6.1.2.2　Charter freight租船运费

Charter freight is adjusted as per demand and supply on the freight market.Depending on terms of your charter party,you may pay it before departure,at destination,or partly before departure and partly at destination.And who pays for loading and unloading should also be clarified in the contract.The following terms are often used for simplifying the negotiation:

♦Liner terms:The ship owner pays for both loading and unloading,as in a liner service.

♦Free In(FI):The ship owner pays for unloading,but not loading.Note that “free”means that the ship owner is free of loading.The same applies to the following terms.

♦Free Out(FO):The ship owner pays for loading,but not unloading.

♦Free In and Out(FIO):The ship owner pays for neither loading nor unloading.Under this term,who pays for the stowage and trimming expenses should be further clarified.The abbreviation of“FIOST”indicates that the ship owner pays for none of the loading,unloading,stowing and trimming expenses,which shall all be borne by you—the charterer.

Time spent for loading and unloading means a lot to ship owners.To increase efficiency,a charter party often stipulates an allowed number of days for the task,called lay day,beyond which,you normally have to pay a demurrage to the ship owner,but if it is advanced,the ship owner may reward you with a dispatch.Notably,however,in case the freight is not paid off,the ship owner can exert a lien—keeping the cargo on board until the freight is paid off,which often makes a charter party bill of lading unpopular with banks under a letter of credit transaction.