Cesser Clause

A cesser clause in a voyage charter ends the charterer’s liability once the cargo is loaded and freight, deadfreight, and demurrage are paid, on the footing that the owner instead looks to a lien on cargo for those sums. English courts read the clause and the lien as co-extensive: the charterer’s liability ceases only so far as the owner has an effective lien to replace it, so a cesser clause leaves the charterer exposed where the lien cannot in practice be exercised at the discharge port.