Decisions

Charter-parties are not notorious for stylistic elegance or easy intelligibility by those whose business does not lie in the freight market; but to those who operate in that market a considerable degree of certainty as to the meaning and application of standard forms and clauses has been achieved by costly litigation over the years…

– Lord Diplock, 1977

It is surprising that competent lawyers in the United States, Canada or this country have not by now been instructed to draft a modern and more intelligible substitute [for the Baltimore Form “C” grain charter]…

– Mocatta J, 1970

Life would be much easier if shipowners and charterers would (a) refrain from making sophisticated bargains about demurrage and (b) express their bargains clearly. Indeed either by itself would help…

-Sir John Donaldson, 1984

Voyage charters have been the subject of litigation in the English Courts since the 16th century. Even in those days, merchants and shipowners recognized that ship’s time lost was money lost, and 16th-century charter-parties contained provision for payment of demurrage by the charterer if loading or discharging were prolonged beyond the agreed “laytime”…

– Lord Diplock, 1973