load or discharge the cargo. It is possible to accelerate the tender of a valid notice of readiness by the inclusion of a "whether customs cleared or not" ("WCCON") or a "whether in free pratique or not" ("WIFPON") provision.

References:

"Laytime and Demurrage", John Schofield MA, of Gray's Inn, Barrister
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