Section 3. VOYAGE CHARTERPARTY

Article 98.- Use of seagoing vessels under voyage charterparties
The carrier shall be obliged to use the seagoing vessel designated in the contract to carry the cargo, unless the charter has given his/her consent for the carrier to substitute the designated vessel by another.

Article 99.- Transfer of rights under voyage charterparties
The charterer may, without the carrier’s consent, transfer to a third party his/her rights under the contract of carriage but remains responsible for the performance of the contract already concluded.

Article 100.- Issuance bills of lading under voyage charterparties
Where the bill of lading is issued under a voyage charterparty and the holder of such bill of lading is other than the charterer, the rights and obligations of the carrier and the holder of the bill of lading shall be governed under the terms of the bill of lading; the terms of the voyage charterparty which have been inserted into the bill of lading shall be applied.

Article 101.- Ports of loading and places of loading
1. The carrier shall be obliged to direct his/her seagoing vessel to the port of loading, at the designated time and place; to place the seagoing vessel at the loading place under the terms agreed in the contract of carriage of cargo.
2. The carrier shall direct the seagoing vessel to the place designated by the charterer, which is safe and accessible without difficulty for the vessel to reach, to lie there and to leave unhindered with the cargo. Where there are several charterers who fail to reach agreement among them on the place of loading, or where the place of loading is not clearly designated by the charterer, the carrier will direct the vessel to a local customary place of loading.
3. Where the contract has no specific agreement on the loading place at the port of loading, the carrier shall direct the seagoing vessel to a local customary place of loading.
4. The charterer may request the carrier to change the place of loading even though this place has been clearly indicated in the contract. The charterer must pay in full all costs related to the satisfaction of this request.

Article 102.-Loading time
1. The loading time shall be agreed between the involved parties in the contract, and, in the absence of such agreement, it shall comply with local custom.
2. The time of interruption caused by the charterer and the time for changing the loading place at his/her request shall be counted in the loading time.
3. The time of interruption caused by the carrier, interruption caused by force majeure or by weather conditions which affect the technical correctness of the loading or endanger the loading shall not be counted in the loading time.
4. The charterer may reach agreement with the carrier on the dispatch for loading to be completed before the loading time expires or the demurrage for delaying the loading beyond the agreed period of time.

Article 103.- Demurrage time
1. The parties may reach agreement in the voyage charterparty on an additional period of loading beyond the loading time provided for in Article 102 of this Code (which hereinafter is referred to as demurrage time). Where the number of days or hours of the demurrage time is not specified in the voyage charterparty, the demurrage time shall be determined by the parties by local custom.
2. The demurrage money shall be agreed upon by the involved parties in the voyage charter party; in the absence of such agreement in the voyage charter party, it shall be determined by local custom. In the absence of such local custom, the amount of demurrage money shall be determined on the basis of the actual total sum of expenses for the maintenance of the seagoing vessel and its crew throughout the demurrage time.
3. After expiration of the loading time and demurrage time, the period of time during which the seagoing vessel is detained at the port of loading due to the charterer’s act is referred to as the detention time. The carrier shall be entitled to claim for compensation for losses caused by the detention of the vessel.

Article 104.- Notice of readiness
1. The carrier shall be obliged to notify in writing the charterer of the vessel’s arrival at the port of loading and readiness for the loading (hereinafter referred to as notice of readiness).
2. The day and hour in which a notice of readiness becomes effective shall be agreed upon by the parties in the voyage charter party; in the absence of such agreement, such day and hour shall be determined by local custom.
3. The carrier shall have to compensate for the loss resulting from the notice of readiness which at the time of its receipt by the charterer is not true to the facts.

Article 105.- Replacement of cargoes
1. The charterer shall have the right to supply, instead of the cargo specified in the contract of carriage of cargo, another cargo with similar characteristics, provided that the carriage of which will not affect the interests of the carrier and of other charterers.
2. The freight for the carriage of such cargo must not be lower than the agreed freight for the replaced cargo.

Article 106.- Loading and stowage of cargoes on board seagoing vessels
1. The cargo must be stowed on board the seagoing vessel in accordance with the cargo plan decided by the master. Stowage of cargo on deck shall be subject to written consent of the charterer.
2. The carrier shall be obliged to take due care of the loading, stowage, lashing and separation of the cargo on board the seagoing vessel. The related expenses shall be agreed upon by the two parties in the contract.

Article 107.- Vessels leaving ports of loading
1. After the expiration of the loading time and demurrage time as provided for in the voyage charterparty, or after the expiration of the date for supplying the cargo, the carrier may let his/her seagoing vessel leave the port of loading even though the whole agreed cargo or port thereof has not been loaded onto the vessel for reasons on the part of the charterer. In this case, the carrier shall still be entitled to the full freight including the freight falling on the cargo not loaded, which hereinafter is referred to as dead freight.
2. In case of lease of the whole space of the seagoing vessel, the carrier, while maintaining his/her right to the full freight, must comply with the following requests of the charterer:
a. To commence the voyage before the agreed date;
b. To load onto the seagoing vessel the cargo already supplied at the place of loading even though the demurrage time has expired, if the loading of such a cargo might cause detention of the vessel for no longer than fourteen days, while the carrier still enjoys the benefits specified in Clause 3, Article 103 of this Code.
3. In case of lease of part of the space of the seagoing vessel, the carrier shall be entitled to the full freight and to refuse the loading of the cargo which is supplied after the expiration of the agreed loading time or demurrage time due to the delay caused by the charterer.

Article 108.- Routes and time of carriage
1. The carrier must perform the carriage within a reasonable period of time by the route provided for in the contract or by the usual route, unless otherwise agreed in the contract.
2. A deviation from the route for the purpose of saving life or property at sea or for other plausible reasons does not constitute an infringement of the contract of carriage. The carrier shall not be liable for any damage to cargo resulting therefrom.

Article 109.- Substitute ports
1. Where the seagoing vessel cannot enter the port of delivery on account of insurmountable hindrances, the cessation of which cannot be anticipated within a reasonable time, the carrier may direct the seagoing vessel to the nearest safe substitute port and must notify the charterer thereof for further instructions.
2. In case of lease of the whole space of the seagoing vessel, the master must, depending on the specific circumstance, ask for and follow the instructions of the charterer; where its is imposible to follow the charterer’s instructions or where the charterer’s instructions have not been received within a reasonable time, the master may discharge the cargo or carry it back to the port of loading, which may, in his judgment, properly protect the interests of the charterer. The charterer must pay the carrier the distance freight and related costs.
3. In case of lease of part of the space of the seagoing vessel, the master may also act as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article if the charterer’s instructions have not been received within five days from the time the notification for instructions is sent or if it is impossible to follow the charterer’s instructions. The charterer must pay the carrier the full freight and related costs.

Article 110.- Discharge and delivery of cargoes
1. The discharge of cargo shall be decided by the master. The carrier shall be obliged to take due care of the discharge of cargo.
2. The charterer shall be entitled to dispose of the cargo until its delivery to the legitimate consignee if this right has not been vested to another person; and before the commencement of the voyage he/she may request discharge of the cargo, and, after the commencement of the voyage, alter his/her original indications as to the consignee and the port of delivery, provided that he/she shall compensate for all losses resulting therefrom and related costs.
3. The rights stated in Clause 2 of this Article shall not be applied if the exercise thereof would cause a considerable delay in commencing the voyage, unless it has been so consented by the carrier.

Article 111.- Freight
1. Where a larger quantity of cargo has been loaded on board the vessel than agreed upon in the contract, the carrier shall be entitled to the freight also on the surplus as the freight rate agreed upon in the contract.
2. For cargo placed on board without permission of the carrier, the carrier shall be entitled to the double amount of freight due for the carriage from the port of loading to the port of delivery, as well as to compensate for losses resulting from the loading of such cargo on board without his/her permission. The carrier may discharge such cargo at any port, if deeming it necessary.
3. Upon receiving the cargo, the consignee must pay the carrier the freight, the compensation for retention of the vessel or other costs related to the carriage of the cargo, if such amount have not yet been paid.

Article 112.- Payment of freights, storage costs and handling of the proceeds from auction of cargoes
The provisions on the payment of freight, handling of detained cargoes and proceeds from auctions of cargoes under Articles 84, 85, 94 and 95 of this Code shall apply in the same manner to the carriage of cargoes under voyage charterparties.

Article 113.- Charterer’s right to terminate contracts
1. The charterer may terminate the contract in the following cases:
a. The carrier has failed to direct the vessel to the place of loading at the agreed date, or has delayed the loading of the cargo onto the vessel or the commencement of the voyage; in this case, the charterer shall be entitled to the compensation for losses resulting therefrom.
b. After the completion of the loading but still before the commencement of the voyage or during the voyage, the charterer may request discharge of the cargo but must pay the full freight and related costs to the carrier.
2. The carrier may refuse the charterer’s request to discharge the cargo as mentioned at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article where he/she deems that such would cause a delay of the voyage or affect the interests of the concerned parties on account of the alteration of the fixed schedule.
3. In case of lease of the whole space of the seagoing vessel, the charterer may terminate the contract before the commencement of the voyage but must compensate for costs arising therefrom and, depending on the moment of the termination of the contract, also pay the freight on the following principles:
a. Half of the freight, where he/she terminates the contract before the agreed loading time is counted;
b. The full freight, where he/she terminates the contract after the agreed loading time is counted or after the agreed demurrage time is counted if the contract has been concluded for a single voyage.
c. The full freight for the voyage, before the commencement of which he terminates the contract, and plus half of the freight for all subsequent voyages if the contract has been concluded for a number of voyages.
4. Where the charterer terminates the contract under the provisions of Clause 3 of this Article, the carrier shall be obliged to detain the vessel at the place of loading until the cargo discharge is completed even though this may detain the vessel beyond the loading and demurrage time.
5. In case of lease of part of the space of the vessel, the charterer may terminate the contract and must compensate for the costs arising therefrom, and, depending on the moment of the termination of the contract, also pay the freight on the following principles:
a. Half of the freight where he/she terminates the contract after the agreed time for supply of the cargo;
b. Full freight where he/she terminates the contract during the voyage.

Article 114.- Carriers’ right to terminate contracts
Where the quantity of cargo loaded on board the seagoing vessel is smaller than the contracted quantity and the total value of the quantity of such loaded cargo does not secure the freight and other amounts expended by the carrier on the cargo, the carrier may terminate the contract before the commencement of the voyage, unless the charterer has paid the full freight or provided an adequate security. The charterer must pay the expenses for the cargo discharge and half of the agreed freight.

Article 115.- Termination of contracts without compensation
1. Either party to the contract may terminate the contract without having to pay compensation if, before the departure of the vessel from the place of loading, the following events have occurred:
a. War has broken out, threatening the safety of the seagoing vessel or cargo; the port of loading or port of delivery has been declared blockaded;
b. The seagoing vessel has been detained by order of a competent state agency not due to the faults of the contractual parties;
c. The seagoing vessel has been requisitioned by the State;
d. A ban has been imposed on carriage of the cargo from the port of loading or into the port of delivery.
2. The party that terminates the contract in the cases specified in Clause 1 of this Article must bear the costs of discharge.
3. Upon the occurrence of the events specified in Clause 1 of this Article, either party may terminate the contract also during the voyage; in this case, the charterer shall be obliged to pay the distance freight and costs of discharge.

Article 116.- Automatic termination of contracts
1. The contract shall automatically terminate and neither party shall have to pay compensation after the conclusion of the contract and before the departure of the seagoing vessel from the place of loading for the following reasons for which neither party is at fault:
a. The seagoing vessel designated in the contract has been sunk, missing or captured;
b. The cargo designated in the contract has been lost;
c. The seagoing vessel designated in the contract is deemed to be so damaged that its repair is impossible or uneconomical.
2. Where the events specified in Clause 1 of this Article have occurred during the voyage, the carrier shall only be entitled to the distance freight; where only the vessel has been damaged while the cargo has been saved or returned, the carrier shall be entitled to the distance freight for the saved or returned cargo.

Article 117.- Preservation of cargoes upon termination of contracts
Where the contract is terminated under the provisions of this Section, the carrier shall still be obliged to take care of the cargo until it is delivered to the entitled consignee, except for the cases specified at Points a and b, Clause 1, Article 116 of this Code.

Article 118. – Statute of limitations for initiation of lawsuits regarding the performance of voyage charterparties
The statute of limitations for initiation of lawsuits regarding the performance of voyage charterparties is two years from the date the claimants know or must have known that their interests have been infringed upon.