Who pays for heating?

When a tanker broker arranged a voyage charter, the recap e-mail stated that the lump sum freight was inclusive of maintaining loaded temperature. The cargo description also stated “vessel to maintain loaded temperature”.

There were discussions between the broker and the charterers, with the charterers asking if the price included heating (allegedly without stating whether maintaining heat or heating up). The broker told them it did, but did not specify what this referred to.

It is normal for the vessel to pay the costs of maintaining the temperature of the cargo as loaded. The pro forma that was used for this fixture was silent on the issue of the costs of heating up. It was noted that Clause 25 (a provision that charterers would pay the costs of increasing the temperature of a cargo) of the charterer’s additional terms had been deleted. The reason for this deletion was probably that the charter was based on a pro forma which had been used on a clean products charter where such provisions were not necessary.

The owners insisted that the lump sum freight only included maintaining temperature as per
the fixture recap. The charterers faced a bill of USD 170,000 for heating up the cargo and stated they had sold the cargo on the basis the freight covered all costs. They claimed they had been mislead by the broker. Ultimately the claim was settled at USD 100,000, which was paid by ITIC, less the deductible.