Port charter
Meaning
A port charter is one where the ship becomes an arrived ship on reaching the port's usual waiting area, so berth waiting time falls on the charterer.
Port charter explained
When the destination is a port rather than a specific berth, the ship can tender NOR once it is within port limits at the usual waiting place, and congestion then becomes the charterer's risk.
Tanker charters are generally drafted to work like port charters for laytime purposes, while still letting the charterer nominate the berth.
Related terms
Berth charter
A berth charter is one where the ship only becomes an arrived ship once it reaches the berth, so waiting time for a berth is at the owner's risk.
Arrived ship
An arrived ship is one that has reached the point named in the charter where it can tender a valid notice of readiness and start the laytime process.
Notice of Readiness
A notice of readiness (NOR) is the master's formal notice that the ship has arrived and is ready in every respect to load or discharge.