Off-Hire

Off-hire is the period during a time charter when the charterer stops paying hire because the ship is not fully at its service: breakdown, deficiency of crew, drydocking, detention, or other causes the off-hire clause lists. The clause is either a period clause, suspending hire for the whole interruption, or a net-loss clause, deducting only the time actually lost. The burden falls on the charterer to bring the event within the clause, and disputes commonly turn on whether the cause is enumerated and on the deduction’s measure.