Time lost waiting for berth
The laytime clause that runs the clock where no berth is available and no notice of readiness can be tendered.
A time lost waiting for berth clause provides that where no berth is available and the vessel cannot tender notice of readiness at the waiting place, the time lost counts as if laytime were running, or as time on demurrage where laytime has already expired.
Definition 26 of the Laytime Definitions for Charter Parties 2013 adds the limit that makes the clause negotiable: the time ceases to count once the berth becomes available. The gap between the berth becoming available and the ship being able to tender is therefore uncounted, and in a congested port that gap can be measured in days.
The full article will cover the operation of the clause, its relationship with WIBON and WIPON, the point at which laytime or demurrage resumes, and how the clause is priced against a berth charter in a congested trade.