- •Elena a. Danilova
- •Capital letters
- •Indicating the state of the market
- •Opening lines
- •1.743 50
- •Conditions and qualifications
- •Supply and demand
- •Chapter 4. Packing and despatch.
- •Marking
- •Marking instructions
- •Invoicing, accounting and settlement of accounts.
- •21/24, Stamford Street, b.Lea
- •Sending the invoice or statement
- •Notifying payment of account
- •Errors and disagreements in accounts
- •Varying the terms of payment
- •Suggested opening lines for a first reminder
- •Miscellaneous phrases and sentences on accounting
- •Chapter 6. Shipping and forwarding.
- •Transhipment
- •Chartering of ships
- •Ship agents
- •Liability of transport and insurance
- •Opening an account
- •The banker's transfer
- •60 Days after sight of this first of
- •Value received payable at the current rate of
- •1. This Credit is to be (I)2
- •2. And advised through (Correspondent) (II) —————————.
- •3. In favour of (Beneficiary) (Address)3
- •Correspondence between buyers and sellers
- •The letter of credit
- •The jameson construction co. Ltd.
- •2 Bills of lading,
- •The aluminium alloy co. Ltd. Birmingham
- •Chapter 8.
- •Insurance.
- •Insurers
- •Documents used in insurance
- •Overseas transport
- •Correspondence
- •Instructions to insurance agents
- •Replies to complaints
- •Replies to complaints of poor quality
- •Secretarial.
- •Letters of congratulation
- •Letters of sympathy, condolence
- •Hospitality
- •The company secretary
- •Legal matters
- •Investments
- •Вс bank of commerce ltd. Plymouth
- •Vocabulary.
- •Terminology of drafts
- •55.Send a letter to a firm in an English-speaking country asking them to supply you with goods on better terms of payment. At present you are accepting drafts at 30 days.
Transhipment
[8] Letter to a forwarding agency concerning transhipment
Messrs. Paulino of Milan have informed us that you are their correspondent at Piraeus.
We are going to have to ship the goods listed below, which are currently in transit at Piraeus, from there to Bern in Switzerland. Messrs. Paulino have told us that the shipping documents for this transaction are to be prepared at your end, and we would be grateful if you would kindly let us know what you can do to get them ready for shipment, and what you need from us.
Please note that our agents in Athens are J. Dianedes & Co.; and that the bank handling the documents is the office of the National Bank of Greece in Plato St., Athens. We look forward to hearing from you very soon on this subject, and thank you in advance for your co-operation.
Chartering of ships
Chartering is a highly specialised business. When the senders of goods have very large shipments to make, and especially when bulk cargoes are concerned, it may be of greater advantage to them to have a whole ship at their disposal. They do not have to buy the ship but can hire it, and this is called 'chartering'. (The same word is also used for the hiring of a freight plane for the transport of merchandise.)
The chartering of ships is usually done through the intermediary of brokers, and in London there is a special centre called the Baltic Exchange* where the brokers operate, in much the same way as stock and share brokers on a stock exchange.
Ship brokers have an expert knowledge of rises and falls in rates for chartered ships, and the trends of the market. This is a very competitive business and there are no conferences to fix rates as in the case of the line companies: indeed, tramp rates fluctuate very rapidly, according to supply and demand. The tramp market may be compared with the liner trade in much the same way as one can compare the cost of raw materials with a finished product; for example, the price of raw sugar varies almost daily whereas the price of a packet of manufactured sugar remains constant until the raw price becomes so high or so low that the retail price of sugar has to be altered.
The contract between the shipowner and the charterer is called the charter party, and it is, understandably, a long and rather complicated document. To facilitate cable communication, code names have been devised to indicate the type of trade concerned and the part of the world it relates to. For example: 'BALTCON' for Baltic & White Sea Conference Coal Charter. (These code names are listed in any book of shipping terms.)
A charter party may be for the carriage of goods from one specified port to another, and is known as a voyage charter, or it may cover a period of time and is known as a time charter. In the case of a voyage charter there is, on the back of the charter party, a form of the bill of lading, to cover the shipment of the cargo. In some cases the charterers may not need the complete space in the vessel and may agree to carry cargo also for other shippers.
It is obvious that certain cargoes, such as oil and coal, require special vessels for their transport. Grain in bulk is carried in ships that can be loaded and unloaded by special apparatus—pouring the grain into the holds of the ship and sucking it out for unloading, which avoids the lengthy process of loading and unloading sacks (though this is still done sometimes).
Much of the business of chartering is done regularly by cable. The following are examples of the type of letters that would be required.
[9] From charterers to brokers
We are able to secure an order for 2,000 tons of coal and coke mixed, shipment Grimsby/Abo early next month. Please advise us of the lowest rate for a suitable fixture.
[10] The broker's reply
We thank you for your letter of 15 March, and confirm our cable of today reading as follows:
MV SCANDINAVIAN READY TO LOAD EARLY APRIL FULL CARGO AT £3.25
GRIMSBY ABO PLEASE CONFIRM CHARTERING IMMEDIATELY
As soon as we receive your instructions we shall be pleased to go ahead with the fixture.
[11] From charterers to brokers
We have entered into a contract for the supply of motor vehicles and parts, over the next six months, to West Africa and shall be glad to know if you can fix us a time charter for a suitable vessel.
The question of speed must be considered as the ship should be able to make 3 voyages in the time, allowing ... days for loading and unloading on each voyage.
In view of the general slackness of the market at the moment we hope that you can get us a really good offer.
[12] Reply from the brokers
In confirmation of our cable to you today, a copy of which we enclose, we are pleased to say we have found what we think should be a very suitable vessel for your purpose: the M.V. Mercury, cargo capacity. .. tons, average speed ... knots. She is, perhaps, a little larger than you require, but the owners are prepared to consider a special rate for a time charter.
Mercuryhas just completed a charter and can therefore be at Liverpool dock and ready to load by the end of next week.
We hope this fixture will suit you, and as soon as we receive your confirmation we will prepare the charter party.
There is also a considerable business in the buying and selling of ships;
the following letter is an example of such transactions.