West of England P&I Club issued a guide, in order to inform operators about the Notice of Readiness (“NOR”). 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 and aims to inform the charterers that the vessel is at their disposal, as well as to start the running of hire or laytime.
In particular, the Club points out that 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”) : 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 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 be “legally ready” : This requirement will include: -Customs clearance or entry; -Immigration and police approval; and -Health or free pratique.
The Club also informs on the effects for operators of tendering an invalid NOR.
- 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.
- 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.
Further details may be found in the following report:
