WIBON, WIPON and waiting place clauses
Whether in berth or not, whether in port or not, and the abbreviations the Laytime Definitions 2013 leave undefined.
WIBON and WIPON are laytime qualifiers that let a ship tender notice of readiness from a waiting place when the contractual destination is not available. Whether in berth or not reaches a usual waiting place at the port; whether in port or not reaches a recognised waiting place off the port.
The limit of WIBON was fixed in The Kyzikos [1989] AC 1264, where the House of Lords held it shifts only the risk that the berth is unavailable through congestion. Where the berth is free and the ship cannot reach it for another reason, the owner carries the delay. WIFPON and WICCON, by contrast, are not defined in the Laytime Definitions 2013 at all.
The full article will cover each qualifier with its 2013 definition, the congestion boundary set by The Kyzikos, the free pratique proviso, the customs clearance gap, and the rider wording used to close it.