Failure to check charterparty wording catches ship manager

The International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) has urged ship brokers and managers to check the terms of their charterparty agreements closely before signing, to avoid costly mistakes further down the line. By way of illustration, ITIC cites the case of the manager of a tanker entering West African waters who believed that the terms of a charterparty provided that armed guards were to be appointed at the charterer’s expense. The manager duly appointed the guards for the voyage at a cost of US$170,000, but the charterer refused to pay the invoice.