ABSTRACT
Charterparties have been standardised since the beginning of the 20th century by organisations such as the Baltic and International Maritime Conference – now known as the Baltic and International Maritime Council – and the Chamber of Shipping. Charterparties are classified into three types: voyage charterparties, time charterparties and demise charterparties. This chapter provides a brief description of these types and examines only the voyage charterparty. The shipowner in a voyage charterparty undertakes to transport the goods to the port(s) specified in the charterparty. Implied obligations on the part of the shipowner are also implied in a bill of lading governed by common law. Common law implies a number of immunities that operate in favour of the shipowner in charter-parties. Clauses exempting the carrier from liability for loss or damage to goods due to events, such as the negligence of the master of crew, storms, strikes, wars and ice, are also commonly found in charterparties.
