Charter Party Disputes

Resolving Maritime Charter Conflicts Through Expert Arbitration

Charter party disputes represent some of the most complex and financially significant conflicts in international maritime commerce. These disagreements arise from the contracts governing the hire of vessels—whether for voyage charters, time charters, or bareboat charters—and can involve substantial sums, operational disruptions, and intricate questions of maritime law and custom.

When shipowners, charterers, operators, and cargo interests find themselves at odds over charter party terms, swift and effective resolution becomes paramount. Protracted litigation can immobilize vessels, strain business relationships, and generate costs that far exceed the value in dispute. This is where maritime arbitration offers a superior alternative.

Why Arbitration Prevails in Charter Party Disputes

The maritime industry has long favored arbitration over traditional litigation for charter party disputes, and with good reason:

Confidentiality – Charter party disputes often involve commercially sensitive information, including freight rates, vessel performance data, and proprietary trading strategies.  Arbitration proceedings remain private, protecting the competitive interests of all parties.

Specialized Expertise – Maritime arbitrators bring deep industry knowledge and practical experience to complex technical and legal questions that generalist courts may struggle to address efficiently.

Efficiency – Arbitration typically resolves disputes faster than court litigation, minimizing vessel downtime and allowing parties to preserve ongoing commercial relationships.

Finality – Arbitral awards are generally final and binding, with limited grounds for appeal, providing certainty and allowing parties to move forward.

International Enforceability – Under the London Maritime Arbitrators Associan and New York Convention, arbitral awards are readily enforceable in hundreds of countries, making arbitration ideal for the global nature of maritime commerce

Captain Reginald E. McKamie Sr.: Trusted Maritime Arbitrator

With over five decades of distinguished service in maritime law and operations, Captain Reginald E. McKamie Sr. brings unparalleled expertise to charter party arbitration. As a licensed Master Mariner, maritime attorney, and certified arbitrator, Captain McKamie combines practical shipboard experience with sophisticated legal knowledge—a rare combination that enables him to understand not just the contractual language, but the operational realities behind charter party disputes. So well thought of and distinguished in the international maritime sector Captain McKamie was named 2025 Alumnus of the year at the prestigious U. S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, New York.

Captain McKamie's credentials include:

  • Licensed U.S. Coast Guard Master Mariner with extensive command experience
  • Former Marine Insurance Underwriter for a major maritime insurance firm
  • Maritime law attorney with decades of practice in vessel operations and chartering
  • Certified maritime arbitrator with specialized training in dispute resolution
  • Deep familiarity with all standard charter party forms (LMA, NYPE, Baltime, Gencon, and others)
  • Experience with disputes involving vessels of all types—tankers, bulkers, container ships, and specialized tonnage

His reputation rests on three pillars: neutrality, practical wisdom, and efficiency.  Parties who bring charter party disputes before Captain McKamie can expect fair-minded analysis, decisions grounded in maritime custom and law, and solutions tailored to the specific circumstances of each case.

Common Charter Party Disputes

Laytime and Demurrage

Understanding the Dispute

Laytime and demurrage disputes are among the most frequent arbitrated conflicts in voyage charter parties. Laytime refers to the agreed period allowed for loading and discharging cargo, while demurrage represents liquidated damages payable when cargo operations exceed the allowed laytime. Conversely, despatch may be due when operations complete ahead of schedule.

These disputes typically arise from:

  • Laytime calculation disagreements – Parties may dispute when laytime commenced, whether certain periods should be excluded (such as for adverse weather, breakdown of shore equipment, or holidays), and how to interpret “unless sooner commenced” or “time lost waiting for berth to count” clauses.
  • Notice of readiness validity – Charterers may challenge whether the vessel was properly positioned, in all respects ready to load or discharge, or whether proper notice was tendered to the appropriate party.
  • Interruptions and exceptions – Disputes frequently concern whether delays should be excluded from laytime calculation due to port congestion, force majeure, strikes, or vessel deficiencies.
  • Rate and quantum calculations – Even when liability is clear, parties may disagree on the applicable demurrage rate, currency conversion, or mathematical computation of time used.

Given that demurrage claims can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars for just days of delay, these disputes carry significant financial stakes.

Arbitration's Advantage

Arbitration proves particularly effective for laytime and demurrage disputes because:

  • Technical precision – Arbitrators with maritime experience understand the nuances of charter party laytime provisions, commercial customs, and the practical realities of port operations.
  • Documentary evidence – These disputes typically turn on contemporaneous records (logs, time sheets, statements of facts, weather reports), which arbitrators can efficiently review without lengthy court procedures.
  • Industry custom – Experienced maritime arbitrators recognize established trade customs and charter party interpretation principles that may not be familiar to generalist judges.
  • Speed – Given the documentary nature of most laytime disputes, arbitration can resolve these matters in months rather than years, allowing parties to recover funds or close their books.

Captain McKamie's Approach

Captain McKamie brings a practical mariner's perspective to laytime and demurrage arbitration. His shipboard experience gives him firsthand understanding of port operations, weather impacts, and the challenges masters face in positioning vessels and tendering valid notice of readiness.

In adjudicating these disputes, Captain McKamie:

  • Thoroughly examines the charter party language, applying established principles of contract interpretation while recognizing maritime custom and usage
  • Carefully reviews contemporaneous documentation, understanding that ship’s logs, mate’s receipts, and statements of facts represent real-time records created without litigation in mind
  • Considers operational realities, distinguishing between theoretical charter party requirements and what is commercially reasonable in actual port conditions
  • Provides clear mathematical calculations and transparent reasoning in his awards, ensuring parties understand precisely how laytime was computed and demurrage calculated
  • Balances strict legal rights with maritime equity, recognizing that long-term commercial relationships often benefit from fair-minded resolution

Awards in laytime and demurrage matters require clarity, technical precision, and practical wisdom—qualities that enhance their acceptance by parties and enforceability in subsequent proceedings. Captain McKamie’s experience, eduction and training can provide that required clarity, technical precision and practical wisdom.

Performance and Seaworthiness Disputes

Understanding the Dispute

Performance and seaworthiness disputes strike at the heart of a vessel's ability to perform the services for which it was chartered. These conflicts can arise under both voyage and time charters, though the legal standards and remedies differ.

Common disputes include:

  • Speed and consumption claims – Time charterers frequently claim that vessels failed to maintain warranted speed or consumed excessive fuel, entitling them to damages or hire reduction.  These disputes require analysis of weather conditions, sea state, hull condition, and whether performance warranties were properly qualified.
  • Seaworthiness at commencement – Under voyage charters, owners impliedly warrant that vessels are seaworthy.  Disputes arise when cargo damage, delays, or casualties are alleged to result from unseaworthiness existing at the voyage’s outset.  The timing and nature of deficiencies become crucial.
  • Off-hire events – Time charter parties specify circumstances when hire ceases to accrue, such as breakdowns, deficiency of personnel, or drydocking.  Charterers and owners frequently dispute whether off-hire conditions were met, how long off-hire periods lasted, and whether owners exercised due diligence to restore the vessel to service.
  • Deviation and route disputes – Disagreements may arise over whether vessels deviated from agreed routes, whether such deviation was justified, and what consequences flow from unauthorized deviation.
  • Maintenance and repair obligations – Time charterers and owners may dispute responsibility for certain repairs, whether proper maintenance was performed, and whether the vessel was redelivered in required condition.
  • Cargo damage claims – When cargo arrives damaged, cargo interests and their insurers may pursue owners for breach of seaworthiness obligations or improper care of cargo, while owners may defend based on excepted perils, charterers’ loading decisions, or inherent vice.

These disputes often involve significant technical complexity, requiring analysis of naval architecture, marine engineering, meteorological data, and cargo science.

Arbitration's Advantage

Performance and seaworthiness disputes benefit enormously from arbitration because:

  • Technical expertise – Arbitrators with maritime backgrounds, such as Captain McKamie, can evaluate engineering reports, understand vessel systems, and assess whether performance claims are reasonable given actual conditions.
  • Expert evidence management – While these disputes often require expert testimony from vessel captains, naval architects, marine engineers, or surveyors, arbitrators can efficiently manage such evidence without the formalistic procedures of court litigation.
  • Understanding of vessel operations – Experienced maritime arbitrators comprehend the realities of vessel maintenance, weather impacts on performance, and the operational pressures facing masters and engineers.
  • Nuanced remedies – Arbitrators can fashion equitable remedies that account for degrees of fault, mitigation, and commercial realities rather than applying rigid legal rules.

Captain McKamie's Approach

Captain McKamie's dual expertise as a Master Mariner and maritime attorney makes him uniquely qualified to resolve performance and seaworthiness disputes. His seagoing experience aboard commercial vessels provides intimate knowledge of ship systems, cargo loading practices, vessel stowage and loading requirements, maintenance practices, and operational constraints, while his legal training ensures proper application of charter party terms and maritime law principles.

In adjudicating these disputes, Captain McKamie:

  • Carefully evaluates technical evidence, understanding vessel systems sufficiently to assess competing expert opinions and distinguish credible analyses from advocacy
  • Considers all relevant factors affecting performance, including weather routing, hull and propeller condition, trim and draft, and whether the vessel was employed within charter party parameters
  • Applies proper legal standards for seaworthiness and due diligence, recognizing the distinctions between voyage charter absolute warranties and time charter obligations
  • Assesses causation rigorously, determining whether alleged deficiencies actually caused claimed losses or whether other factors intervened
  • Balances technical perfection against commercial reality, understanding that vessels are complex machines operating in harsh environments and that minor deficiencies may not constitute breaches justifying substantial damages
  • Provides detailed reasoning explaining his analysis of technical evidence, legal principles, and factual findings, ensuring parties understand the basis for his award

Captain McKamie's experience, education and training insure that his awards in performance and seaworthiness matters reflect sound maritime judgment informed by practical experience—awards that will withstand scrutiny and provide fair resolution to complex technical disputes.

Payment and Hire Disagreements

Understanding the Dispute

Payment disputes form a critical category of charter party conflicts, as timely payment of freight and hire represents the fundamental consideration flowing to shipowners. These disputes can threaten vessel operations and commercial relationships.

Typical payment and hire disputes include:

  • Hire payment and withdrawal rights – Under time charters, owners may withdraw vessels for non-payment of hire, but disputes arise over whether payments were timely, whether anti-technicality clauses apply, whether grace periods were properly observed, and whether withdrawal was justified or constituted wrongful repudiation.
  • Freight payment terms – Voyage charter disputes concern whether freight is payable, when it becomes due, whether it was earned under the charter terms, and whether owners’ liens for freight and dead freight are valid.
  • Deductions and set-offs – Charterers may attempt to deduct disputed claims from hire or freight, while owners contend that charter terms prohibit such set-offs or that the deductions are unjustified. The validity and timing of these actions can determine whether owners’ withdrawal rights were triggered.
  • Advance hire and prepayment terms – Disputes arise over whether advance hire was properly paid, when it becomes due, and the consequences of non-payment.
  • Currency and payment method – International charter parties may generate disputes over proper currency for payment, exchange rates, banking charges, and whether payment was effectively made.
  • Final hire and redelivery accounting – Upon redelivery under time charters, owners and charterers frequently dispute final hire calculations, overlap periods, bunkers on board valuations, and other redelivery adjustments.
  • Quantum meruit claims – When charter parties are frustrated, repudiated, or void, disputes arise over what compensation is due for services actually rendered.

Payment disputes carry particular urgency because they often arise during ongoing charter performance, when vessels require cash flow for operational expenses and owners must decide whether to continue performance or take protective action.

Arbitration's Advantage

Arbitration proves especially valuable for payment and hire disputes because:

  • Speed of resolution – Payment disputes often require urgent determination, and arbitration can provide interim decisions or expedited proceedings faster than court litigation.
  • Preservation of confidentiality – Payment disputes may reveal commercially sensitive information about parties’ financial conditions, payment histories, and business relationships that parties prefer to keep private.
  • Understanding of charter party practices – Maritime arbitrators comprehend industry payment customs, the function of various payment clauses, and the commercial context in which payment disputes arise.
  • Practical remedies – Arbitrators can fashion solutions that allow parties to continue commercial relationships, such as payment plans or security arrangements, rather than applying rigid legal remedies.
  • International enforcement – Payment disputes in the maritime industry frequently involve parties in multiple jurisdictions, making the enforceability of arbitral awards under the New York Convention crucial.

Captain McKamie's Approach

Captain McKamie recognizes that payment disputes often involve not just legal rights but the financial viability of commercial relationships.  While strictly applying charter party terms, he is able to remains sensitive to the operational and commercial pressures facing both shipowners requiring cash flow and charterers managing global logistics.

In adjudicating payment and hire disputes, Captain McKamie:

  • Precisely analyzes charter party payment terms, including hire payment provisions, grace periods, anti-technicality clauses, and any provisions governing set-offs or deductions
  • Establishes clear timelines, determining exactly when payments were due, when they were made, and whether any applicable grace periods or banking days affect the analysis
  • Evaluates the validity of deductions or set-offs, requiring charterers to demonstrate clear entitlement to withheld amounts while protecting owners’ rights to full and timely hire
  • Considers whether withdrawal was justified, applying proper legal standards for determining whether hire was paid “in advance as per charter party” and whether owners followed required procedures
  • Assesses damages appropriately, whether for wrongful withdrawal by owners or wrongful withholding of hire or freight by charterers
  • Provides clear guidance on proper payment procedures and dispute resolution mechanisms to prevent future conflicts

Captain McKamie understands that payment disputes often arise from good-faith disagreements about offsetting claims rather than willful non-payment.  His approach seeks to resolve the underlying substantive disputes while ensuring that parties meet their fundamental payment obligations.

When parties face payment and hire disagreements, his balanced approach provides fair resolution that acknowledges both owners' rights to compensation and charterers' legitimate defenses, ensuring that neither party gains unfair advantage through strategic use of payment terms.

Comprehensive Arbitration Services for Charter Party Disputes

Beyond these common international maritime arbitrable dispute categories, Captain McKamie is able to handles the full spectrum of charter party conflicts, including disputes over:

  • Safe port and berth warranties
  • Ice and war risk clauses
  • Deviation and liberty clauses
  • Bills of lading and cargo claims under charter parties
  • Charterers’ indemnities and knock-for-knock provisions
  • Redelivery condition and location disputes
  • Charter party repudiation and frustration
  • Dispute resolution clause interpretation

The McKamie Advantage

When parties entrust their charter party disputes to Captain McKamie, they benefit from:

Real Maritime Experience – Captain McKamie has stood command on ship bridges, managed vessel operations, and confronted the practical challenges that generate charter party disputes.  This experience informs every decision he makes.

Legal Precision – His legal training ensures that awards rest on sound charter party interpretation and proper application of maritime law principles, enhancing their enforceability.

Efficiency Without Sacrifice of Thoroughness – Captain McKamie will manage yours arbitration proceedings expeditiously while ensuring parties have full opportunity to present evidence and argument.

Clear, Reasoned Awards – His decisions will explain the factual findings, legal reasoning, and analytical process underlying each award, promoting acceptance and understanding.

Practical Wisdom – Beyond strict legal rights, Captain McKamie considers commercial context, industry custom, and equitable principles to reach fair resolutions for all parties involved.

Impartiality and Independence – Captain McKamie maintains absolute neutrality, deciding each case on its merits without favor to either shipowners or charterers.

Serving the Maritime Community

Captain McKamie’s arbitration practice serves the diverse interests involved in charter party disputes:

  • Shipowners and operators seeking fair compensation for vessel services and protection of their withdrawal and lien rights
  • Charterers and traders requiring efficient cargo transportation and enforcement of charter party terms
  • Marine insurers subrogated to cargo interests or providing P&I coverage
  • Commodity traders and cargo owners whose goods move under charter parties
  • Ship management companies involved in operational disputes
  • Maritime executives and legal counsel seeking expert determination of complex charter party questions

Whether your dispute involves a routine laytime claim or a complex multi-million dollarmillion-dollar charter party repudiation, Captain Reginald E. McKamie Sr. provides the expertise, experience, and judgment necessary for fair and efficient resolution.

Contact Captain McKamie

For experienced, practical arbitration of charter party disputes, contact Captain Reginald E. McKamie Sr. to discuss how arbitration can resolve your maritime conflict efficiently and fairly.

When charter party disputes threaten your operations, trust an arbitrator who understands both the law and the sea.