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Quest Training

Maritime Law, Charterparties & Bills of Lading for Managers Training Course

Gives managers a working grasp of charterparties, bills of lading, laytime, cargo claims and carrier liability, so they can control commercial risk at sea.

PMM · Port & Maritime ManagementAll Levels#3125ClassroomEnglish , Arabic
Duration
5 Days
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Free substitution at any time · 30+ days' notice: full refund minus 10%. Cancellation policy

Sectors:Procurement, Contracts & Supply ChainCategories:Port & Maritime Management

Course Overview

The Maritime Law, Charterparties & Bills of Lading for Managers Training Course equips commercial, chartering, shipping, and legal support managers with a practical understanding of the legal framework behind the carriage of goods by sea. Trade in the Gulf and Africa depends heavily on chartered tonnage and containerized liner services, and many costly disputes begin with a clause nobody read closely, a bill of lading issued carelessly, or a claim handled too late. Managers do not need to become lawyers, but they do need to recognize risk and know when to seek advice. The course explains how maritime law is organized and how contracts allocate risk between owners, charterers, shippers, carriers, and receivers. Participants examine the sources of maritime law, including international conventions, national law, and arbitration practice; the main types of charter; and widely used standard forms such as GENCON and NYPE. They review voyage charter issues such as laytime and demurrage, time charter issues such as off-hire, speed and consumption, employment orders, and safe port and berth warranties. The three functions of the bill of lading receive close attention: receipt, evidence of the contract, and document of title. Participants study the Hague-Visby, Hamburg, and Rotterdam Rules as models of carrier liability, clean and claused bills, delivery without original documents, letters of indemnity, sea waybills, and electronic trade documents. Cargo claims, general average, salvage, ship arrest, limitation of liability, P&I cover, sanctions clauses, and dispute resolution complete the scope. The course is delivered through case studies, clause reviews, document exercises, claim scenarios, and a final dispute workshop. It builds managerial awareness and does not replace legal advice or provide a legal qualification. Participants leave with a charterparty review checklist, a bill of lading control checklist, a laytime and demurrage summary, a claims handling procedure, and a maritime contract risk matrix they can adapt to their own organization.

Learning Objectives

  • Explain the sources of maritime law and how conventions, national law, and contracts interact.
  • Distinguish voyage, time, and bareboat charters and the commercial risks each one allocates.
  • Review key clauses in standard charterparty forms such as GENCON and NYPE.
  • Manage laytime, notices of readiness, and demurrage exposure under voyage charters.
  • Control off-hire, speed and consumption, and employment risks under time charters.
  • Explain the functions of the bill of lading and the risks of incorrect or careless issue.
  • Compare carrier liability under the Hague-Visby, Hamburg, and Rotterdam Rules.
  • Assess delivery without original bills, letters of indemnity, and electronic documents.
  • Handle cargo claims, including evidence, notices, and the preservation of rights.
  • Explain general average, salvage, ship arrest, and limitation of liability at a managerial level.
  • Use P&I cover, arbitration, and legal advisers effectively when disputes arise.
  • Assess the contract risk of sanctions, war risk, and piracy clauses before fixing a vessel.
  • Build internal controls that connect chartering, operations, finance, and legal teams.

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for chartering managers, shipping and logistics managers, commercial and contracts managers, procurement and supply chain leaders, claims handlers, operations managers, and in-house legal staff who deal with sea carriage but do not specialize in maritime law. It is equally relevant for officials in transport ministries, maritime administrations, port authorities, customs agencies, and state purchasing bodies whose work touches shipping contracts, cargo disputes, or the arrest and detention of vessels. Professionals in commodity traders, national oil and mining companies, importers and exporters, shipowners, ship agents, freight forwarders, terminal operators, banks financing trade, and marine insurers will find the course directly applicable. It is particularly valuable for organizations that charter vessels or rely on large shipments but have limited internal maritime legal support, and for teams that deal regularly with owners and brokers.

Learning Outcomes

  • By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
  • Describe the main sources of maritime law and how they affect a shipping contract.
  • Choose a suitable charter type for a given trade, cargo, and level of risk.
  • Review a voyage or time charterparty and flag clauses that require advice or negotiation.
  • Check a laytime statement against port records and identify ways to reduce demurrage exposure.
  • Document off-hire, speed, and consumption issues under a time charter.
  • Explain the three functions of a bill of lading and its link to trade finance.
  • Compare the main liability regimes that may apply to a shipment and what they mean commercially.
  • Apply internal controls on bill of lading issue, delivery, and letters of indemnity.
  • Prepare a cargo claim file with evidence, notices, and clear responsibilities.
  • Explain general average, salvage, ship arrest, and limitation to internal stakeholders.
  • Decide when to involve P&I clubs, insurers, surveyors, and maritime lawyers.
  • Build a maritime contract risk matrix covering the shipping contracts of their own organization.

Course Outline

Course Outline:

Day 1

The Maritime Legal Framework and Shipping Contracts

  • Sources of maritime law: international conventions, national law, custom, and arbitration practice
  • The parties in sea carriage: owners, charterers, shippers, carriers, agents, brokers, and receivers
  • Liner and tramp shipping and how the contract type follows the trade
  • Voyage, time, and bareboat charters compared by cost, control, and risk
  • The chartering process: broker role, recap, main terms, and when a contract is binding
  • Choice of law, jurisdiction, and arbitration clauses in shipping contracts
  • Standard forms and why amendments and rider clauses often matter more than the printed text
  • How national courts and arbitration centers approach shipping disputes and enforcement of awards
  • Practical application: participants match the right contract type to three cargo and trade scenarios
Day 2

Voyage Charterparties, Laytime, and Demurrage

  • Structure of standard voyage forms such as GENCON and the key clauses to review
  • Readiness of the vessel, notices of readiness, and when laytime starts
  • Laytime counting: exceptions, weather, holidays, and shifting between berths
  • Demurrage and despatch: how exposure builds and how to control it through operations
  • Freight terms, lien, cargo description, and the safe port and safe berth warranties
  • Detention and deviation: when delay moves outside the normal contract remedies
  • Typical demurrage disputes: berth congestion, cargo readiness, and strike or weather exceptions
  • Keeping port logs and statements of facts that will stand up when the laytime account is disputed
  • Practical application: participants work through a laytime statement and identify the disputed periods
Day 3

Time Charterparties and Vessel Employment

  • Structure of standard time forms such as NYPE and the division of costs between parties
  • Owner duties on vessel description, maintenance, and seaworthiness
  • Off-hire events, speed and consumption claims, and how to document them
  • Employment orders, trading limits, and the safe port issue under time charter
  • Bunker quality, delivery and redelivery conditions, and hull fouling
  • Bareboat charter essentials and sanctions, war risk, and piracy clauses
  • Hire payment mechanics, withdrawal of the vessel, and the choice between trip and period charters
  • Practical application: participants review a time charter recap and mark the clauses that need negotiation
Day 4

Bills of Lading and Carrier Liability

  • Three functions of the bill of lading and its role in sale and trade finance
  • Hague-Visby, Hamburg, and Rotterdam Rules compared as models of liability
  • Clean and claused bills, cargo descriptions, dating, and misdescription risk
  • Delivery without original bills and the use and risks of letters of indemnity
  • Sea waybills, switch bills, and electronic bills of lading
  • Interaction of bills of lading with charterparties and with Incoterms rules
  • Identifying the carrier: identity of carrier clauses, demise clauses, and forwarder documents
  • Practical application: participants audit a set of shipping documents and identify the risks they carry
Day 5

Claims, Casualties, and Dispute Resolution

  • Cargo claims: evidence, joint surveys, notices, and the preservation of rights
  • General average, salvage, and wreck removal at a managerial level
  • Ship arrest as security for claims and limitation of liability
  • P&I cover, hull and cargo insurance, and working with clubs and surveyors
  • Collision and pollution liability, and what managers do in the first hours after a casualty
  • Arbitration and court routes compared: cost, speed, confidentiality, and enforcement
  • Negotiating settlements, reserving rights, and recording lessons in future contract templates
  • Final workshop: participants manage a cargo dispute from first notice to a settlement or arbitration decision

Upcoming Dates

Selected date

Madinah · 18 – 22 Jan 2027 · Classroom

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2 – 6 Nov 2026€5,400—
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16 – 20 Nov 2026€5,800—
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CairoScheduled
22 – 26 Nov 2026€3,300€2,970until 2 Nov
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23 – 27 Nov 2026€5,100€4,590until 2 Nov
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6 – 10 Dec 2026€4,200€3,780until 16 Nov
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13 – 17 Dec 2026€4,400€3,960until 23 Nov
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20 – 24 Dec 2026€3,100€2,790until 30 Nov
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27 – 31 Dec 2026€4,200€3,780until 7 Dec
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11 – 15 Jan 2027€5,400€4,860until 21 Dec
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18 – 22 Jan 2027€5,600€5,040until 28 Dec
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MadinahScheduled
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