Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly
STOWING, TRIMMING AND THEIR EFFECTS ON DELIVERY, RISK AND PROPERTY IN SALES “F.O.B.S.”, “F.O.B.T.” AND “F.O.B.S.T.”
Barney Reynolds*
F.o.b.s., f.o.b.t., f.o.b.s.t. (“free on board stowed”,”free on board trimmed”, “free on board stowed trimmed”) are common special terms used for international sales involving carriage by sea. They clearly have a function in determining who is to pay for the operations referred to. However, it has never been decided whether they also have an effect on what constitutes delivery under the contract, or on the passing of property or risk in the goods. This article suggests that they do, and that giving them these functions makes them more effective as contract terms.
Stowing and trimming are processes that must be properly executed prior to the shipment of many general and dry bulk cargoes. F.o.b. sale contracts often contain terms placing the responsibility for their performance upon the seller rather than leaving it to rest upon the buyer. Well-used examples are f.o.b.t., f.o.b.s. and f.o.b.s.t. (“free on board trimmed”, “free on board stowed” and “free on board stowed trimmed”). The purpose of this article is to attempt to show that, since such terms are deliberately made part of the contract, it should be seen as the intention of the parties that they be enforced, and that this is best achieved by making use of the concepts of delivery, risk and property—for the manipulation of such concepts can effectively enforce such terms without necessitating any recourse to judicial process.
The article will focus primarily on the paradigm case of a sale where the buyer is an f.o.b. charterer. It will not consider sales of unascertained parts of a bulk which are still unascertained on shipment, nor cases where there are reservation of title clauses. In such instances, it is submitted that the normal rules governing such contracts should apply, since the contractual intention of the parties is, in one case, governed by well-worn rules and, in the other, expressly delineated. The rules involved in such cases are at odds with any presumed intention along the lines suggested above. They involve principles which are of more general and overriding impact than those applying in cases of a straight f.o.b. sale or such a sale subject to terms as to stowing and/or trimming.
General considerations
Stowing and trimming
Stowing involves ensuring that the cargo is positioned on board the vessel in such a fashion as to be safe during the proposed transit. Certain goods should not be
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