Charterparty Management For Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Tankers

Course details

Despite falling oil prices, the demand for LPG is growing at a much faster pace both in under developed and developed markets in Asia. There has been a steady increase in the number of LPG tankers as compared to LNG in the Middle East to Asian routes. There is now an important focus on the use of LPG vessels specific Charter Party Agreements to avoid the ambiguity of dormant clauses by adopting commonly used Charter Party Forms for petroleum tankers.

This training course with built-in workshops is exclusively developed “by and for” the professionals, engaged in niche segments of LPG Tankers (Ship Owners, Charterers and Ship Operators). Whether freight rates are high or inadequate to meet daily running costs of a vessel, the terms of engagement or the Charter Party must be reviewed microscopically. The operator has to ensure that all risks are well apportioned and appropriately mitigated. The number of intermediaries and multi-party transactions impose new and unknown risks for LPG Tanker Owners.

In this training course, you will be able to acquire expertise from real life experiences enabling them to deal better with the contemporary challenges facing gas export, import and transportation by LPG Tankers today. Some of the key challenges addressed in this intensive course are:

This course will cover the following:

Making a Choice of the Charterparty Form (SHELLTIME4, BPVOY, ASBATANKVOY, GASVOY, GASTIME, BPTIME) in context of type of Cargo, Vessel Type, terminals and duration;

Comprehensive Risks Identification, Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies;

o Computation and allocation of idle time

o Explicit measurement criteria for Lay time and Demurrage Claims

o Implication of SIRE and Obligations of the Owners

Termination of Time Charters for Cause and for Convenience

o Can the delays in damage repairs be considered as a breach?

o Fall in Market Prices and Restructuring of the existing Time Charterparty

Tank Cleaning Costs and Risk of Contaminants

o How much time and cost can a Charterer pay for tank cleaning and disposal of toxic slops

o Liabilities of Charterers for cargo tank debris / damage

o Liability of Terminal Operators and service providers in causing contaminations

Performance Obligations of the Parties as per the Charterparty Agreement

o Charterer’s Obligations, Bunkers and Boil-off Gas Limits

o Owner’s Obligations and Liabilities, ROB, Limits of Cargo Loss

o Bills of Lading and Responsibility Assignment Matrix

Course Objectives

This course is developed to meet the needs of the hour of the LPG industry fraternity, encompassing the following underlying objectives:

Enhance the interpretation and applicability of clauses in a Charter party in context of the available commercial proposition, market forces and economics of demand and supply;

Evaluate types of Charter party Forms for Voyage and Time Charter and comprehend the key features of each Form in context of use for LPG;

Interpret terms and conditions of a Charter party in context of international maritime conventions, competition and economic factors;

Evaluate current and future trends in LPG transportation and the influence of regulatory regimes and strategies of Oil & Gas Majors, Spot Traders and Storage Terminals;

Recognize the avenues of collaboration, contentions, conflicts and manage disputes to avoid losses;

Manage operations towards ensuring delivery of performance obligations under the Charter party; and

Create a Charter party Management System (CMS) in the company to ensure profitability for each voyage and term