Extended Operational and Trade Vocabulary

Maritime Arbitration, Law and BIMCO Clauses glossary (page 2)

The arbitration and shipping-law vocabulary: actio in rem and in personam, ad hoc and institutional arbitration, acceptance-of-service clauses, the Marine Insurance Act on abandonment, and the BIMCO standard clauses. Grounds each term in the admiralty procedure or the contractual clause it belongs to.

504 defined terms.

Showing 250 on this page (page 2 of 3).

I

International Arbitration Act 1994 (Singapore): The statute giving force of law to the UNCITRAL Model Law for international arbitrations seated in Singapore.
International Convention on Salvage 1989: convention introducing the Article 14 special compensation regime.
International Group of P&I Clubs: Association of 12 mutual P&I insurers.
International Maritime Committee (CMI): The Comité Maritime International, the senior non-governmental body promoting uniformity of maritime law.
Interpleader Proceedings: A procedure by which a stakeholder, such as a forwarder holding cargo, seeks judicial direction on conflicting claims.

J

Joinder of Parties: The procedural addition of an additional party to an existing reference, requiring consent under the LMAA Terms.
Joint and Several Liability: The doctrine permitting recovery in full against any of several co-defendants, with rights of contribution between them.
Joint Expert: A single expert appointed jointly by the parties to address defined issues in the reference.
Joint Survey: Inspection attended by both load and discharge interests.
Judicial Sale (Admiralty): A court-ordered sale of an arrested vessel, conveying clean title free of pre-existing maritime liens.
Jurisdiction Clause: Choice-of-forum provision in contracts of carriage and charters.
Jurisdiction-Plus-Arbitration Clauses: Hybrid clauses combining court jurisdiction with arbitration options, requiring careful construction to determine the chosen forum.
Jurisdictional Challenge (Section 67): An application to the English court under section 67 of the Arbitration Act 1996 to set aside an award for lack of substantive jurisdiction.

K

King's Bench Division: The division of the High Court of England and Wales that contains the Commercial Court and the Admiralty Court.
Knock for Knock Clause: A reciprocal allocation of liabilities used in offshore and towage contracts, including BIMCO Supplytime and Towcon forms.

L

Laches: The equitable doctrine barring claims pursued without reasonable diligence to the prejudice of the defendant.
Lay days: Days allowed for loading or discharging.
Laytime: Time allowed for loading or discharging under a voyage charter.
Laytime Calculation Statement: A document setting out time used, time exempt, and time available to support a claim for demurrage or dispatch.
Lex Arbitri: The procedural law governing the arbitration, generally that of the seat.
Lex Causae: The substantive law governing the merits of the dispute.
Lex Fori: The law of the forum in which proceedings are brought.
Lex Fori Arbitri: The law of the seat of the arbitration, equivalent in practice to the curial law.
Lex Loci Contractus: The law of the place where the contract was made, historically relevant to choice of law.
Lex Maritima: The body of customary international maritime law applied in admiralty courts and arbitrations.
Liability Limitation Fund: A constituted fund under the LLMC or CLC by which a shipowner secures and caps liability.
Lien clause: Clause allowing owner to retain cargo for freight, demurrage, or hire.
Limitation Action: A claim by which a shipowner seeks a decree limiting liability for maritime claims under LLMC 1976 or 1996 Protocol.
Limitation Amendments 2012 (LLMC): The IMO-adopted increases to the limits under the 1996 LLMC Protocol.
Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims Convention 1976 (LLMC): The principal convention establishing tonnage-based global limitation of liability.
Limitation Protocol 1996 (LLMC): The Protocol substantially increasing LLMC limits and simplifying their amendment.
Liner Bill of Lading: Form used in regular liner trades.
Liner terms: Owner pays loading and discharging as part of freight.
Liquidated Damages: A contractually agreed pre-estimate of loss, enforceable provided it is not a penalty.
Litigation Friend: A representative appointed to conduct proceedings on behalf of a protected party, relevant in passenger claims.
LLMC 1976: Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, the modern global limitation regime.
LLMC 1996 Protocol: The Protocol amending the 1976 LLMC, raising limits and simplifying amendment procedures.
Lloyd's Open Form (LOF): Standard salvage agreement with no-cure-no-pay basis and SCOPIC.
LMAA: London Maritime Arbitrators Association.
LMAA Award: An award rendered by an LMAA tribunal under the LMAA Terms, Intermediate Claims Procedure, or Small Claims Procedure.
LMAA Intermediate Claims Procedure: A streamlined LMAA procedure for claims of medium value, with limited disclosure and capped recoverable costs.
LMAA Questionnaire: The standard form completed by parties at the outset of an LMAA reference to identify issues and case management requirements.
LMAA Small Claims Procedure (SCP): The LMAA procedure for low value claims, providing for a sole arbitrator and a documents only award.
LMAA Terms 2021: The current standard procedural terms of the LMAA for full-length references.
LMAA Tribunal: The arbitral panel constituted under an LMAA arbitration clause, typically sole or three-member.
Lonmar Global Risks: A specialist broker active in marine reinsurance, occasionally referenced in subrogated claims.
Lord Mansfield: The eighteenth century Chief Justice whose decisions shaped much of modern English commercial and maritime law.
Loss of Hire Insurance: cover for daily indemnity following insured damage causing the vessel to be off-hire or out of service.

M

Mareva Injunction: English asset freezing order, sometimes used in ship disputes.
Maritime Claim: A claim falling within section 20 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 or the Arrest Conventions, founding admiralty jurisdiction.
Maritime Lien: Privileged claim attaching to the ship and surviving change of ownership.
Maritime Liens and Mortgages Convention 1993 (MLM): The Geneva convention harmonizing the categories and priority of maritime liens and mortgages.
Maritime Mortgage: Generic term for security interest in a vessel registered under flag state law.
Master Tendering Notice of Readiness: The master's act of formally communicating that the vessel is ready in fact and in law to load or discharge.
Mediation Clause: A multi-tier dispute resolution provision requiring mediation as a step before arbitration or litigation.
Merits Hearing: The oral hearing at which evidence and submissions on substantive issues are made to the tribunal.
Mesne Profits: Damages recoverable for wrongful detention or use of property between events such as conversion and recovery.
MFB Solicitors: A London boutique shipping law firm with an admiralty and casualty practice.
Misdelivery Claim: A cargo claim alleging delivery to a party other than the lawful holder of the bill of lading.
Misdescription of Cargo: A breach by the shipper of the duty to provide accurate information for the bill of lading.
Misnomer: A misdescription of a party's name, capable of correction without changing the identity of the claimant or respondent.
Mitigation of Loss: The doctrine requiring a claimant to take reasonable steps to limit recoverable loss.
Mixed Cargoes Clause: A bill of lading provision regulating loss apportionment where damaged and sound cargo are not separately identifiable.
Mooring master: pilot specialized in offshore single-point mooring operations.
Multi-Tier Dispute Resolution: A contractual escalation through negotiation, mediation, and arbitration before final binding determination.
Multimodal Transport Document: A document of carriage covering more than one mode of transport under combined terms.

N

Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention 2007: Liability and compulsory insurance for wreck removal.
Negotiable bill of lading: To order BL transferable by endorsement.
New York Convention 1958: The Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
NIPPONSALE 1999: Sale and purchase form of the Japan Shipping Exchange.
Non-Demise Clause: A bill of lading provision intended to prevent identification of the time charterer as carrier, of contested effect.
Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC): A carrier issuing transport documents without operating the carrying vessel.
NOR (Notice of Readiness): Ship's notification at port that it is ready to bunker.
Norton Rose Fulbright: An international law firm with shipping, energy, and marine insurance practices.
Notice of Arbitration: The written notice commencing the arbitral reference under the LMAA Terms or other applicable rules.
Notice of Readiness Tendering Clause: A charterparty provision regulating when, how, and where the NOR may be given.
Novation: Legal process by which a bilateral FFA trade is replaced by two contracts each with the clearing house as central counterparty.
Nuvoy 84: A multi-purpose voyage charterparty form published by the Documentary Committee of the Soviet Union Chamber of Commerce.
NYPE 1946: New York Produce Exchange time charter party, 1946 revision.
NYPE 1993: Updated NYPE form widely used in dry bulk and container trades.
NYPE 2015: New York Produce Exchange standard time charter form.

O

Off-Hire Clause: A time charter provision specifying events suspending the obligation to pay hire.
Off-hire survey: Joint survey at redelivery.
Oil Pollution Act 1990 (US): The US statute on liability and compensation for oil pollution in US navigable waters.
On-Hire Survey: Joint survey at delivery into time charter recording condition and bunkers.
Operator: The entity exercising operational control of the vessel and holding the Document of Compliance under the ISM Code.
Optional Cargoes Clause: A voyage charter provision permitting nomination of alternative cargoes from a specified list.
Order of Reference: The procedural document constituting the tribunal and identifying the issues, used in some institutional rules.
Ordinary Wear and Tear: A non-actionable category of vessel deterioration excluded from charterer liability for redelivery condition.
Overage Clause: A bill of lading provision regulating cargo overlanded relative to the bill quantity.
Owner's Agents: Port agents appointed by the shipowner, often as alternative to charterer's agents.

P

P&I Club: Mutual insurance association covering protection-and-indemnity risks.
P&I Correspondent: A local agent appointed by a P&I club to assist members in a specific port or jurisdiction.
Pallet Clause: A bill of lading provision regulating the carriage of palletized cargo and related limitation issues.
Panel Arbitrators (SMA): The list of full members of the Society of Maritime Arbitrators eligible for SMA appointments.
Paramount Clause: Incorporates the Hague or Hague-Visby Rules into the charter or bill of lading.
Partial Award: An award resolving some but not all issues in the reference.
Particular Average: Partial loss falling on the owner of the property lost or damaged.
Passenger Liability Regulation (EU 392/2009): The EU regulation giving effect to the Athens Convention 2002 within the European Union.
Pay When Paid Clause: A subcontract provision making payment to the subcontractor contingent on receipt from the principal, of limited effect under English law.
Penalty Clause: A contractual provision imposing a sum disproportionate to legitimate interest, unenforceable under English law.
Performance claim: Claim arising from breach of speed or consumption warranties.
Performance Warranty: A charterparty representation as to the vessel's speed and bunker consumption under defined conditions.
Permitted Trading Range: A time charter provision delimiting the geographical area in which the vessel may be employed.
Piracy Clause 2013 (BIMCO): The BIMCO clause for transits of piracy risk areas allocating cost and risk between owner and charterer.
Place of Arbitration: The juridical seat of the reference, distinct from the venue of hearings.
Pleadings (LMAA): The successive written submissions, identified as Claim Submissions, Defence Submissions, and Reply.
Pollution Liability: The body of strict liability under CLC, the Bunker Convention, and national statutes such as OPA 1990.
Pool Income Clause: A time charter provision regulating allocation of earnings where the vessel is employed in a commercial pool.
Port Charter: Voyage charter where laytime starts upon arrival within the legal limits of the port.
Port of Refuge Expenses: Costs incurred in deviating to a port for safety reasons, often allowable in general average.
Pre-Action Disclosure: A pre-claim order of the English court for disclosure of documents in support of a contemplated action.
Pre-Hearing Brief: A written skeleton submission delivered before the merits hearing summarizing the party's case.
Preliminary Issue: A discrete issue separated for determination ahead of the main hearing.
Preservation of Evidence Order: A court or tribunal order requiring preservation of documents or physical evidence.
Privity of Contract: The doctrine restricting enforcement of contractual rights to the parties to the contract, modified by the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
Procedural Order: A direction by a tribunal regulating the conduct of the reference.
Procedural Order Number One: The initial directions order in an arbitration setting out timetable, evidence, and hearing arrangements.
Production of Documents: The disclosure obligation in arbitration, often governed by the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence.
Protocol of Visby 1968: The Protocol amending the Hague Rules to produce the Hague-Visby Rules.
Pyrethrum Clause: A bulk cargo charterparty exclusion of certain hazardous cargoes, illustrative of the wider category of excluded cargo clauses.

Q

Quadrant Chambers: A leading London barristers' set with a substantial international shipping and trade practice.
Quantum Hearing: A hearing or phase of the reference devoted to the assessment of damages following a liability determination.
Quarantine Clause 2022 (BIMCO): The BIMCO clause allocating consequences of quarantine measures imposed on vessels at port.
Quasi-Deviation: Conduct by the carrier so fundamentally inconsistent with the contract of carriage as to be treated as deviation, with attendant loss of defenses.
Quotation Recap: A broker's offer document recording terms put forward for fixture, capable of becoming the contract on acceptance.

R

Re-Opening of Hearings: A procedural step under section 41 of the English Arbitration Act 1996 enabling further evidence to be considered before the award.
Re-Survey: A further survey conducted to verify or contest the findings of an earlier survey.
Reasoned Award: An award stating the tribunal's reasons for its decision, required under section 52 of the English Arbitration Act 1996 unless dispensed with by agreement.
Recap Fixture: The brokers' confirmation of agreed main terms forming a binding contract pending the formal charterparty.
Redelivery: Return of the vessel to the owner at the end of a time or bareboat charter.
Redelivery Notice: Sequential notices to the owner forecasting redelivery.
Reed Smith: An international law firm with a substantial transportation, shipping, and trade practice.
Reefer Cargo Clause: A bill of lading provision regulating carriage of refrigerated cargo, including temperature settings and pre-cooling.
References Incorporated Clause: A provision incorporating named conventions, rules, or codes by reference into the contract.
Repudiatory Breach: A breach evincing an intention no longer to be bound by the contract, entitling the innocent party to terminate.
Reservation of Rights Letter: A communication preserving a party's rights pending investigation, common in casualty and cargo claims.
Respondent: The party against whom an arbitral reference is commenced.
Restraint of princes: Excepted peril for state intervention.
Right of Indemnity (Charter): The implied right of the owner under a time charter to be indemnified against consequences of complying with charterer's orders.
Right to Cure: A contractual or implied right to remedy a breach within a defined period before termination.
Right to Withdraw: The owner's contractual right under a time charter to withdraw the vessel for non-payment of hire.
Rome I Regulation (EC 593/2008): The European Union regulation on the law applicable to contractual obligations.
Rome II Regulation (EC 864/2007): The European Union regulation on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations.
Rotterdam Rules 2009: The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea, not yet in force.
Round Voyage Clause: A voyage charter provision regulating carriage on the outbound and return legs as a single venture.
Rules of Practice (SMA): The procedural rules of the Society of Maritime Arbitrators of New York.

S

Safe Berth Warranty: Charterer's promise that the nominated berth will be safe for the vessel.
Safe Port Warranty: Charterer's promise that nominated ports are safe in the prevailing circumstances.
Saleform 1993: A revision of the Norwegian Sale Form (Memorandum of Agreement) widely used in secondhand sales.
Saleform 2012: The 2012 revision of the Norwegian Saleform.
Saleform 2024: The current revision of the Norwegian Saleform memorandum of agreement.
Salvage Convention 1989: International Convention on Salvage, with Article 14 special compensation.
Sanctions Clause for Time Charter Parties 2020 (BIMCO): The clause prohibiting either party from acting inconsistently with applicable sanctions regimes.
Schmitthoff's Export Trade: A leading practitioner reference on the law and practice of international trade.
SCOPIC Clause: Special Compensation P&I Clause incorporated into LOF.
SCP (LMAA Small Claims Procedure): The LMAA procedure for low value claims under a defined monetary limit.
Sea waybill: Non-negotiable transport document.
Seat of Arbitration: The juridical place of the arbitration determining the curial law and the supervisory court.
Section 39 Power: The English tribunal's power under section 39 of the Arbitration Act 1996, by agreement, to order provisional relief.
Section 44 Application: A request to the English court for support in arbitration, including evidence, preservation, and freezing relief.
Section 67 Challenge: An application to set aside an award for lack of substantive jurisdiction.
Section 68 Challenge: An application to set aside an award for serious irregularity.
Section 69 Appeal: An appeal on a question of law arising out of an English seated award, available with leave or agreement.
Section 9 Stay: A mandatory English court stay of court proceedings brought in breach of an arbitration agreement.
Security for Costs: An order requiring a claimant to provide security for the respondent's costs of the reference.
Senior Courts Act 1981: The English statute defining the admiralty jurisdiction of the High Court.
Service Out of the Jurisdiction: The process by which English court process is served on a defendant outside the jurisdiction, requiring permission and gateways under the Civil Procedure Rules.
Settlement Agreement: A binding compromise of disputes, often embodied in an award on agreed terms.
SHELLTIME 4: Shell standard time charter party for tankers.
SHELLVOY 6: Shell standard tanker voyage charter party.
Ship's Agent: A person appointed to attend to port matters such as documentation, supplies, and crew changes on behalf of the owner or charterer.
Ship's Delivery Order: A document by which the carrier or its agent agrees to deliver goods to the holder, recognized under COGSA 1992.
Shipper: The cargo interest contracting with the carrier for carriage of goods.
Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA): The Singapore-based institution administering maritime references under the SCMA Rules.
Singapore International Arbitration Act: The Singapore statute giving force of law to the UNCITRAL Model Law for international arbitrations seated in Singapore.
Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC): A leading institutional administrator of arbitrations seated in Singapore, including maritime disputes.
Sister Ship Arrest: The arrest of a vessel in the same beneficial ownership as the offending vessel as security for a maritime claim.
Slot Charter: Charter of a defined number of TEU slots on a containership.
SMA: Society of Maritime Arbitrators, New York.
SMA Award: An award rendered under the Maritime Arbitration Rules of the Society of Maritime Arbitrators.
Society of Maritime Arbitrators Inc: The Society of Maritime Arbitrators incorporated in New York, administering SMA arbitrations.
Sole Arbitrator Presumption (LMAA): The presumption under the LMAA Small Claims and Intermediate Procedures that a single arbitrator will determine the reference unless otherwise agreed.
Special Compensation: compensation under Article 14 of the Salvage Convention 1989 for salvors preventing environmental damage.
Specific Performance: An equitable remedy compelling performance of contractual obligations, rarely available in maritime contracts other than ship sale.
Stale Bill of Lading Clause: A documentary credit provision rejecting bills of lading presented after a specified period from the date of issue.
Statement of Facts: SOF, time log of port events from arrival to departure.
Stephenson Harwood: An international law firm with a leading marine and trade practice.
Stone Chambers: A London barristers' set with an established admiralty and commercial practice.
Sub-Charter: A charter granted by a charterer to a further charterer, generally back to back with the head charter.
Subfreight Lien: A contractual lien over freight payable by a subcharterer, available to the owner under standard charter forms.
Subjects: Conditions to be lifted before a fixture becomes binding.
Substantive Jurisdiction: The tribunal's authority to decide the matters referred, examined under section 30 of the English Arbitration Act 1996.
Successive Time Charter: A series of time charters arranged in sequence with the same vessel.
Sue and Labour Clause: clause requiring the assured to take reasonable measures to avert or minimize loss, with expenses recoverable; ITC Hulls 1/10/83 clause 11.
Summary Judgment: A procedure for early disposal of claims or defenses with no real prospect of success, available in court and by analogy in some arbitrations.
Supervisory Court: The court of the seat of arbitration with powers of support and review under the curial law.
SUPPLYTIME 2017: BIMCO standard offshore time charter party.
Survey Reports as Evidence: The use of contemporaneous survey reports as primary evidence of cargo or vessel condition.

T

Taking of Evidence (IBA Rules): The International Bar Association rules guiding evidence taking in international arbitration.
Tender Clause: A charterparty provision regulating the form and timing of notices of readiness.
Termination Clause: A contractual provision setting out grounds and consequences of termination.
Third Party Funder: An entity financing a party's legal costs in return for a share of any recovery.
Through bill of lading: BL covering multi-leg journey.
Time Bar: Limitation period (one year under Hague-Visby Article III Rule 6).
Time Charter Trip: A short time charter for a single voyage or short period, often hybrid with voyage charter features.
Time Charterer's Liability Insurance: Liability cover for time charterers in respect of charterparty obligations.
Time Saved Clause: A laytime provision crediting time saved for dispatch money.
Time Sheets: Documents recording time used in port operations as the basis for laytime and demurrage calculation.
TOMAC: The Tokyo Maritime Arbitration Commission of the Japan Shipping Exchange Inc, administering maritime arbitrations in Tokyo.
TOMAC Ordinary Rules: The standard arbitration rules of the Tokyo Maritime Arbitration Commission.
TOMAC Simplified Rules: The expedited procedure of the Tokyo Maritime Arbitration Commission for low value claims.
Tonnage Limitation: Limitation of liability calculated by reference to the tonnage of the vessel under LLMC 1976 or the 1996 Protocol.
TOWCON 2008: BIMCO international ocean towage agreement, lump sum.
TOWHIRE 2008: BIMCO international ocean towage agreement, daily hire.
Transhipment Bill of Lading: A bill of lading providing for transhipment between vessels in the course of carriage.
Tribunal Secretary: An administrative assistant appointed to support an arbitral tribunal, subject to disclosure and party agreement.
Trip Time Charter: A short time charter for a specified voyage, employing time charter machinery for a defined trip.
Trust Account: An account holding funds in escrow pending resolution of disputed payments under a charter.

U

UK Defence Club: A mutual FD&D insurance association covering legal costs of shipowner and charterer disputes.
UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules: The UN procedural rules for ad hoc arbitration, frequently selected in offshore and shipbuilding contracts.
UNCITRAL Model Law: The model statute on international commercial arbitration adopted by Singapore, Hong Kong, and many other seats.
Underwriters' Subrogated Claim: A claim by marine insurers in the name of the assured following payment under the policy.
Undisclosed Principal: A party on whose behalf an agent contracts without disclosure, entitled to sue and be sued on the contract under English law.
Unenforceable Award: An award liable to refusal of recognition or enforcement under Article V of the New York Convention.
Unilateral Option Clause: A dispute resolution clause giving only one party the right to choose between arbitration and litigation, of contested enforceability.
Unique Hire Statement: A consolidated statement reconciling hire, off-hire, bunkers, and CVE deductions over the charter period.

V

Variation of Charter: A binding amendment to charter terms, requiring consideration and proper authority.
Vessel Identity Clause: A charterparty provision regulating substitution of the vessel originally fixed.
Vessel Performance Claim: A claim that the vessel has failed to meet contractual speed and consumption warranties.
Vessel-Sharing Agreement (VSA): Container-shipping cooperation arrangement.
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969: The convention governing interpretation of treaties, applied to maritime conventions.
Visby Protocol 1968: The protocol amending the Hague Rules to produce the Hague-Visby Rules.
VOYWAR 2013: BIMCO war risks clause for voyage charters.

W

War Cancellation Clause: A charterparty provision permitting cancellation on outbreak of war affecting trading.
War Risks Clause: Clause addressing route deviation, additional insurance and refusal of orders in war zones.
Warranties (Marine Insurance): Promissory terms strict compliance with which is a condition of cover under the Marine Insurance Act 1906 as amended by the Insurance Act 2015.
Watson Farley & Williams: An international law firm with a leading maritime, asset finance, and energy practice.
Waybill: Sea waybill, non-negotiable transport document.
West Tankers (Case C-185/07): The Court of Justice ruling holding anti-suit injunctions incompatible with Regulation 44/2001, addressed by Brussels I Recast Recital 12.
Withdrawal Clause: A time charter provision entitling the owner to withdraw the vessel for charterer default, typically non-payment of hire.
Without Prejudice Communication: A protected settlement communication inadmissible in evidence on the issues to which it relates.
Without Prejudice Save as to Costs: A communication admissible on costs but not on the merits, common in arbitration.
Witness Statement: A written record of a witness's evidence, served in advance of the hearing in lieu of evidence in chief.
Wreckage Removal Convention 2007: The Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks.
WRECKFIXED 2010: BIMCO lump-sum wreck removal contract.
WRECKHIRE 2010: BIMCO daily hire wreck removal contract.
WRECKSTAGE 2010: BIMCO milestone payment wreck removal contract.
Writ in Rem: The historical name for the in rem claim form by which admiralty proceedings against the ship are commenced.
Wrongful Arrest: The arrest of a vessel without reasonable cause, attracting damages in some jurisdictions including Singapore and South Africa.