The Wehr Trave – don’t get tripped up

Peter Hazell, of Skuld, considers the implications of a recent time charter case and a charterer’s right to give sailing orders


In The Wehr Trave (SBT Star Bulk & Tankers (Germany) GmbH & Co KG v Cosmotrade SA [2016] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 170), the English High Court took a detailed look at a charterer’s right to give sailing orders to a vessel on a trip time charter. While the judge, Sir Bernard Eder, was at pains to emphasise that the finding in this judgment turned on the wording used in the specific charter in question, the court’s analysis of the underlying principles provides valuable guidance to the shipping industry on the use and interpretation of trip time charters.