7 pointers for chartering a barge
Chartering a barge is often thought of as a fairly straightforward task and it can be, if you know what you are doing and understand the pitfalls or employ a broker on your behalf who does.
Barges are the workhorses of the project cargo shipping industry and thousands are under charter round the world every day. The charter of these assets employs very specific contracts that have evolved over many years with each owner having their own preferred modifications in the form of custom clauses.
The following represents some very simple pointers for anyone looking to charter a barge for the first time, whether through a broker or direct with an owner.
1. Understand how the mechanism of narrowing notification windows work and what the implications are should you miss a notification.
2. Understand the difference between an “on-hire” survey, which specifies the condition of the barge before you take over responsibility for it, and a “suitability survey” which dictates whether or not the surveyor acting on behalf of your client or the underwriter accepts that your barge is fit for purpose.
3. Be aware of the delivery and redelivery options for the barge.
4. Understand the differing conditions and balance of benefits that the different charter party options offer, principally the differences between a PROJECTCON and BARGEHIRE.
5. Make sure that, technically, the barge is fit for your required purpose. This means more than simply checking that the cargo fits on the plan area of the barge, but also whether or not there are restrictions in the load or discharge port. Can the barge deck reach the quay level at the required tides planned for load-out and are there any local strength issues with point loads from your cargo that may need expensive load-spreading or strengthening. Is the combined barge and cargo stable at sea and can they meet any required damage stability requirements set by international or local regulations.
6. For long-term charters: who is responsible for the maintenance, insurance and upkeep of the barge including drydocking and replacement of spare parts?
7. Do you have visibility of the risk associated with delays of other charters that could run over into yours and what scope for substitution does the owner have and what effect this would have on any detailed plans and arrangements you may have made.
The above list is, of course, by no means exhaustive but should give some good early pointers to get started on negotiations.
