London Arbitration 16/03

Laytime - Discharge port laytime based on discharge rate of "150 mt per hatch per weather working day" - Vessel having three hatches - Three different discharge ports - Stowage agreed in advance on terms which had inevitable result that only one hatch would be discharged at each discharge port - Whether term to be implied that discharge rate should be multiplied by number of "working" hatches

The vessel was chartered on a Worldfood 95 charter as amended for a voyage from Nagoya to three named discharge ports with a cargo of bagged rice. The vessel was a small vessel with 3 holds and 2 x 15 ton cranes. The parties agreed the stowage of cargo in advance. The quantities of cargo for each discharge port were specified at Box 7 of Part I of the charter. Box 16 provided for a discharge rate of 150 mt per hatch per weather working day. Under clauses 10(a) and 10(b) of Part II of the charter the cargo was to be loaded and discharged by the charterers at their expense. Under clause 10(c) the charterers were to appoint and pay for stevedores at each discharging port. Under clause 13(b) the charterers had the right to load the cargo destined for each receiver (and therefore each discharge port) in a different hold, the parcels of cargo being separated "within the vessel's natural segregation". Under clause 15(a) the charterers had free use of the vessel's cranes.