Affreightment: An agreement by an ocean carrier to provide cargo space on a vessel at a specified time and for a specified price to accommodate an exporter or importer.
Backfreight: The owners of a ship are entitled to payment as freight for merchandise returned through the fault of either the consignees or the consignors. Such payment, which is over and above the normal freight, is called back freight. Beneficial ownership: designates the owner who receives the benefits or profits from the operation.
Cabotage: the carriage of goods or passengers for remuneration taken on at one point and discharged at another point within the territory of the same country.
Charterer: the person to whom is given the use of the whole of the carrying capacity of a ship for the transportation of cargo or passengers to a stated port for a specified time.
Charter party: a contractual agreement between a ship owner and a cargo owner, usually arranged by a broker, whereby a ship is chartered (hired) either for one voyage or a period of time.
Demurrage: a fee levied by the shipping company upon the port or supplier for not loading or unloading the vessel by a specified date agreed upon by contract. This fee is usually, assessed upon a daily basis after the deadline.
Free From Average: it means free from claims against the ship. Ocean waybill: a document, issued by a shipping line to a shipper which serves as a receipt for the goods and evidence of the contract carriage.
Off-hire clause: in a time charter, the owner is entitled to a limited time for his vessel to be off hire until such time as the vessel may be repaired or dry- docked.
Open registry: a term used in place of “flag of convenience’ or “flag of necessity” to denote registry in a country which offers favorable tax, regulatory, and other incentives to ship owners from other nations.
Salvage: the property which has been recovered from a wrecked vessel, or the recovery of the vessel herself.
Voyage charter: a contract whereby the ship-owner places the vessel at the disposal of the charterer for one or more voyages, the ship-owner being responsible for the operation of the vessel.