Home/Capabilities/05 — Contract & Liability
Contract & Liability
Where risk actually sits: the charter party, the Incoterm, the purchase order and the claim — reviewed and negotiated with the operational reality in view, and coordinated with specialist maritime counsel.
01 — What is actually being decided
A bad clause can cost more than a bad rate.
Contracts are read for what happens when the plan fails: who waits, who pays, and what the record will show.
- 01Where does the charter party place liability for delay, damage and deviation?
- 02What laytime regime is being accepted — and what does one hour of it cost?
- 03Which Incoterm in each purchase order moves the transport risk, and to whom?
- 04Are liquidated damages, force majeure and insurance clauses consistent across the contract chain?
- 05Do the forwarder, carrier and EPC contracts pass risk on in the same terms they receive it?
- 06Will the NOR, statement of facts and time sheets support the claim — or the counterclaim?
- 07Which jurisdiction and arbitration forum will decide a dispute?
02 — Process
Contract review, negotiation and the post-fixture record.
The legal component complements specialist counsel rather than replacing it: the practice brings the operational and commercial reading that counsel needs.
- 01
Contract mapping
Charter parties, booking notes, forwarding, EPC and purchase-order terms laid side by side.
- 02
Risk allocation review
Liabilities, indemnities, liquidated damages, insurance and dispute clauses checked against the operation.
- 03
Clause positions
Negotiating positions prepared for the charter party and transport contracts before signature.
- 04
Post-fixture control
NORs, statements of facts, time sheets, laytime and demurrage tracked as they accrue.
- 05
Claims basis
Independent analysis of the factual and contractual basis of a claim or a dispute, with counsel.
03 — Deliverables
What the client receives.
- Contract review and risk-allocation report
- Charter-party strategy and clause positions
- Incoterms and responsibility map per purchase order
- Laytime, demurrage and despatch calculations
- Post-fixture report
- Claims analysis and contractual basis
- Contract procedures and approval matrices
04 — Coverage
Forms and matters.
Contract forms handled:
Matters, with specialist counsel:
05 — Risk categories
Seven categories, read in every review.
Each risk is recorded with its probability, impact, owner, mitigation and cost — and set against the opportunity a better contract strategy can open.
- 01
Technical
Cargo–equipment incompatibility, capacity, lifting, stability, route or berth limits.
- 02
Contractual
Ambiguous responsibilities, unbalanced clauses, penalties, demurrage, claims.
- 03
Operational
Coordination gaps, missed windows, congestion, equipment, permits, weather.
- 04
Financial
Bunker and exchange-rate variation, hidden costs, guarantees, tax exposure, supplier insolvency.
- 05
Customs
Misclassification, incomplete documents, holds, fines, the wrong regime.
- 06
Regulatory
Permits, flag and cabotage, road, port, environmental and safety rules.
- 07
Reputational
Poor supplier selection, incidents, stakeholder mismanagement, public exposure.
06 — Adjacent
Rarely engaged alone.
Marine Chartering
The charter party is where the fixture's risk position is actually written.
07Execution & Control
The laytime and claims record is kept during execution, as the events happen.
06Port, Customs & Regulatory
Customs and regulatory exposure belongs in the same risk register as the contract.