Ship Charterparty Description

When must the vessel comply with the charterparty description?

The general rule is that the descriptive details of the ship which are inserted into the charterparty have to be correct at the time the charterparty is entered into.

However, the better view is that the owners are obliged to provide a ship which has the characteristics described at the time the charterparty is entered into but that there is an implied term that after that date the owners will not alter the characteristics of the ship so as to render a vessel which is substantially different from the ship the charterers agreed to hire.