What the course covers
The charterparty is governed by articles 203 to 286 of the Ley 14/2014, de 24 de julio, de Navegación Marítima (Spanish Maritime Navigation Act). The course separates the two main forms. Under a voyage charter the owner places the vessel at the charterer's disposal for one or more defined voyages and earns freight. Under a time charter the owner transfers commercial employment for a period and earns hire. Risk allocation shifts with the form chosen.
Sessions work through the standard forms and the clauses that produce claims: safe port, vessel description with speed and consumption warranties, off-hire, laytime and demurrage, assignment and sub-chartering. The bareboat charter of articles 188 to 202 LNM is also addressed, with its own regime and a boundary that is often litigated.
A documentary module links the charterparty to the bill of lading: who stands as carrier against the holder, the effect of an incorporation clause, and how recourse runs between owner and charterer. A further module covers general average, articles 347 to 356 LNM, for its weight in voyage settlement and cargo contribution. Freight security, liens on cargo and cesser clauses are taken in the same block.
Who it is for
Shipowners and ship managers. Operations and chartering desks of charterers, traders and bulk operators. Shipbrokers. Lawyers and in-house counsel negotiating fixtures or handling freight, demurrage and cargo damage claims. Surveyors and underwriters who need to read a charterparty before assessing a casualty.
Why it matters
Fixtures are concluded on English-language forms, with rider clauses added and arbitration in London as the usual forum. Most of the LNM charter regime yields to contrary agreement, so the wording governs. The jurisdiction clause and the laytime calculation decide who pays. Where the LNM applies, articles 203 to 286 fill every gap the fixture leaves open.
Demurrage shows the practical effect. Whoever controls the laytime statement and the notices of readiness controls the figure claimed. Under a time charter the same applies to off-hire: deducted hours come straight off hire.
Each session uses anonymised charterparties alongside the statutory text, article by article, in Spanish and English wording.
Programme
- Voyage charter: freight, laytime, demurrage and notices of readiness
- Time charter: hire, off-hire, vessel description and employment clause
- Bareboat charter and ship management: drawing the boundary
- Critical charterparty clauses and the effect of rider wording
- Charterparty and bill of lading: incorporation clauses and recourse
- Claims: evidence, time bars, general average and maritime arbitration
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