【日常】如何应对航速油耗索赔
航速油耗(Performance – speed/consumption)是船舶描述中的重要信息,也是期租合同里面很重要的一项,船能赚多少租金航速油耗也起了很大作用。在市场好的时候,租金高油价也高,航速油耗的索赔特别多。现在这种市场情况下,由于好多船都跑eco speed(合同一般不给guarantee eco speed/consumption)的原因,航速油耗索赔明显变少,即使有,由于租金低油价也低,索赔金额不大也就差不多行了(其实争起来挺累的)。最近市场稍微好转一些,就有租家要求船跑cp guaranteed speed,而不再要求跑eco speed (wog),然后就有航速索赔上门了,然后我快把气导报告翻烂了也是没有到合适的理由去反驳,然后……蓝瘦,香菇。
租家进行航速油耗索赔的依据就是船东违反了合同航速油耗的保证,即船舶没有达到合同规定的航速油耗,由此租家可以对船东进行索赔(a claim for damage for breach of speed/consumption warranty)。比如,CP里面规定about 14.50 knots,船实际在好天气
情况下只跑了13.50 knots,这就是under-performance;又或者CP里面规定about 21mt IFO daily,船实际在好天气情况下每天消耗23mt,这就是over-consumption。
抛开无法借口只能认栽的航速油耗索赔不讲,好多航速油耗索赔还是可以据(胡)理(搅)力(蛮)争(缠)搞一搞的。今天就来聊一聊——怎么搞。
1. 常见的航速油耗描述
在NYPE 93格式合同中,第18-20行:
knots, fully laden, in good weather conditions up to and including the Beaufort winscale, on a consumption long/metric
在NYPE 46格式合同中,第9-10行:
which are of the capacity of about…tons of fuel, and capable of steaming, fully laden, under good weather conditions about…knots on a consumption of about…tons of best Welsh coal-best grade fuel oil-best grade Diesel oil, now…
更常见的是删掉格式合同中船舶描述条款,而在合同的rider clause里面详细描述船舶规范,包括航速油耗;或者保留合同中船舶描述条款,并加入类似“see clause xx”,即rider clause里面会有更加详细的船舶描述条款,例如:
MV GOSSIPBULKERS
(在此略去DWT/DRAFT/LOA/BM等)油耗
Speed and consumption basis no adverse currents and valid upto and including Douglas Sea State 3/Beaufort Force 4:
Ballast consumption: about 14.50 knots on about 21.0mt IFO and about 0.1mt MDO
Laden consumption: about 14.00 knots on about 21.0mt IFO and about 0.1mt MDO
Eco speed and consumption are described asf, on about basis without guarantee:
Ballast: 13.50 knots on 17mt IFO and 0.1mt MDO
Laden: 13.00 knots on 18.5mt IFO and 0.1mt MDO
2. 航速油耗描述中需要考虑的几项因素
进行航速油耗索赔的基础是违反合同的warranty,那么合同如何保证航速油耗就至关重要,即合同里面是如何规定航速油耗的。在此罗列出重要的几项供大家参考:
a. Without guarantee(简称WOG)
只要出现WOG的字眼,船东就不再有义务去保证航速油耗,船东所给的航速油耗只是一个估计值,且given in good faith。
b. Good weather
通常来讲合同中规定的船舶航速油耗是在好天气下船能达到的速度和所消耗的燃油,而不是任何天气条件下都能保证达到的速度和耗油。“好天气”通常理解为不超过Beaufort Force 4和Douglas Sea Scale 3。尽量避免争议的做法是在合同中明确“好天气”的定义,比如:
'Good weather conditions' are to be taken as not exceeding maximum Beaufort Force 4 and Douglas Sea State 3 - which to be taken as a swell wave height of less than 1.25 meters and no adverse current.
c. Currents
关于是否要考虑currents这一因素,伦敦仲裁意见不统一。即使合同中航速油耗明确规定是基于no adverse current/no unfavourable current,这一条件也不见得会被采用。像AWT的报告就会适用London Arbitration LMLN 854,会把good weather days with adverse current考虑进去。
(London Arbitration LMLN 854)
It followed that - at any rate once non-compliance with the warranted speed had been established by reference to periods of good weather and not unfavourable current - the application of a 'current' factor was permissible to compensate for periods of both favourable and of adverse currents.