Charter
The charter ( English "freight contract" ) is an Anglicism for the temporary transfer of an object against the payment of a usage fee .
General
The word charter is internationally limited to the means of transport of planes and ships and is mostly used as the abbreviation for charter traffic or charter contract. Charter is the renting or leasing of aircraft or ships.
The aim of the charter is that certain means of transport are to be used by other than the owners for a certain period of time . When it comes to chartering sailing and motor boats for holidays or regattas , this is commonly referred to as a yacht charter .
species
A distinction must be made according to the content and scope as well as the means of transport used:
Content and scope
In the case of a full charter , the entire capacity of the means of transport is rented or leased for a partial charter (or room charter ) only part of the capacity for the transport with personnel . This applies to all transport routes by water and in the air .
Mode of Transport
Depending on the means of transport, there is a charter flight or a ship charter.
- Aircraft charter
Tour operators use seat contingents ( partial charter ) with airlines or entire aircraft ( full charter ) for air travel .
- Ship charter
The following types of charter are distinguished in international maritime transport:
- Bareboat charter
The unmanned ship is left to the charterer for a single voyage or a defined period of time. The charterer has to take care of the ship management himself and bears the costs for maintenance , repairs and supplies during the period of use . As is customary internationally, a bareboat charter is agreed and charged in US $ per calendar day. Can the ship during this time z. B. are not used due to a technical defect, the charter has to bear this risk.
Bareboat charter plays an important role in flagging out , as this form, in accordance with Section 7 of the FlaggRG, makes it possible to sail under a foreign flag without leaving the German shipping register . In July 2011, 3166 ships with 67,994,048 GT were temporarily flagged out. According to the number of ships, the most popular foreign flags were Liberia and Antigua and Barbuda with 1194 and 1086 vehicles, respectively. In terms of tonnage, Liberia led the list by a long way with 40,432,091 GT. The bareboat charterer is called an outfitter if he equips the chartered ship with fuel, provisions, drinking water and technical ship requirements and operates it with his own crew including a captain. However, if the bareboat charterer agrees on a "management agreement" clause in which the owner of the ship is assigned the equipment including repairs and the crew including a captain ( English to demise ), he is called a demise charterer .
- Travel charter ( English Voyage Charter )
In contrast to the time charter, the ship owner makes the ship available to the charterer for a specific voyage and not for a corresponding period of time. The charter amount is therefore not calculated according to time, but according to the load. In general, there is for the loading and / or unloading ( English laytime a specified period of time determined by hours or days). If this period is exceeded, the start demurrage ( English demurrage ). For this, a fixed rate per hour or day is to be paid in addition in the charter contract. In the opposite case, the ship owner can pay the charterer a certain amount if the charterer stays below the laytime ( English dispatch ); this is often half of the demurrage amount. The shipowner bears the risk of delays . Cruises are a typical case of travel charter.
- Time charter ( English time charter )
The ship owner ( shipowner ) provides the operational, loadable and manned ship to the charterer for a defined period of time. As is customary internationally, a time charter is agreed and charged in US $ per day of use. In addition to the agreed charter, the charterer also pays the required fuel and the costs for port calls, canal passages, etc. The owner remains responsible for the technical condition of the ship and has to maintain the ship during the period. He can carry out the ship management himself or transfer it to a third party, the so-called contract shipping company . Can the ship during the period of use z. B. are not used due to docking or a technical defect, the ship is put off-hire , i.e. H. the charterer does not pay any charter for this period. With this type of charter, the risk of delays is on the part of the charterer.
Legal issues
The legal basis of the charter is a charter contract concluded between the carrier and the charterer . The classification of the charter contract into the contract types of the German law of obligations causes difficulties because of the numerous different designs. As a rule, it is a service contract and not a work contract . If the entire ship or aircraft is completely left to the charterer for use without a crew for a certain period of time, a rental agreement is in place. Is due to Employment - clause and the transfer of the team owed, the rules of generally come transport law applies. If the charter company (e.g. the airline ) only allows a contingent of seats for passengers (e.g. to a tour operator), a contract for work and services with the obligation to carry out collective transport is obvious.
The carrier is the owner of the means of transport or is authorized to act for its owner (e.g. shipping company ). The Commercial Code (HGB) only mentions the time charter in the maritime trade law in § 557 HGB , which obliges the “time charterer” to let the “time charterer” use a specific seagoing ship with a crew for it and to transport goods or people or others with this ship to provide agreed services.
Otherwise, laws don't mention the charter. The Passenger Transport Act (PBefG) speaks rather in § 46 PBefG of various driving purposes with motor vehicles that do not represent regular services from occasional services .
That is why the charter contract only exists as a type of contract for occasional traffic and for seagoing vessels, so that rental or leasing law applies to all other means of transport.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gerd W. Goede, Dictionary of International Trade , 1996, p. 82
- ↑ Verlag Dr. Th. Gabler (Ed.), Gablers Wirtschafts-Lexikon , Volume 2, 1984, p. 925
- ^ Georg Walldorf (Ed.), Gabler Lexikon Auslands -shops , 2000, p. 112
- ↑ Ulrich Stahl, The IPR of charter contracts (travel, time and bareboat charter) , in: Journal “Transportrecht” (TranspR), 2010, p. 258
- ↑ In German maritime trade law , bareboat charter as a ship rental is now regulated in Sections 553 ff. Of the German Commercial Code with effect from April 25, 2013 .
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from May 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF)
- ^ Association of German Shipowners (Ed.): Freight traffic over sea . Stern Verlag, Lüneburg 1993, ISBN 3-923603-00-2 .
- ↑ In German maritime trade law, the time charter is now regulated with effect from April 25, 2013 in §§ 557 ff. Of the German Commercial Code.
