Charterparty Additional Clauses (Rider Clauses)

Charterparty Additional Clauses (Rider Clauses) are supplementary provisions added to a standard charterparty form in order to adapt the contract to the commercial, operational, legal, and technical requirements of a particular fixture. In modern chartering practice, it is unusual for a charterparty to be concluded without some form of additional wording. Printed charterparty forms provide the basic framework, but rider clauses give the parties the flexibility to address the actual trade, cargo, ports, ship, route, risk allocation, and negotiated commercial terms.

A standard charterparty form may contain well-known printed clauses covering freight, hire, laytime, demurrage, delivery, redelivery, cargo operations, ownersâ€™ obligations, charterersâ€™ obligations, law, arbitration, and other general matters. However, no printed form can cover every commercial situation. Every fixture has its own features. Cargo type, loading method, port custom, terminal restrictions, weather risk, sanctions exposure, bunker arrangements, stowage requirements, cargo trimming, shifting, taxes, dues, insurance, emissions rules, and operational responsibilities may all require special provisions.

For this reason, parties commonly attach rider clauses to the charterparty. These clauses may be drafted by shipowners, charterers, shipbrokers, lawyers, P&I Clubs, industry associations, or commercial operators. They may also be taken from recognized industry wording where a standard clause has already been widely tested in practice. The main purpose is to make the charterparty reflect the exact bargain agreed between the parties.

What are Charterparty Additional Clauses?

Charterparty Additional Clauses are extra contractual terms added to a charterparty in addition to the printed form. They are often called rider clauses because they are attached to or ride alongside the standard printed charterparty. They may supplement, qualify, replace, or override the printed wording.

Additional clauses are used because the printed form is usually only a starting point. A voyage charterparty for coal, grain, steel, fertilizer, sugar, logs, cement, or project cargo may require different operational clauses. A tanker charterparty may require more detailed clauses on vetting, oil pollution, pumping, heating, tank cleaning, terminal restrictions, cargo measurement, cargo contamination, and weather. A time charterparty may require detailed clauses on speed and consumption, bunkers, off-hire, trading limits, redelivery, sanctions, maintenance, underwater cleaning, emissions, and performance.

In practice, rider clauses are the part of the charterparty where much of the real commercial negotiation appears. The printed form may show the skeleton of the agreement, while the rider clauses provide the working detail.

What is Rider Clause in Charter Party?

A rider clause in a charter party is an additional clause inserted into or attached to the standard charterparty form. It may add a new obligation, modify an existing obligation, clarify an operational point, allocate a specific risk, or replace a printed clause that does not suit the fixture.

Rider clauses are especially important because many charterparty forms were originally drafted for older market conditions. Some forms have been revised over time, while others are still used with extensive amendments. For example, older time charter and voyage charter forms may not deal adequately with modern sanctions, electronic documentation, environmental compliance, emission regulations, piracy, war risks, security zones, cargo-specific handling, or updated port practices. Rider clauses allow parties to modernize the contract without abandoning a familiar standard form.

In situations where a Rider Clause contradicts a pre-printed clause, the Rider clause typically takes precedence. This is because a typed, negotiated, or specially inserted rider clause usually reflects the partiesâ€™ latest and more specific intention. However, parties should not rely on this principle carelessly. Conflicting clauses create uncertainty, and uncertainty creates disputes. The better practice is to delete, amend, or clearly cross-reference the printed clause so the final charterparty reads logically.

Additional Clauses (Rider Clauses) Override Printed Clauses

Additional Clauses (Rider Clauses) consistently override the Printed Clauses when there is a direct inconsistency, because rider clauses are normally negotiated specifically for the fixture. Printed clauses are standard wording. Rider clauses are transaction-specific wording. Where both cannot operate together, the more specific negotiated wording will generally control.

This principle is commercially sensible. If the parties attach a rider clause stating that cargo trimming costs are for charterersâ€™ account, but the printed form suggests a different allocation, the rider clause is likely to prevail. If the printed form contains a general weather provision but the rider includes a specific weather clause for the trade, port, or cargo, the rider clause is likely to be treated as the more precise agreement.

Nevertheless, parties should avoid unnecessary conflicts. A charterparty full of contradictory printed clauses and rider clauses can become difficult to interpret. The final contract should be checked carefully before signing so that the rider clauses do not unintentionally clash with the printed wording, box entries, recap terms, fixture notes, or incorporated clauses.

Why Additional Clauses are Necessary in Charterparties

It is highly improbable that a charterparty would be finalized without additional clauses because shipping transactions are too varied to be governed by printed wording alone. A dry bulk voyage charter for grain from the United States Gulf, a coal shipment from Indonesia, a tanker voyage in the Mediterranean, and a period time charter for worldwide trading all require different risk allocation.

Additional clauses are necessary to address matters such as:

cargo-specific handling requirements;
special stowage, trimming, lashing, securing, or separation obligations;
port and berth restrictions;
safe port and safe berth responsibilities;
weather delays and exceptions;
laytime and demurrage calculation;
bunker prices, bunker quality, and bunker adjustment;
sanctions and trade compliance;
war risks, piracy, and security zones;
emissions, environmental rules, and local regulations;
taxes, dues, tolls, and port charges;
cargo claims and indemnities;
off-hire events;
speed and consumption warranties;
law, jurisdiction, and arbitration;
documentation and electronic bills of lading;
termination, cancellation, and redelivery provisions.

A well-drafted rider clause prevents gaps in the charterparty. A poorly drafted rider clause may create new uncertainty and may be worse than no clause at all.

Recognized Clauses in Charterparty Practice

While rider clauses can be drafted for a specific fixture, many parties prefer to use Recognized Clauses. These are clauses developed by industry organizations, associations, P&I Clubs, or trade bodies and are familiar to shipowners, charterers, brokers, lawyers, insurers, and arbitrators.

The advantage of recognized clauses is certainty. Market participants understand their meaning, and the wording may have been tested by experience, negotiation, or legal interpretation. This reduces the risk of argument compared with a clause drafted quickly during a fixture negotiation.

Recognized clauses are more common in tanker chartering than in some dry cargo fixtures, particularly because tanker trades often require detailed wording on oil pollution, cargo contamination, vetting, terminal procedures, weather, pumping, sanctions, compliance, and safety. However, dry bulk charterparties also regularly use recognized wording for laytime, demurrage, strikes, ice, war risks, sanctions, cargo fumigation, stevedore damage, shifting, trimming, and other matters.

INTERTANKO has published clauses used in tanker chartering, and BIMCO also provides a wide range of standard clauses and charterparty documents used across the shipping industry. Recognized wording should still be reviewed before use because a clause suitable for one trade may not be suitable for another.

Examples of Additional Clauses in Charterparties

Additional clauses may be required whenever a cost, duty, or risk is not adequately covered by the printed charterparty. A common example occurs in American ports during bulk cargo loading, where dumping, trimming, or leveling costs may arise. If the charterparty does not state who pays these costs, disagreement may occur after loading.

In older ships, cargo sometimes required leveling or trimming before the ship could safely sail. Although modern loading systems and ship designs have reduced some of these issues, cargo distribution, trimming, and surface leveling may still matter for safety, stability, cargo care, and compliance with loading requirements. The charterparty should clearly state whether such costs are for ownersâ€™ account, charterersâ€™ account, shippersâ€™ account, receiversâ€™ account, or included in port charges.

Weather-related delay is another common area for additional clauses. A clause such as the Conoco Weather Clause may be used to define how weather affects laytime, demurrage, or operational delays. Without clear wording, parties may dispute whether rain, wind, swell, fog, ice, or port closure counts as laytime or excepted time.

Key Functions of Additional Clauses (Rider Clauses)

Here are some key aspects of these Additional Clauses (Rider Clauses):

Customization: Rider clauses tailor the charterparty to the exact transaction, including the cargo, route, ship, ports, loading method, discharge method, laytime, demurrage, and operational requirements.
Legal Compliance: Rider clauses may deal with international rules, local regulations, environmental requirements, sanctions, customs rules, port regulations, and safety standards.
Risk Allocation: Rider clauses allocate responsibility for cargo damage, delay, force majeure, unsafe ports, war risks, strikes, weather, stevedore damage, and other commercial risks.
Financial Terms: Rider clauses may define payment schedules, freight, hire, demurrage, despatch, port costs, taxes, dues, commissions, insurance obligations, and additional expenses.
Dispute Resolution: Rider clauses may provide for arbitration, court jurisdiction, governing law, mediation, time limits, and procedural requirements for claims.
Operational Details: Rider clauses may regulate cargo handling, port operations, loading rates, discharge rates, trimming, shifting, fumigation, tank cleaning, pumping, heating, and notices.
Insurance and Liability: Rider clauses may define hull and machinery insurance, P&I cover, cargo insurance, liability allocation, indemnities, and claims handling.
Performance Clauses: Rider clauses may specify speed and consumption, fuel quality, weather conditions for performance measurement, and consequences of underperformance.
Cargo-Specific Provisions: Special cargoes may require clauses dealing with dangerous goods, perishable cargoes, oversized cargo, heavy lifts, timber, logs, grain, coal, fertilizers, cement, sugar, steel, or liquid cargoes.
Termination and Redelivery: Rider clauses may define early termination, cancellation, redelivery condition, final voyage issues, notices, and final settlement.
Bunker Adjustment: In longer charters, bunker price movements may be addressed through a bunker adjustment clause or detailed bunker accounting.
Port Restrictions and Preferences: Clauses may restrict trading to certain ports or exclude ports based on draft, berth safety, political risk, sanctions, ice, war risk, or terminal suitability.
Crewing and Maintenance: In time chartering, rider clauses may address crew performance, maintenance schedules, dry-docking, underwater cleaning, repairs, off-hire, and operational standards.
Sanctions and Compliance: Modern charterparties often require detailed sanctions, anti-bribery, environmental, and trade compliance wording.

Customization of the Charterparty

The main purpose of rider clauses is customization. A printed form may state general rights and duties, but the rider clauses make the charterparty fit the fixture. For example, a grain charter may need clauses on fumigation, cargo trimming, shifting boards, natural shrinkage, loading certificates, and port health requirements. A coal charter may need clauses on self-heating, ventilation, cargo temperature, and IMSBC Code compliance. A steel cargo fixture may need clauses on dunnage, lashing, rust condition, pre-loading survey, and weather working.

Customization should be precise. If a clause allocates trimming costs to charterers, it should state whether the obligation covers trimming by shore gear, trimming by crew, trimming by stevedores, overtime, shifting costs, and delays caused by trimming. General wording may not be enough.

Risk Allocation in Rider Clauses

Rider clauses are often used to allocate risk more clearly than the printed form. Shipping involves many risks that may not be evenly shared. A delay at the berth, cargo damage during loading, a port strike, bad weather, unsafe berth nomination, stevedore damage, bunker contamination, sanctions restriction, or refusal by terminal authorities can create major financial consequences.

A well-drafted rider clause should identify:

which party bears the risk;
when the risk transfers;
what notices must be given;
what evidence is required;
whether laytime continues or stops;
whether demurrage applies;
whether indemnity is available;
whether the ship may refuse orders or cargo;
whether the contract may be terminated.

Risk allocation must be practical. If a party is made responsible for a risk it cannot control, the clause may become commercially difficult and may lead to disputes.

Financial Clauses in Charterparties

Additional clauses often deal with money. They may clarify who pays for port charges, canal tolls, shifting, trimming, lighterage, overtime, taxes, pilotage, agency, bunkers, despatch, demurrage, detention, extra insurance, war risk premiums, or deviation costs.

Financial clauses should be drafted with particular care because small wording differences can produce large claims. If a charterparty states that a cost is â€œfor charterersâ€™ account,â€ it should also state whether the cost includes time, equipment, labor, delay, taxes, and associated expenses. If demurrage documentation is required, the clause should state the time limit for presenting the claim and which documents must be supplied.

Operational Clauses in Charterparty Rider Clauses

Operational clauses govern how the fixture is performed. They may address loading, discharge, stowage, trimming, cargo heating, pumping, shifting, lighterage, berthing, weather working, notice of readiness, port rotation, hold cleaning, tank cleaning, documentation, and agency instructions.

Operational clauses are essential because charterparty disputes often arise from practical events at the port rather than from abstract legal points. A clause may need to answer questions such as:

Who appoints and pays stevedores?
Who is responsible for cargo trimming?
What happens if the berth is unavailable?
Can notice of readiness be tendered at anchorage?
Does laytime run during rain?
Who pays for shifting from anchorage to berth?
Who pays for overtime ordered by the terminal?
Who is responsible for damage caused by stevedores?
Who arranges and pays for fumigation?
What documents are needed for demurrage claims?

The more operationally specific the fixture, the more important rider clauses become.

Insurance and Liability Clauses

Rider clauses may define insurance responsibilities and liability allocation. In voyage and time charterparties, insurance-related wording may address hull and machinery cover, P&I cover, additional war risk premiums, cargo insurance, pollution liabilities, sanctions-related insurance restrictions, and liability for unsafe cargo or dangerous goods.

Insurance clauses should be aligned with the partiesâ€™ actual insurance arrangements. A clause requiring a party to bear a risk may be ineffective commercially if that party has no insurance for the exposure. Similarly, if a charter requires the ship to trade to a higher-risk area, the clause should state who pays additional premiums and what happens if insurance becomes unavailable.

Performance Clauses in Time Charterparties

Performance clauses are particularly important in time charterparties. Charterers pay hire for the commercial use of the ship and rely on the shipâ€™s speed, consumption, cargo capacity, and operational reliability. Owners usually provide descriptions and warranties regarding the shipâ€™s performance.

Rider clauses may define:

speed and consumption warranties;
weather conditions for performance assessment;
currents, sea state, wind force, and good weather periods;
method of calculating underperformance;
effect of hull fouling;
underwater cleaning obligations;
bunker consumption tolerances;
performance claims and supporting evidence;
final settlement procedures.

Performance wording must be clear because speed and consumption disputes can be highly technical and document-heavy.

Cargo-Specific Rider Clauses

Cargo-specific rider clauses are common where the cargo has special handling, safety, documentation, or care requirements. The printed form may not deal adequately with the cargoâ€™s nature.

Examples include:

coal clauses addressing self-heating, ventilation, and temperature monitoring;
grain clauses addressing fumigation, trimming, and certificates;
steel clauses addressing rust condition, lashing, dunnage, and pre-loading surveys;
logs clauses addressing deck cargo, lashing, and stability;
sugar clauses addressing cleanliness, moisture, contamination, and ventilation;
cement clauses addressing moisture protection and dust;
dangerous goods clauses addressing declaration, stowage, emergency response, and indemnity;
project cargo clauses addressing heavy-lift operations, lifting plans, and special securing.

Cargo-specific clauses should work together with the IMSBC Code, IMDG Code, port rules, insurance requirements, and sale contract obligations where relevant.

Sanctions and Compliance Rider Clauses

Sanctions clauses have become a central part of charterparty drafting. A ship may be exposed to sanctions risk through cargo, port, charterer, sub-charterer, receiver, shipper, bank, insurer, beneficial owner, trade route, or payment chain. A printed charterparty form may not contain adequate protection for modern sanctions issues.

A sanctions rider clause may give the shipowner or charterer the right to refuse unlawful orders, reject prohibited cargo, terminate the charterparty, require substitute orders, or claim indemnity for losses caused by sanctions exposure.

Compliance clauses may also address anti-bribery laws, anti-money laundering rules, environmental regulations, emissions schemes, customs requirements, and trade restrictions. These clauses should be drafted carefully because broad wording may create uncertainty, while narrow wording may fail to protect the parties.

Weather Clauses and Delay Clauses

Weather can have a major effect on voyage charterparties. Rain, wind, swell, fog, ice, river conditions, port closure, unsafe berthing conditions, and terminal restrictions may interrupt loading or discharge. Rider clauses often define how these events affect laytime and demurrage.

A weather clause should make clear whether time counts:

when cargo work is impossible due to weather;
when weather would have prevented cargo work even if the ship was at berth;
when the ship is waiting at anchorage;
during bad weather after demurrage has begun;
during port closure;
during shifting delays caused by weather;
when the terminal suspends operations for safety reasons.

Clauses such as the Conoco Weather Clause are used because standard wording may not provide enough detail for particular trades. The chosen clause should be checked carefully against the laytime and demurrage provisions.

Termination and Redelivery Clauses

Additional clauses may define when a charterparty can be terminated and how the ship must be redelivered. In time charterparties, redelivery clauses are particularly important because redelivery timing, place, notices, bunkers, condition, and final voyage instructions can create disputes.

Rider clauses may address:

redelivery range;
redelivery notices;
final voyage orders;
late redelivery;
early redelivery;
bunkers on redelivery;
condition of ship on redelivery;
off-hire events near redelivery;
termination after breach;
cancellation if the ship misses laycan.

Clear termination and redelivery wording helps prevent arguments at the end of the charter when commercial pressure is often high.

Bunker Adjustment Clauses

Bunker clauses are essential in time charters and may also matter in voyage charterparties where bunker price changes affect voyage economics. In long-term charters, fluctuations in fuel prices can significantly affect the commercial balance between the parties.

A bunker adjustment clause may address:

price of bunkers on delivery;
price of bunkers on redelivery;
quality and grade of bunkers;
sampling and testing;
responsibility for off-spec bunkers;
fuel price adjustment mechanisms;
low-sulphur fuel requirements;
emission control areas;
bunker consumption disputes.

Bunker clauses should also align with environmental rules and charterparty performance warranties.

Port Restrictions and Trading Limits

Rider clauses may restrict where the ship can trade. These restrictions may be based on safety, draft, berth suitability, cargo type, political risk, war risk, sanctions, piracy, ice, canal transit, insurance, class, flag, or local regulations.

A trading limits clause should state clearly whether charterers may order the ship to particular areas and whether owners may refuse orders. If additional premiums, security costs, crew bonuses, or war risk expenses are incurred, the clause should state who pays.

Port restriction clauses are especially important where a trade involves shallow ports, river ports, tidal berths, exposed anchorages, congested terminals, or areas affected by conflict or sanctions.

Dispute Resolution Clauses

Rider clauses often include or modify dispute resolution provisions. A charterparty should clearly identify the governing law, arbitration forum, court jurisdiction, seat of arbitration, language, procedure, number of arbitrators, and time limits for claims.

Unclear dispute resolution clauses can create costly preliminary disputes before the merits of the claim are even considered. The rider clause should be consistent with the printed form and any recap terms. If the recap states English law and London arbitration but the printed form states another forum, the final charterparty must resolve the conflict clearly.

How to Incorporate Additional Clauses (Rider Clauses) into Charter Party?

Incorporating additional clauses into a charter party requires a careful and structured approach. The objective is to ensure that the rider clauses are legally effective, commercially clear, and consistent with the rest of the charterparty.

Identify the Need for Additional Clauses: The parties should first identify the special needs of the fixture, including cargo requirements, route, port operations, legal compliance, financial terms, and risk allocation.
Draft the Clauses Clearly: Rider clauses should be written in precise language. Ambiguous wording should be avoided, especially in clauses dealing with money, time, liability, and termination.
Review and Negotiate: Both parties should review the proposed rider clauses carefully. Negotiation should focus on practical performance, not only legal wording.
Check Against the Printed Form: Rider clauses should be compared with the printed charterparty clauses to identify contradictions, duplication, or missing cross-references.
Legal Review: Where the clause is important or high-risk, maritime legal review is advisable to ensure that the clause is enforceable and consistent with the governing law.
Formal Incorporation: The rider clauses should be expressly incorporated into the charterparty. This may be done by attaching a rider or inserting the clauses directly into the charterparty.
Reference and Cross-Checking: Clause numbers, cross-references, deleted clauses, replaced clauses, and recap references should be checked for accuracy.
Signing and Exchange: The final charterparty should be signed or otherwise confirmed by the parties in accordance with the agreed procedure.
Record-Keeping and Distribution: The final charterparty, including rider clauses, should be distributed to relevant parties such as brokers, agents, operators, masters, managers, and legal advisers where appropriate.

Methods of Incorporating Rider Clauses

Rider clauses may be incorporated in different ways. The most common method is to attach a rider containing numbered clauses to the standard form. The printed form may state that the rider clauses are incorporated into the charterparty. For example, a voyage charterparty may state that â€œRider Clauses Numbers 18 to 47, both inclusive, are deemed to be fully incorporated in this Charterparty.â€

Another method is to insert the additional clauses directly into the body of the charterparty. This can make the contract easier to read if done carefully, but it may also make it harder to distinguish standard wording from negotiated wording.

Sometimes the printed form contains a clause marked â€œSee Clauseâ€ or â€œAs per Rider Clause.â€ This indicates that the printed wording has been replaced or modified by a rider clause. This method can be useful, but only if the replacement clause is clearly identified and there is no uncertainty about which clause controls.

Rider Clauses in GENCON and ASBATIME Forms

Standard forms such as GENCON and ASBATIME provide practical examples of how rider clauses operate. GENCON voyage charterparty forms contain printed clauses but also allow special provisions and additional clauses to be inserted. Parties may add a rider stating that the additional clauses are incorporated and form part of the charterparty.

ASBATIME and similar time charter forms may also include rider clauses that expand or replace printed provisions. In many fixtures, the rider clauses may become longer than the printed form itself. This does not make the contract invalid, but it does increase the need for careful review. The more rider clauses added, the greater the risk of inconsistency.

Where a standard form is heavily amended, the parties should ensure that the final document remains coherent. If too many printed clauses are replaced or contradicted, it may be better to use a more suitable modern form rather than forcing an outdated form to fit a new trade.

Common Drafting Problems in Rider Clauses

Many charterparty disputes arise because rider clauses are drafted too quickly during fixture negotiations. Common problems include:

conflict between rider clauses and printed clauses;
conflict between recap terms and the final charterparty;
unclear clause numbering;
missing cross-references;
ambiguous responsibility for costs;
unclear effect on laytime or demurrage;
duplicated clauses dealing with the same issue differently;
use of wording copied from another fixture without adapting it;
failure to delete inconsistent printed wording;
unclear governing law or arbitration provisions;
clauses that are commercially impossible to perform;
incorrect use of tanker wording in dry cargo fixtures or dry cargo wording in tanker fixtures.

Professional drafting requires more than adding clauses. It requires checking how each clause interacts with the whole charterparty.

Best Practice for Drafting Rider Clauses

Good rider clauses should be clear, specific, and commercially realistic. They should identify who must act, what must be done, when it must be done, who pays, what happens if performance is delayed, and what evidence is required.

Best practice includes:

use recognized clauses where suitable;
avoid unnecessary changes to tested wording;
draft new clauses only when the fixture genuinely requires them;
state whether the rider clause overrides a printed clause;
delete printed clauses that conflict with the rider;
avoid vague phrases such as â€œusual termsâ€ where precision is needed;
define who pays for additional costs;
state the effect on laytime, demurrage, hire, or off-hire;
check consistency with the recap;
ensure the master, operators, and agents can understand and apply the clause;
keep a clean final version of the charterparty.

Conclusion

Charterparty Additional Clauses (Rider Clauses) are essential in modern chartering because printed charterparty forms cannot cover every commercial and operational situation. Rider clauses allow shipowners and charterers to adapt the contract to the ship, cargo, ports, route, costs, risks, regulations, and negotiated terms of the fixture.

Rider clauses are powerful because they often override printed clauses. For that reason, they must be drafted carefully. A clear rider clause can prevent disputes, allocate risk, and support smooth performance. A careless rider clause can create contradiction, uncertainty, delay, and expensive arbitration.

The safest approach is to use recognized clauses where appropriate, draft custom wording only when necessary, check every rider clause against the printed form, remove contradictions, and make sure the final charterparty reflects the actual commercial agreement. In chartering, rider clauses are not minor additions. They are often the most important part of the contract.

We kindly suggest that you visit the web page of BIMCO (Baltic and International Maritime Council) to learn more about Charterparty Additional Clauses (Rider Clauses) to obtain the original Charter Party forms and documents. www.bimco.org