NYPE (New York Produce Exchange) Time Bar

The one-year time limit on cargo claims by charterers against shipowners, to which the NYPE (New York Produce Exchange) 1946 form of time charter is usually subject because it incorporates the United States Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA 1936), does not apply under a Time Charterparty where the parties have expressly incorporated the Inter-Club New York Produce Exchange Agreement (ICA) 1996.

Similarly, where a charterparty contains a Time Bar for claims in addition to incorporating the Inter-Club New York Produce Exchange Agreement (ICA) 1996 it has been held that the time bar in Clause 6 of the ICA 1996 applied to claims under ICA 1996 notwithstanding a contrary Time Bar in the charterparty.

Clause 6 of the ICA 1996 provides that claims shall be notified in writing to the other party to the charterparty within:

• 24 months of the date of delivery of the cargo, or the date the cargo should have been delivered; or
• 36 months where Hamburg Rules apply. Such notification, if possible, should include details of the contract of carriage, the nature of the claim and the amount claimed.