This volume, as Mr Ventris himself observes in his Foreword, is not really a legal textbook at all; it is more a set of practical instructions on how to draft tanker voyage charterparties by a man who is clearly experienced in doing so. It is also a rather specific work, since its approach is to take one form, the American-inspired STB VOY, to adapt it for use with English law as the governing system, and to suggest improvements to it. The STB VOY thus improved appears in an appendix as the “UTOPIAVOY”.

The idea is a good one. There is a need for a clear, concise and epigrammatic manual, together with a summary of the relevant law, for the benefit of those involved in drafting charterparties, and for whom specialist legal works such as Scrutton on Charterparties are both too detailed on the law and also too light on technical detail. As the author himself observes, practical considerations are vital in negotiations over the drafting of agreements; and, indeed, there is a good deal of useful technical advice on how to do this. Witness p. 45, for instance, on how to draft the clause dealing with freight; or p. 88, on the pitfalls of the “arrived ship” doctrine and how to avoid them. Again, technical matters not familiar to the average practitioner are often usefully and succinctly dealt with; something that can be invaluable, given that no amount of legal expertise can make up for ignorance of—for instance—the necessity of anti-corrosion coating and proper heating for oil cargoes (see p. 32).

The difficulty I have with this book—perhaps not surprisingly, since I am a lawyer—lies in the author’s coverage of the law. Even allowing for the nature of the work as a negotiator’s manual rather than a legal textbook, this shows serious shortcomings.

First, there are difficulties of arrangement and emphasis; especially in Chapter 1, which attempts to epitomise the “general contract law” applicable to charterparties. Who, for instance, would look for a potted history of “Equity” between “Agency” and “Rescission”;