Affreightment

A contract of affreightment (COA) commits a carrier to lift a stated quantity of cargo over a period, leaving the nomination of specific voyages and ships to later declaration. It sits above the individual charterparty or bill of lading rather than replacing them; each shipment fixed under the COA still generates its own carriage document. The distinction matters for laytime, freight, and lien because remedies for a missed lifting attach to the COA, while cargo-claim defenses attach to the voyage contract.