NAUTICAL LOG

Voyage Charter: A contract (C/P) for hire of the use of a vessel to make a specific voyage between two identified terminal ports. The vessel will be carrying cargo or passengers for and on behalf of the Charterer's. The Charterer's pay for the the use of the ship either on the basis of a lump sum or in the case of cargo at a 'Freight Rate'. This freight rate is so much per tonne carried and delivered. This would not be the form of charter normally used in the business of yacht chartering. Time Charter: A contract (C/P) for the hire of the use of a vessel for a specified period of time and can take one of two basic forms, * Basic Time Charter * Demise or Bareboat Charter The Basic Time Charter; An agreement between the owner of a vessel, or if allowed the disponent owner, and a charterer who wishes to use the vessel for his own purposes without being responsible for the operation of neither the vessel or its day-to-day management. Throughout the period of the charter the...

It is not necessary for charters to be in writing to be enforceable in Law. Given their relatively complex nature it is advisable for such agreements to be in writing. This avoids misunderstandings and provides clear evidence of the terms of the contract (C/P). To assist commercial people negotiate charters, various standard forms of agreement are available which parties can use. These can then be modified as necessary to suit particular arrangements. However it is important to remember that the terms of any such written agreement can subsequently be varied by the conduct of the parties. The Parties or their Authorized Agents may expressly agree to a variation or such a variation may be implied from their behaviour. This is an area which can easily lead to Arbitration or even the Civil Courts so it is best to be very clear about it. The Master of a vessel has the Owner's authority to vary charters. This is done by agreeing to or acquiescing without protest, to the Charterer's r...

Here's whats coming up in the Posts ahead on Marine Chartering, + Employment of Ship-Chartering Practice, an Overview + Voyage Charters + Time Charters + Demise or Bareboat Charters Many Charter Parties (C/P's) allow trading with certain express exclusions of countries or places of increased risk. While this can change due to the 'winds of war' or political events there is a pretty standard list. Countries and places often excluded are, Angola Cuba Ethiopia Israel Kampuchea Burma/Myanmar Lebanon Libya Namibia North Korea Orinoco Persian/ Arabian Gulf Somalia South Africa Syria Vietnam * South China Sea, certain islands due to conflicting sovereignty claims * Horn of Africa, due highly active piracy Masters must therefore clarify, prior to the C/P signing, these possible exclusions due ever changing geopolitics. They must be clearly agreed too and stated in the C/P. Remember it is not necessary for charters to be in writing to be enforceable in Law. There are further p...

It has come to the attention of NAUTICAL LOG that many seafarers and particularly recreational boaters are not knowledgeable about Chartering. For recreational boaters who rent boats or might even be considering a yacht charter vacation either locally or to some exotic locale, this is not good. It is most important to have background knowledge and be able to go through a contract, that is a Charter Party , and have a basic idea what it is about and what to look out for in it. So what to do? NAUTICAL LOG has decided to write a series of Posts about Marine Chartering which we hope will be helpful. The series is based on personal experience at sea as Master and Chief Officer of chartered cargo ships/freighters, bulk carriers and container ships. In addition at one time we taught International Maritime Law to sea-going officers for a United Kingdom 'Certificate of Equivalency' and the Posts are edited from our lecture notes. We hope you find it useful but please remember it is, I...

On April 28, 1947 the rather tired looking Peruvian Navy tug "Guardian Rios" towed an extraordinary looking object out of Callao Harbour, Peru. A closer inspection showed it was a collection of balsa logs lashed together with ropes made of jungle fibre. On top sat a straw hut and just forward of it was a single pole mast to which was fitted a simple square sail rolled up. A long steering pole aft projected well astern and this whole contraption looked extremely crude and ready to fall apart. Some six Europeans stood on deck checking everything and looking concerned at the tugs progress. Some 50 nautical miles later out in the Humboldt Current after some signalling, only one of the Europeans spoke Spanish, the tug cast off the raft as it turned out the contraption was. So finally the sail was lowered to show a large face and the Kon-tiki Ekspedisjonen was now underway. The voyage so well known needs nothing further from NAUTICAL LOG, and of course a book was written, in Nor...

Most of the time spent with the USSCo. was sailing around the coasts of New Zealand, across to Australia, and Tasmania and up to the various Pacific islands. However I did have an opportunity to take a three month vacation to travel New Zealand. The time was used to tour the length and breadth of both the North Island and the South Island by bus - 1960 NZ buses!! It was a wonderful experience, with outstanding hospitality, in this beautiful country. One of the many places visited was a small church near Tekapo in the McKenzie Basin of the South Island. It had an window which was behind the alter and looked out over the lake. The photos I took at the time are above this Post and remember these are 49 years old. Today I picked up my local South Florida Sunday paper and saw an article there with a photo of that church. Tekapo, NZ is a small town of 830 people, it has grown since 1960, is in the dark and wants to remain that way. The purpose is to bring out the stars more vividly. The town...

Here are some more views of New Zealand. These were taken in 1961, if you look at the fashions and the cars carefully you may see quite a few differences in style. Enjoy and see if you know these places. Send a comment with your answers. Good Watch.

These are some views of New Zealand. If you know the places send us your answers in a comment. We shall publish the results, - there are no prizes as it is just for fun! Hopefully NAUTICAL LOG will get some answers from Kiwi's because so far we never hear from New Zealand. Do you even have personal computers down there or only in businesses, public libraries and such like? We have very good memories of a couple of years spent working down there ( long, long before computers existed ). Be nice to hear from you. Also there is an update to the NEW ZEALAND VOYAGES Post, it is worth checking out. Good Watch