Charter Party Contracts, Voyage Calculations and Laytime Disputes Training Course

Programme Summary

Charter party contracts, voyage calculations and laytime disputes form the subject of this five-day training course for chartering and commercial shipping leaders at advanced level, culminating in a chartering risk and claims playbook for their organisation. Fixtures agreed under time pressure with weak clauses and loose estimates later turn into lost demurrage, unpaid hire and arbitration costs. The approach moves from charter structures and standard forms to voyage economics, laytime calculation, performance claims and dispute handling. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme in charter party contracts and laytime disputes.

The Business Case

Voyage margins depend as much on charter party wording as on the freight rate, and demurrage or off-hire disputes can absorb the value of a cargo purchase. Leaders who negotiate and enforce charter terms well protect earnings and keep claims out of arbitration.

• Demurrage Recovery and Exposure: Improves as notices of readiness and time bars are managed with discipline.
• Voyage Result Against Estimate: Tightens as estimates use realistic port and bunker assumptions.
• Claims Settled Without Arbitration: Rises as claims are documented early and negotiated from a clear position.

Principles and Evidence Base

• BIMCO Standard Forms: GENCON, NYPE 2015 and BARECON anchor the clause analysis in Sessions 1 and 2.
• Tanker Voyage Charter Forms: SHELLVOY and ASBATANKVOY provide the tanker comparison in Session 3.
• BIMCO Laytime Definitions for Charter Parties: These definitions frame the laytime, demurrage and despatch calculations in Session 3.
• LMAA Arbitration and the Hague-Visby Rules: The dispute route and the cargo regime for bills of lading issued under charters guide Session 5.

Intended Participants

• Leaders who approve fixtures and set chartering policy for a fleet or a cargo programme.
• Managers who negotiate charter party terms with owners, charterers and brokers.
• Heads of operations who handle laytime, demurrage, off-hire and performance claims.
• Advisers who review recaps and support dispute strategy.

The programme serves shipowners and operators, oil and petrochemical producers, grain and mining traders and port and terminal companies.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to evaluate which charter structure fits a given trade and risk appetite.
2. Participants will be able to construct a voyage estimate and convert it into a time charter equivalent.
3. Participants will be able to diagnose weak or missing clauses in a fixture recap before signature.
4. Participants will be able to calculate laytime, demurrage and despatch from a statement of facts.
5. Participants will be able to prioritise performance claims by value and evidence.
6. Participants will be able to justify a claims and dispute strategy, including when to settle and when to arbitrate.

Programme Structure

Day 1: Charter Party Structures and Fixing Practice

Which charter structure suits the trade, and how is a fixture agreed?

• Voyage, Time and Bareboat Charters Compared
• Role of Shipbrokers, Firm Offers and Subjects
• Fixture Recap Drafting and Main Terms
• Selecting Standard Forms: GENCON, NYPE 2015 and BARECON
• Rider Clauses and Amendments to Standard Forms

Day 2: Charter Party Clauses and Allocation of Risk

Where do the main commercial risks sit in the charter wording?

• Safe Port and Safe Berth Warranties
• Employment and Indemnity Clause
• Speed and Consumption Warranties
• Bunker, Redelivery and Hire Payment Clauses
• Off-Hire Events and Off-Hire Clause Interpretation

Day 3: Laytime, Demurrage and Despatch Calculation

How is time at port counted, and who pays for delay?

• Arrived Ship and Notice of Readiness Validity
• WIBON, WIPON and WCCON Provisions
• SHINC and SHEX Terms and Laytime Exceptions
• Applying the BIMCO Laytime Definitions in Calculation
• Tanker Laytime Under SHELLVOY and ASBATANKVOY

Day 4: Voyage Estimates and Charter Economics

Does the fixture make money once every cost and delay is priced?

• Voyage Estimate Structure: Freight, Port Costs and Bunkers
• Time Charter Equivalent Calculation and Comparison
• Pricing Expected Demurrage Into the Freight Decision
• Sensitivity Testing on Speed, Weather and Port Delay
• Post-Voyage Review Against the Original Estimate

Day 5: Applying Charter Party Claims and Dispute Handling

Is the organisation ready to defend and recover its charter claims?

• Statement of Facts Review Using Day 3 Laytime Rules
• Performance Claims Built on Day 2 Warranty Clauses
• Claim Time Bars and Evidence Packs
• LMAA Arbitration Route and Hague-Visby Cargo Claims
• Chartering Risk and Claims Playbook Completion

Methodology

The programme relies on case analysis and structured calculation exercises. Participants work through fictional dry bulk and tanker fixtures, challenge recaps, calculate laytime from statements of facts and stress-test voyage estimates, then apply each element to their own portfolio.

• Suggested activity: Redlining a fixture recap, including rider clauses.
• Suggested activity: Calculating laytime and demurrage for a disputed tanker discharge.
• Suggested activity: Negotiating settlement of an off-hire and speed claim.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes a chartering risk and claims playbook for their organisation. It sets preferred forms and clause positions, a voyage estimate template, laytime rules, time bar checkpoints and arbitration criteria, and is used to brief fixing teams.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the charter party contracts and laytime disputes course suitable for commercial directors?

Yes. It is set at advanced level for leaders who approve fixtures or manage claims, and assumes familiarity with shipping operations.

Which standard forms does the charter party and laytime training rest on?

It rests on the BIMCO forms GENCON, NYPE 2015 and BARECON, the tanker forms SHELLVOY and ASBATANKVOY, and the BIMCO Laytime Definitions for Charter Parties.

How is the chartering risk and claims playbook from the charter party course used at work?

You can use it to set clause positions before fixing, check estimates, control time bars and decide when a dispute goes to arbitration.

How does charter party and laytime training differ from a course on shipping management?

Shipping management covers fleet strategy and leadership. This charter party course concentrates on fixture contracts, voyage economics and laytime and performance claims.