A Notice of Readiness (“NOR”) is a notification

by the vessel that she is ready to start the

charter service (upon delivery) or is ready to
load or discharge cargo. Giving an NOR has two
purposes: (i) to inform the charterers that the
vessel is at their disposal; and (ii) to start the
running of hire or laytime.

Disputes often occur in relation to the validity of a

NOR, in particular under voyage charter parties.

1) The general requirements for a valid

NOR:

There are three requirements to be met in order to

tender a valid NOR:

 The vessel must have reached the agreed place

(being an “arrived ship”);
 The vessel must be “physically ready”; and
 The vessel must be “legally ready”.
a) The vessel must have reached the agreed place:

In order for the vessel to be an “arrived ship”, the NOR

must be tendered when the ship has arrived at the
contractual place of delivery, loading or discharging.

The charter party will usually state where the vessel

must be before a valid notice of readiness can be
tendered. The ship must be at the immediate and
effective disposition of the charterer, having come to
rest at the place at which she can be described as an
“arrived ship”. Where that place is depends upon the
terms agreed in the charter party.

In the most simple case, the place will be the name of

a port, dock or a berth.

In voyage charters in particular it is sometimes hard to

determine the place when the charter mentions both
the port and a berth. It is always a matter of
construction whether the agreed destination is the
port or the berth. For example, a charter which
describes the destination as “one safe berth, London”
is a berth charter, but one which describes the
destination as “London, one safe berth” is a port
charter (the reference to a berth is to be construed as
a safe berth warranty).

In a berth charter, owners can only tender the NOR

when the vessel has actually berthed.

In the case of a port charter when no berth is

available, the vessel must normally have reached a
position within the port where waiting ships usually lie.

In this regard, the customary waiting area does not

have to be “the commercial area of the port”, but can
be the “legal, fiscal and administrative area of the
port”.

However, if the customary waiting area is outside the

limits of the port, then no valid notice of readiness can
be served. However, some charters
(Gencon for example) extend the waiting place
beyond the port.

The above basic principles can however be varied by

the terms “whether in berth or not” (“WIBON”) or
“whether in port or not” (“WIPON”). The phrase
“whether in berth or not” converts a berth charter into
a port charter and ensures that under a berth charter
party the NOR can be given as soon as the ship has
arrived within the port’s commercial area. However,
this is only when the berth is inaccessible due to
congestion and not bad weather. (This is because the
charter party puts the risk of navigational delays onto
owners and of commercial delays onto charterers.)
It is thought that the phrase “whether in port or not”
will mean that an NOR can be tendered outside port
limits as long as the ship is at the port’s usual waiting
area.

Also, some voyage charters commonly contain other

exceptions and will for instance state that the
commencement of laytime will start “Whether
Customs Cleared or Not” (WCCON) and “Whether in
Free Pratique or Not” (WIFPON).

b) The vessel must be physically ready:

In order to be ready the ship must be prepared in such

a way that it is able to commence cargo operations
without delay and to comply with charterers’ orders
whenever they are given. The vessel must therefore
be “physically ready” and “legally ready”.

The requirement for the vessel to be physically ready

will include that the holds are suitable to receive cargo
in accordance with the charter. In respect of time
charter parties for example, on delivery, the NYPE
(1946) forms requires that, at the time of its delivery,
the vessel is to be “ready to receive cargo … with
clean-swept holds and tight, staunch, strong and in
every way fitted for the service”.

The Baltime form requires by lines 25 and 26 that the

ship is “in every way fitted for ordinary cargo service”.
Other rider clauses often supplement the standard
clauses and impose additional requirements.

The vessel generally needs to be ready in all respects

to load or to discharge the whole cargo. This extends
to all equipment required for the cargo operations
(such as, hatches, cargo gear and equipment etc.).
This does not mean, for example, that hatch covers
have to be open before a valid NOR can be given. It
does mean that the vessel has to be ready and able to
commence the charter service required of the vessel
without delay when charterers give orders to load or
discharge.

However, as regards hold cleanliness, see below.

c) Legal readiness:

In order to tender a valid NOR the vessel (not the

cargo) must be legally ready. This requirement will
include:

 Customs clearance or entry;

 Immigration and police approval; and
 Health or free pratique
All papers necessary for the commencement of the
charter service, loading or discharging must be in
order for the vessel to be legally ready. If charterers
are to arrange for a certain document or certificate
before the vessel can carry out its cargo operations
they have to do so with reasonable speed to enable
owners to tender a valid NOR. An NOR tendered after
this reasonable period has expired would probably still
be valid, if all other requirements have been met.

2) The format of the NOR:

 

In law, there is no prescribed form for tendering NOR.

It merely has to be a statement that the vessel is
ready to be delivered or load or discharge as the case
may be. The NOR must be accurate in that the vessel
is in fact ready.

Unless the charter party states otherwise nothing else

is required. However, charter parties often contain
express provisions on form and contents of the NOR.

3) Additional requirements under the

charter party:
a) NOR on delivery of the vessel under the charter-
hold cleanliness:

It is common for charter parties to have provisions

about the cleanliness of the holds. For example, time
charter parties typically contain a hold cleaning clause
which will state: “on delivery, all holds to be clean,
swept, free from all cargo residue … failing which the
vessel to be off hire from the date and time of the
failure to the date and time of being inspected and
passed by the surveyor”.

With such a clause it is arguable that for a ship to be

“off-hire” as stated, the ship must first have been
accepted so that the NOR must have been valid. This
implies that the holds do not need to be ready for the
NOR to be valid and that if the vessel’s holds are not
clean on delivery charterers will have to accept the
ship and their only remedy will be to put the ship off
hire.

Conversely, in respect of voyage charters, if the cargo

holds are not ready it is likely that the vessel is not
physically ready and any NOR given will be invalid.

b) NOR tendered to be tendered during office hours:

Some charters stipulate that the NOR should be
tendered during office hours (eg “notice of readiness
to be tendered within 06.00 and 17.00 local time”).

The fact that the NOR is tendered outside these hours

(say 21.00 hrs) will not in itself render the NOR invalid.
Unless the charter provides otherwise, such an NOR
will be treated as having been given the next working
day when office hours begin.

4) What happens if the NOR is invalid

but there are other delaying factors?

Owners may argue that although the ship was not

ready, because of some other factor (port congestion,
for example) there was no actual delay which resulted
from the lack of readiness. It is not relevant whether
the ship was actually delayed in carrying out the cargo
operations. The important question is whether the ship
was ready at the time of tendering the NOR. If the ship
was not ready (apart from minor and routine matters)
then the NOR will be invalid.

5) Does an invalid NOR become valid

once the requirements are met?

No. If the NOR is tendered before the ship arrives at

the contractual destination or is not “ready”, the NOR
is invalid. An invalid NOR will never become valid. The
owners, therefore, have to serve a new NOR when the
conditions are met in order not to have the charter
cancelled or run the risk that time does not count. If
there is any doubt, it is recommended to serve fresh
NORs without prejudice to the previous NOR/s.
6) What is the effect of tendering an
invalid NOR?

a) NOR tendered on delivery of the vessel -rejection of

the vessel and cancellation of the charter:

If on delivery owners tender an invalid NOR, the ship

will be deemed not to be ready and not to have been
delivered and if the ship is not ready by the end of the
laycan period, charterers will have the option to cancel
the charter. Charterers are, however, not entitled to
cancel before the cancelling date even though there is
no way the ship will ever be ready by the cancelling
date (although if charterers can show that the vessel
would not have been ready by the cancelling date,
owners are unlikely to be able to prove any
loss/damages against charterers).

In the context of voyage charter parties there is an

argument that if the cargo gear (not the holds) are not
ready, this would not be sufficient to cancel the
charter. The situation is not the same for time charter
parties as, for example, the NYPE forms stipulate that
the ship must be “in every way fitted for service”.

b) NOR tendered during the charter -commencement

of laytime and hire

With regard to the running of laytime or hire, if the

NOR is invalid, time will not start to count. If however
charterers start using the ship (loading or
discharging), there is an argument that time will start
to count from that moment.
7) What happens if charterers accept
an invalid NOR?

Even though, as stated above, an invalid NOR will

never become valid, charterers may be deemed to
have accepted an invalid NOR either expressly or by
their conduct, in which event, charterers may lose the
right to argue that the NOR is invalid.

This is particularly so if charterers had reasonable

opportunity to ascertain the vessel’s true condition.
Acceptance by conduct could be demonstrated if
charterers have conducted themselves in such a way
as to show that they intend to be bound by the charter
party (for example giving orders to a ship to load
cargo).

Acceptance of an invalid NOR can be made by the

shippers or receivers who are considered to be
charterers’ agents.

In order not to lose any rights, therefore, charterers

should accept a potentially invalid NOR on a “without
prejudice to the charter” basis. Just because
charterers have accepted an invalid NOR does not
mean that they have waived their right to claim
damages for any loss suffered. However, charterers
may by their conduct be held to have waived their
claim in damages.

For example, where owners have to deliver a ship

which is grain clean but do not do so (because there is
coal residue in the hold) and charterers still accept the
vessel and owners’ NOR as they intend to load steel
slabs as a first cargo, if charterers do not reserve their
rights to claim damages and simply accept the ship,
they may well lose the right to claim for time lost and
cost of hold cleaning before loading the second cargo
if this was due to the coal residue in the hold.
 How to issue notice of readiness -
chemical tankers procedure
A Notice of Readiness (NOR) must always be provided when
a vessel arrives at the port of destination. Whether the berth
is occupied or not, whether the vessel is alongside or not, on
arrival at the port of destination the Master must present the
NOR on the appropriate form. If it is not possible to berth, for
whatever reason and the vessel has to wait on the roads,
the NOR must be tendered by telex, fax, e-mail or by
telephone. In the latter case this must be followed by written
confirmation to the agency, requesting them to provide it to
the Receivers, Charterers, and Terminal etc.

 Home

 Special Chemicals

 Stowage Planning

 Cargo Care

 Cargo Equipments

 Chemical Hazards
 Cargo Loading

 Cargo Unloading

 Cargo Documents

 Safe Stability

 Tank Cleaning

 Inert Gas Systems

 Gas Freeing

 Nitrogen Handling

 Cargo/ Ballast Pumps

 Cargo Tanks

 Spills Emergencies

 Fire Protection

 Safety Matters
Significant for the ‘time counting’ is the time the NOR has
been tendered and not the acceptance of the notice.

The NOR is not effective is when repairs have to be carried

out, before the vessel can load / discharge. In such case NOR
should be given immediately after the repairs have been
completed.

In USA ports if the vessel is required to undergo a USCG

inspection on arrival for a COC, then the NOR is not normally
able to be tendered prior to completion of this inspection.
Separate NOR must be tendered for each Shipper or
Receiver. When a parcel is completed at a particular berth
and the next berth involving a different Shipper or Receiver
is occupied, then the NOR must be tendered when the
hose(s) is disconnected, at the berth where the vessel is
moored.

At the load port the NOR must have the amount of cargo for
each parcel that the vessel can load. For example 1050 mts,
but never write 1050 mts more or less owners option or
similar phrases. Always state the maximum quantity the
vessel can take within the quantity option agreed in the
fixture on the NOR.

At the discharge port the NOR must include the amount of

cargo according to the B/L.

Tendering a fresh NOR

A Master may be unsure whether he is in a position to tender

NOR or whether an NOR which he has given is valid or not.
There may be doubt about whether the vessel is in the right
location or whether she is actually ready to load or discharge
cargo. In these circumstances, the Master should give NOR
at the earliest opportunity – even if it may be premature and
then give fresh notice later on. A NOR can be re-tendered
several times prior to cargo operations commencing, for
example:

 Upon arrival at the customary anchorage/waiting place

 Upon boarding of pilot (if not simultaneous with above)
 Upon arrival alongside berth
  Following completion of any cargo surveys
 After the tanks have been brought to an acceptable
standard of cleanliness, if there has been a dispute
over the condition of the tanks.
 Once repairs have been completed if the vessel has
experienced technical problems which can affect cargo
operations.

All but the first NOR should be marked “without prejudice to

validity of all other NOR’s previously tendered under this
C/P”.

Shifting

Normally, only one NOR has to be given in each port. This

means that where the vessel is shifting berth within port, it
is not usually necessary for a fresh NOR to be presented.

Part Cargoes

If the vessel is carrying part cargoes for more than one

voyage charterer, NOR should be given to all charterers on
arrival. If the vessel is loading or discharging at several
berths for different charterers, a fresh NOR should be
tendered at each berth. Similarly, when part cargoes for
different voyage charterers are being loaded or discharged
consecutively, NOR should be tendered once loading of each
parcel has been completed and the next cargo is ready to be
loaded or discharged.

If in doubt……

If in doubt, the first rule is to give NOR and then tender a

fresh NOR once the reason for doubt has been resolved.
However, the formalities of giving NOR can give rise to
complex legal problems and Masters should if necessary
seek advice from the managers.