Charter Party Types and Standard Forms

What a charter party is

A charter party is the contract under which a shipowner puts a vessel, or space in her, at a charterer's disposal. It sets out the ship, the cargo, the ports, the dates, the money and the allocation of every risk the parties could think of when they fixed.

It is not the same document as a bill of lading. The charter party binds charterer and owner. The bill of lading travels with the cargo and binds whoever holds it.

Why standard forms exist

Charter parties repeatedly allocate the same categories of cost, delay and operational risk. Standard forms published by bodies such as BIMCO give the parties an established starting point whose clauses have been tested in arbitration and in court.

The practical effect is that a fixture is agreed as a named form plus amendments. When a recap says GENCON 1994 as amended, everyone knows the skeleton and the argument is about the riders.

Voyage charter forms

GENCON: The BIMCO general-purpose dry cargo voyage charter, and the most widely used voyage form in the market. Editions in circulation include 1994 and the more recent 2022 revision.
SYNACOMEX: Continental grain trade, used for grain shipments from Europe and beyond.
AMWELSH: Americanised Welsh coal charter, the traditional form for coal cargoes.
COAL-OREVOY: BIMCO form for coal and ore, drafted around the practices of those trades.
ASBATANKVOY: The standard tanker voyage form for oil and petroleum products.
MULTIFORM and NUVOY: General cargo alternatives to GENCON that appear from time to time in specific trades.

Time charter forms

NYPE: The New York Produce Exchange form, the dominant dry cargo time charter. The 1946 and 1993 editions remain in wide use alongside the 2015 revision.
BALTIME: BIMCO's dry cargo time charter, more owner-friendly in its original drafting than NYPE.
SHELLTIME: The tanker time charter form associated with Shell, widely adopted in the oil trades.
SUPPLYTIME: BIMCO's form for offshore support vessels, drafted around offshore operations rather than cargo.

Specialist forms

BARECON: BIMCO's bareboat charter. The charterer takes the ship without crew and operates her, which makes this closer to a leasing structure than to a freight contract.
HEAVYCON and HEAVYLIFTVOY: Heavy-lift and heavy transport forms, drafted for cargo whose weight and dimensions drive the whole operation. Relevant to project cargo shipments.
GENCOA and VOLCOA: Contract of affreightment forms, for a quantity of cargo over a period in several shipments.
TOWCON and TOWHIRE: Towage forms, on a lump sum and a daily hire basis respectively.

Rider clauses and the recap

The printed form is the beginning. What the parties actually negotiate sits in the rider clauses: the demurrage rate, the laytime terms, cargo exclusions, trading limits, bunker terms, war risk, sanctions, the arbitration clause and the law that governs everything.

Those terms are recorded in the recap, the message that sets out what has been agreed. Once all subjects are lifted, the recap is generally binding on both parties even if nobody signs the formal charter party afterwards. Where a rider conflicts with the printed clause it amends, the rider normally prevails.

What to read first

If you are handed a charter party and have limited time, read in this order.

The rider clauses, in full, before any printed clause.
Laytime, demurrage and despatch, including the exceptions and any time bar.
Laycan and the cancelling clause.
Freight or hire: amount, when it is earned, when it is payable, and deductions.
Cargo description and any exclusions.
Sanctions, war risk and trading limits.
Law and arbitration.

These provisions usually determine the most immediate financial and operational exposure when performance departs from plan.

Common questions

Is a recap binding before the charter party is signed?

Usually yes, once all subjects are lifted. A recap setting out agreed main terms, with a named standard form and the rider clauses, is generally a binding contract even if the formal document is never signed. That is why the phrase "sub details" matters so much: it keeps the agreement conditional until the details are settled.

Which form should I ask for?

For general dry cargo on a voyage basis, GENCON is the usual starting point. For a dry cargo time charter, NYPE. Owners often have a preferred form and their own rider clauses, and the negotiation is over the riders far more than over the printed form.

Do the printed clauses actually get used?

Less than people assume. In most fixtures the printed form supplies the structure and the rider clauses supply the commercial terms, with the riders taking precedence where they conflict. Read the riders first.

What is a bill of lading doing in all this?

The charter party governs the relationship between the charterer and the owner. The bill of lading is issued for the cargo and governs the relationship with the holder of it, who may be a third party such as a buyer or a bank. The two can say different things, and where they do, the difference usually surfaces at an inconvenient moment.

This guide describes general market practice and is not legal advice. The signed contract, charter party and transaction-specific advice take precedence.

The charter party forms you will meet