ABSTRACT
The time charter agreement may be classified as an agreement for hire of a certain vessel. In this respect the time charter agreement differs from the voyage charter agreement, which is an agreement for carriage of a certain cargo, with a certain vessel and for a certain voyage. The character of a time charterparty as a hire agreement can be noticed in several ways. The compensation to the owner is called hire instead of freight, and instead of a certain voyage, a certain hire period and trading area will be agreed. Instead of mentioning a certain cargo, the time charterparty, states the type of cargo the time charterers are allowed to carry with the ship. Neither is the owners' position against a third party the same in time chartering as in voyage chartering. It is the time charterer who operates the ship commercially and thus also the time charterer who has the closest contact with shippers, receivers, and so on.
