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Off-Hire Claims

An off-hire claim answered hour by hour: the charterer's statement beside the owner's reading, each hour tested against the clause and cited to its log line.

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See one hire deduction answered, screen by screen ↓
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The problem

Their statement turns a six-minute pump changeover into a second stoppage

When a time-chartered ship breaks down, the charterer short-pays the next hire installment and sends its off-hire statement days later. The deduction may be made in good faith on a reasonable assessment before anything is agreed, so the owner carries the gap until someone rebuilds the hours.

That rebuild is done by hand: scanned deck and engine log pages copied into a spreadsheet, the chief engineer's report, noon reports either side, and the clause reread every time. Charterers often deduct on a period basis, from the stoppage until they consider the ship fully back, and price every tonne burned in it.

The same errors recur on both sides. Reduced-speed hours go in as hours steamed instead of distance lost, a routine engine-log entry is read as a stoppage, bunkers are priced at the wrong price, and a missed berth window is folded into off-hire.

Built forPost-fixture managersFinance controllersHeads of charteringFD&D counsel

The Problem Today

The charterer deducts for the whole period, and the owner rebuilds each hour from scanned logs before the money comes back.

$146,000
withheld, in one London award, despite a no-deduction rider published

Worked by hand per event

  • Deck log
  • Engine log
  • Riders
  • Noon data
  • Slow hours deducted in fullCharged as hours steamed, not the distance lost
  • Hire held while owners digThe charterer keeps the money until each hour is answered

The Solution

  1. Every log entry on one clockDeck and engine entries placed by time, with page and line for each
  2. Hours tested under the clauseTheir period set against the time actually lost
  3. Their side argued firstA challenger argues the charterer's case and checks our own figures
  4. Approved, then co-signedThe post-fixture manager approves; finance opens it and co-signs

Built-in controls

  • No outside note changes the case unread
  • Arbitration and legal positions stay with people
  • A learned rule applies only after approval

What You Get

Hire comes back with each hour tied to the log line that proves it.

  • Both statements lined upEach disagreement marked, with the evidence on both sides
  • Agents steered mid-runAn instruction in plain words changes the plan in view
  • Rulings kept as rulesHow the manager ruled before, beside the open point
Features

Off-hire claim features, from the short-paid hire to the invoice back

The post-fixture manager, the finance controller and the head of chartering use them to answer one main engine breakdown, from the charterer's statement to the co-signed invoice.

demoEvery ship, party, person, time and figure shown here is sample data.

  1. 01Face to face

    Charterer's off-hire statement and the owner's reading on one incident clock

    • Their periods and ours at the same height. Each block of the charterer's statement lines up with the owner's reading of the same hours, so the gap is visible before anyone opens a spreadsheet.
    • Clause test written above the clock. The off-hire clause is written out plainly above the hours it governs, and each hour is shaded lost, part lost or not lost.
    • Agents' relay with a steer box. The post-fixture manager follows each agent's reading and can add a check in plain words, such as the noon reports either side, mid-run.
  2. 02Log page

    Engine and deck log pages opened at the line each hour rests on

    • Every tick opens its log page. Clicking any entry on the clock opens the scanned page with that line highlighted, so no time is taken on trust.
    • Fuel on board read from the log. Bunkers used off hire are read from the engine log's fuel-on-board column, so the quantity rests on the ship's own readings.
    • Conflicts between our own logs flagged. When the engine log and the deck log disagree on a time, the agents flag it before the charterer finds it.
  3. 03Disagreement

    Reduced-speed hours converted to distance lost under the NYPE off-hire clause

    • Each disagreement opened from both sides. The charterer's argument and the owner's answer appear together, with what is still awaited from the ship, so the manager rules on evidence.
    • Slow steaming measured as distance lost. Speed reduced by a breakdown counts only the time so lost at charter speed, never the full hours steamed slowly.
    • Extra fuel tested, not assumed. Fuel on the slow passage is set against what the same distance takes at charter speed before any is allowed.
  4. 04Challenge

    The charterer's case argued before signing, including errors in our own draft

    • Every point the charterer will raise. Slow hours, a second stoppage, full working and bunkers are argued in the charterer's voice before the statement leaves.
    • Our own figures attacked too. A bunker price taken from the delivery survey instead of the charter's bunker clause is caught and corrected in the draft.
    • Earlier rulings beside the point. How the manager ruled the same question before is shown beside the point, so rulings stay consistent from one event to the next.
  5. 05Requests out

    Ship and ship manager asked in fixed fields, their notes left to a person

    • Structured requests to the ship and ship manager. Engine stop, restart, running-in, full sea speed and running hours return as fields, which change the case directly.
    • The chief engineer's note waits for a person. The statement stays unapproved until the post-fixture manager opens the chief engineer's note, which no agent compares.
    • Pages attached with the answer. The maker's running-in instruction and engine log pages arrive with the fields, so the slow hours carry their reason.
  6. 06Ruling

    Post-fixture manager rules on the off-hire calculation with a reason code

    • Reason code and the manager's own words. Each ruling is recorded with why, and the dialog states that it is the owner's position, not a legal one.
    • Figures redrafted when a ruling changes. Ruling the other way recalculates the statement and the invoice and clears any approval already given.
  7. 07What-if

    Net loss of time, a period reading and arbitration priced before deciding

    • Three readings of the same hours. Net loss of time, a period reading and the charterer's statement are worked in one table with the hire each returns.
    • Paths if the charterer does not pay. Invoicing, settling at the midpoint and arbitration are shown with money back and timing, with costs labeled as assumed.
    • Who decides, named on the screen. The agents give no view on which path to take; the head of chartering decides with counsel.
  8. 08Sign and send

    Owner's off-hire statement and hire invoice sent on the second signature

    • Gates checked before approval. Logs read, each challenge point closed, the ship's answers in, the free-text note opened and bunkers checked.
    • Co-signer opens the statement and invoice. The finance controller cannot co-sign until both are opened, and nobody co-signs work they prepared.
    • Privileged and held documents listed. Counsel's note is excluded, and the breakdown report is held while the charterer reserves its rights.
  9. 09Counsel

    A missed berth window sent to counsel as a possible damages question

    • Consequential delay kept apart. A missed tide or berth after the ship is back in full working is sent to counsel instead of folded into off-hire hours.
    • Legal decisions take a second person. Counsel records each decision and its reason; the head of chartering adds the second signature.

Four people between a short-paid hire installment and the money back

The manager proves the hours, finance co-signs the invoice, the head of chartering and counsel own the legal path.

Post-fixture managers

Answer each off-hire statement and hire deduction, rule on disputed points, approve the owner's statement

  • Their hours beside ours, each tied to a log line
  • The charterer's arguments before the statement leaves
  • Earlier rulings beside each new point
Finance controllers

Co-sign hire invoices and credits and book the receivable

  • Statement and invoice to open before co-signing
  • Gates passed, listed in one place
  • The register updated when the invoice leaves
Heads of chartering

Own the charterer relationship; decide on arbitration with counsel; approve rules and settings

  • Each reading and path priced, the choice left open
  • Rules proposed from rulings, for approval
  • Chartered-in deductions checked against the riders
FD&D counsel

Decide legal positions and arbitration with the head of chartering

  • Consequential delay routed as a separate question
  • Privileged notes excluded from every export
  • Held documents released only with a second person

Eight agents rebuild the hours, and none decides a legal question or signs

Each reads its part of the charter and the logs, cites the line, and hands on by name.

Statement reader

Reads the charterer's off-hire statement and the short payment; splits periods, hours, rates and bunkers.

  • Never changes the charterer's figures
Log reader

Places every deck and engine log entry and noon report on the clock, citing page and line.

  • Never infers a time no log records
Report reader

Reads the chief engineer's breakdown report and the maintenance record.

  • Never judges cause or fault
Clause reader

Reads the off-hire, fuel and rider clauses from the charter actually signed and writes the test in plain words.

  • Gives no legal advice
  • Never applies a rule nobody approved
Calculator

Tests each hour, converts reduced speed to distance lost, tests extra fuel and prices bunkers.

  • Rounds money once, at the final figure
Ship liaison

Sends structured requests to the ship and the ship manager and reads the fields and pages it gets in return.

  • Never turns a note into evidence
The deduction challenge

Argues the charterer's side against the draft, the owner's own errors included.

  • Never calls anyone dishonest
  • Decides no legal question
Statement writer

Drafts the owner's statement and the hire invoice with each hour cited.

  • Never sends without two signatures
  • Cites no privileged note
More screens

The ship's form, the off-hire register and the chartered-in side

Where the hours come from before the case, and where the money is tracked after it.

The ship's own formThe chief engineer answers each field from the engine log and attaches the pages; any note is read in the office.
Off-hire registerSeventeen events this year, nine disputed, $412,000.00 of hire in dispute, with what each charterer deducted and what the owner accepts.
When we are the chartererDeductions against head owners pass the same clause test; one is blocked because the rider forbids deducting for underperformance.
Rules keptRules proposed from rulings, such as pricing off-hire bunkers from the charter's bunker clause, wait for the head of chartering.
Audit trailEach agent step, ruling, opening and signature, with what the signature meant, ready to export with privileged items left out.

demoSample data, from the working solution.

Hire is never invoiced on one signature, and arbitration is never the agents'

The owner's statementApproved by the post-fixture manager only after opening it and the ship's free-text note.
The hire invoiceCo-signed by the finance controller after opening the statement and invoice; sending back clears the approval.
Legal positions and arbitrationDecided by the head of chartering and counsel together, each reason recorded, two signatures.
Rules learned from rulingsApplied only after the head of chartering approves; nobody approves a rule they proposed.
Releasing held documentsA report held while the charterer reserves its rights leaves only when counsel and a second person agree.

The records an off-hire calculation is rebuilt from

The charterer's statement and remittanceOff-hire statement, short-paid hire payment and the bunker invoice
Deck and engine logsFrom the ship's logbook system, each entry with page and line
Chief engineer's breakdown reportWith the maker's instruction and the maintenance record
The charter party and ridersOff-hire, fuel, bunker and anti-deduction clauses, per charter
Voyage management systemHire statements, payments and the off-hire register
ERPInvoices and the receivable once the statement is sent

What post-fixture teams ask about an off-hire claim

What is an off-hire claim?

An off-hire claim is a charterer's deduction from time charter hire for time the ship was not in full working, usually after a breakdown. This solution tests each hour of the claim against the off-hire clause and the ship's logs, and people approve the owner's answer.

How is off-hire calculated under a net loss of time clause?

Only the time actually lost while the full working of the ship was prevented is deducted. Where a breakdown reduces speed, the time so lost is worked from the distance lost at charter speed, and extra fuel only if more was burned in consequence.

Can the charterer deduct hire before the off-hire claim is agreed?

Where the charter gives a right to deduct, an amount assessed in good faith and on a reasonable basis may be deducted first. That is why the owner answers with a statement and an invoice for the difference, each hour cited.

Does a delay at the next port count as off-hire?

Consequential delay, such as a missed berth or tide after the ship is back in full working, is usually not off-hire. Here it is routed to counsel as a separate question, never folded into the hours.

Who decides whether to go to arbitration?

The head of chartering decides, with counsel. Each path shows its money back and timing on the what-if. The agents offer no legal view and never call anyone dishonest.

What about ships we charter in?

The same clause test runs from the other side for deductions the owner makes against head owners, and a deduction the rider forbids, such as one for alleged underperformance, is blocked and sent to the head of chartering.

Chartering & Voyage Operations

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Bring an off-hire statement
you already answered.

Send one past deduction with its logs; we will rebuild its hours together, entry by entry.

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