Reachable on Arrival in Ship Chartering: Meaning, Laytime and Demurrage
Reachable on Arrival is an important charterparty expression used in voyage chartering, particularly in berth charter forms and tanker charterparty clauses dealing with laytime, Notice of Readiness, demurrage, and delay before berthing. In practical terms, the phrase means that the Charterer undertakes to provide an available loading or discharging berth when the ship arrives at the port, and that the ship must be able to proceed to that berth safely and without delay.
The expression may appear short, but its commercial effect can be substantial. If a ship arrives at the port and cannot proceed to the nominated berth because the berth is occupied, port movements are restricted, tugs are unavailable, pilots are not available, weather prevents movement, or some other obstruction prevents access, the berth may not be considered reachable on arrival. Unless the charterparty contains a clear protecting exception, the Charterer may be in breach of the berth warranty.
Meaning of Reachable on Arrival in Ship Chartering
In chartering practice, Reachable on Arrival means that the Charterer must nominate or provide a berth that is available to the ship when the ship reaches the port. The berth must not only exist on paper; it must be physically and legally capable of being reached by the ship at the relevant time. The ship should be able to move from the usual waiting place or anchorage to the berth without being delayed by obstacles that prevent access.
The phrase is closely connected with the concept of an Arrived Ship, the tendering of Notice of Readiness (NOR), the beginning of laytime, and the allocation of waiting time risk between Shipowners and Charterers. Where the charterparty places a reachable-on-arrival obligation on the Charterer, the risk of berthing delay may shift heavily toward the Charterer even where the Charterer did not personally cause the delay.
A practical definition may be stated as follows: Reachable on Arrival means that the Charterer undertakes to provide an available loading or discharging berth at the port on the ship’s arrival, and that the ship can reach that berth safely and without delay.
Why the Reachable on Arrival Clause Matters
The importance of the clause lies in risk allocation. Before a ship can load or discharge cargo, the ship must usually reach the berth or the agreed cargo-handling place. If the ship is waiting outside because the berth cannot be reached, the parties must determine whether that waiting time is for the Shipowner’s account or the Charterer’s account.
Without a clear charterparty mechanism, disputes may arise over whether the ship was delayed by port congestion, bad weather, lack of tugs, night navigation restrictions, pilotage restrictions, strikes, berth occupancy, or other circumstances outside the Charterer’s direct control. The expression reachable on arrival is therefore not merely descriptive. It can operate as a warranty that the Charterer must satisfy at the moment of the ship’s arrival.
For Shipowners, the clause provides protection against losing time while the ship waits for a berth that cannot be reached. For Charterers, the clause can create significant exposure to demurrage or damages for detention if the wording is not understood and negotiated carefully.
The Laura Prima and the Legal Effect of Reachable on Arrival
The leading authority on this expression is The Laura Prima. In that case, the ship was fixed under a berth charter based on the EXXONVOY 1969 form. The ship arrived but could not berth because of congestion. The charterparty contained a Notice of Readiness clause dealing with delay after NOR, and it also contained a safe berthing clause requiring the ship to load or discharge at a place reachable on arrival and designated by the Charterer.
The House of Lords held that the Charterer’s obligation to provide a berth reachable on arrival had to be given its ordinary commercial meaning. The well-known statement from the decision is that “reachable on arrival” means precisely what it says: if a berth cannot be reached on arrival, the warranty is broken unless there is a relevant protecting exception.
The consequence was that a general delay-protection clause could not be used to defeat the specific reachable-on-arrival warranty. In other words, if the Charterer had undertaken to provide a reachable berth, the Charterer could not simply avoid responsibility by saying that the delay was caused by circumstances outside the Charterer’s control, unless the charterparty clearly provided such protection.
Congestion, Tugs, Weather, Pilotage and Other Causes of Delay
After The Laura Prima, attempts were made to limit the effect of the decision to port congestion. However, later cases showed that the meaning of reachable on arrival is not limited to congestion alone. The key question is whether the berth was capable of being reached by the ship on arrival, not whether the delay was physical, administrative, navigational, weather-related, or beyond the Charterer’s personal control.
In The Fjordaas, the ship arrived at Mohammedia in Morocco and had to discharge at a sea-line because of the ship’s size. The ship could not berth immediately because of night navigation restrictions and lack of tugs. Later, bad weather and a tug crew strike also delayed berthing. Although the berth may have been available in a narrow sense, the ship could not reach it. The court treated the ordinary meaning of reachable as decisive: the berth must be “able to be reached.”
In The Sea Queen, the ship was delayed at Mina al Ahmadi because tugs were unavailable and bad weather then prevented berthing. The berth was not occupied, but the ship still could not safely proceed to it. The court again held that the Charterer had warranted a berth reachable by the ship upon arrival. If the berth could not be reached for whatever reason, the reachable-on-arrival obligation was not fulfilled.
These cases are commercially important because they show that a berth may be theoretically open, nominated, or unoccupied, yet still not be reachable on arrival. A berth must be practically accessible to the ship at the time of arrival.
Reachable on Arrival and Notice of Readiness
The clause also interacts with Notice of Readiness (NOR). A charterparty may provide that, upon arrival at the customary anchorage, the Master or agent may tender NOR whether or not the berth is available, and that laytime will begin after a stated notice period. However, where the charterparty also contains a reachable-on-arrival warranty, the Charterer may still be responsible if the ship cannot proceed to the berth when it arrives.
This is why the wording of the NOR clause and the berth warranty must be read together. A clause that delays the start of laytime or excludes certain waiting time may not protect the Charterer if the Charterer has already failed to provide a reachable berth. The legal and commercial result may be that the Charterer becomes liable for demurrage or, in some circumstances, damages for detention.
Reachable on Arrival and WIBON Clauses
The expression also has a relationship with clauses such as WIBON, meaning Whether In Berth Or Not. A WIBON clause may allow NOR to be tendered even if the ship is not physically in berth, usually where the berth is unavailable. However, the effect of WIBON depends on the exact charterparty wording and the reason why the ship is not in berth.
In The Kyzikos, the ship arrived at the discharging port and the berth was available, but fog prevented ship movements. The dispute focused on whether NOR could be validly tendered under a WIBON clause when the berth was available but could not be reached because of weather conditions. The case illustrates that berth availability and berth reachability are not always the same question, and that charterparty wording must be read with precision.
For commercial operators, the lesson is straightforward: a berth can be available in a scheduling sense but still unreachable in a navigational or practical sense. Conversely, a ship may be outside the berth but still able to tender NOR if the charterparty wording permits it and the factual conditions are satisfied.
Reachable on Arrival and Always Accessible
Reachable on Arrival and Always Accessible (AA) are related expressions, but they should not be treated as identical in every context. Reachable on Arrival focuses on the ship’s ability to reach the berth when the ship arrives at the port. Always Accessible may go further, depending on the wording, because it can also deal with the ship’s ability to leave the berth safely and without delay before, during, or after cargo operations.
A simplified distinction is useful:
- Reachable on Arrival: the Charterer undertakes that the ship will have an available berth that can be safely reached without delay when the ship arrives.
- Always Accessible (AA): the Charterer may undertake not only that the ship can reach the berth, but also that the ship can depart from the berth safely and without delay at the relevant time.
In practice, both expressions are used to manage delay risk. Shipowners usually prefer wording that transfers the risk of access delay to the Charterer. Charterers should examine whether the clause covers only arrival at the berth, or whether it also extends to departure from the berth after cargo operations.
Commercial Consequences for Charterers
For Charterers, a reachable-on-arrival clause should never be treated as a routine phrase. If the Charterer accepts an absolute or near-absolute berth warranty, the Charterer may carry the risk of events that are difficult to control, including congestion, pilotage restrictions, shortage of tugs, local authority restrictions, port closures, adverse weather, berth occupancy, and labour disruption affecting berth access.
The commercial consequences may include additional demurrage, detention claims, loss of laytime exceptions, disputes over NOR validity, and pressure on cargo operations. In a rising freight market, delay can be especially expensive because the Shipowner loses the opportunity to employ the ship elsewhere. In a tight port environment, a poorly negotiated berth warranty may become one of the most costly provisions in the charterparty.
Commercial Consequences for Shipowners
For Shipowners, the clause provides a powerful tool for protecting the ship’s earning capacity. A ship waiting outside a port because it cannot berth is not performing the next employment, yet running costs continue. If the charterparty contains a strong reachable-on-arrival obligation, the Shipowner may be able to recover time lost before berthing instead of absorbing the delay as part of the voyage risk.
Shipowners should still ensure that NOR is tendered correctly, that the ship is legally and physically ready, that arrival requirements under the charterparty are satisfied, and that evidence of the berthing delay is preserved. Port logs, agent messages, pilot and tug availability records, weather reports, anchorage records, berth line-up information, and communications with the terminal may become important if a demurrage or detention dispute develops.
Drafting Points in Reachable on Arrival Clauses
Because the phrase can have a strong legal effect, parties should draft and review the clause carefully. Important points include whether the obligation is absolute, whether exceptions apply, whether congestion is expressly included or excluded, whether weather delays are covered, whether the clause applies at load ports, discharge ports, or both, and whether the warranty extends beyond arrival to departure.
Charterers may seek wording that limits liability where delay is caused by events beyond their control. Shipowners may resist such wording or require precise exceptions. Both parties should also check whether the NOR clause, laytime exceptions, demurrage provisions, safe berth clause, port nomination clause, and strike or weather clauses work consistently with the reachable-on-arrival wording.
Practical Example of Reachable on Arrival
Assume a ship arrives at the discharge port and tenders NOR at the customary anchorage. The nominated berth is occupied by another ship, and the ship must wait three days before berthing. If the charterparty states that the berth must be reachable on arrival, the Charterer may be responsible for the waiting time because the ship could not proceed to the berth when it arrived.
Now assume the berth is empty, but port authorities prohibit night navigation and no pilot or tug is available until the next morning. If the ship cannot safely proceed to the berth on arrival, the berth may still be treated as unreachable. The issue is not only whether the berth was empty, but whether the ship could actually reach it safely and without delay.
Reachable on Arrival in Laytime and Demurrage Claims
Reachable-on-arrival disputes often arise in demurrage claims because the parties disagree over whether waiting time should count. The Shipowner may argue that the Charterer failed to provide a reachable berth and that time should run or damages should be recoverable. The Charterer may argue that the delay was outside its control or covered by an exception.
The outcome depends on the exact words of the charterparty and the facts at the port. However, the general principle remains clear: where the Charterer has warranted a berth reachable on arrival, the Charterer must provide a berth that the ship can reach when it arrives, unless the charterparty contains a clear and relevant exception.
Conclusion
Reachable on Arrival is one of the most important short expressions in voyage chartering. It can determine whether pre-berthing delay is for the Shipowner’s account or the Charterer’s account, and it can affect NOR, laytime, demurrage, detention, and the overall economics of the fixture.
The practical meaning is simple but strict: the Charterer must provide an available berth that the ship can safely reach without delay upon arrival. If the berth cannot be reached, the Charterer may be in breach unless the charterparty clearly provides an applicable exception. For that reason, Shipowners, Charterers, brokers, operators, and claims handlers should treat the phrase as a major risk-allocation clause, not as routine charterparty wording.