Notice of Readiness in Shipping: When Is NOR Valid and When Does Laytime Start?

A Notice of Readiness (NOR) is the formal notice by which a vessel states, subject to the charterparty, that she has reached the required contractual location and is ready to load or discharge. A valid NOR is often the trigger for laytime—but tendering it does not necessarily mean that laytime starts immediately.

The practical questions are therefore not only “Has the NOR been sent?” but also: was the vessel an arrived ship, was she genuinely ready, was the notice served in the agreed way and what does the charterparty say about the commencement of laytime?

01 — What Is a Notice of Readiness?

A Notice of Readiness in shipping is a contractual notice stating that the vessel has arrived at the port or berth required by the charterparty and is ready to load or discharge the nominated cargo.

The BIMCO Laytime Definitions for Charter Parties 2013 describe NOR in similar terms: it is the notice to the party required by the charterparty that the vessel has arrived at the port or berth, as applicable, and is ready for cargo operations. Those BIMCO definitions apply when incorporated into the contract; they do not override the agreed fixture by themselves.

The master normally tenders NOR to the party specified in the charterparty. The notice asserts that the vessel is available for the agreed cargo service.

02 — Why NOR Matters

A valid NOR commonly sits between arrival and the start of laytime and demurrage. If the required notice is invalid, premature or never properly served, the owner may face an argument that the laytime clock did not start when claimed.

That matters because laytime allocates the agreed loading or discharging time under a voyage charter. Once the allowance is exhausted, demurrage may become payable according to the contract. Moving the effective NOR by several hours—or several days during congestion—can materially change a claim.

NOR therefore connects the vessel’s operational condition with the commercial risk allocation in the charterparty. Owners want time to begin at the earliest contractually permitted point. Charterers need confidence that the vessel had reached the right place and was genuinely ready when the notice was given.

03 — When Can NOR Be Tendered?

There is no universal tendering point. The starting place is the charterparty: is the contractual destination a port or a berth, and have clauses such as WIBON or WIPON modified the basic position?

An anchorage can be the relevant waiting place, but “at anchorage” is not a complete answer. A customary port waiting area, remote anchorage and pilot station are not necessarily equivalent. The contract and facts determine whether the location is sufficient.

Under a berth charter, the owner normally needs wording that permits NOR before the berth is reached. WIBON may help when the berth is unavailable, but it must be read with the rest of the fixture.

The notice must also follow the agreed procedure. Check the permitted recipient, method and hours. If the clause specifies email, an address and local office hours, use them. If it lists exclusive methods that do not include email, an email alone may be disputed. Keep proof of transmission and, where available, the agent’s or charterer’s acknowledgement.

04 — What Makes a Notice of Readiness Valid?

Although every fixture must be read on its own terms, a valid NOR will normally require the following questions to be answered satisfactorily:

1. Contractual destination: Has the vessel reached the port, berth or permitted waiting place identified by the charterparty?
2. Physical readiness: Can the vessel actually load or discharge the nominated cargo?
3. Legal readiness: Have the required formalities, permissions and documents been completed—or validly addressed by the agreed wording?
4. Cargo-space condition: Are the holds, tanks, pipelines, pumps and other relevant systems ready for the particular cargo?
5. Contractual service: Was the notice sent to the correct party using a permitted method?
6. Timing: Was it tendered within the allowed window, and what provision governs its receipt or effectiveness?

Readiness must be genuine. If hold cleaning remains unfinished, cargo is inaccessible, essential equipment cannot operate or a ship-related deficiency prevents clearance, NOR may be premature.

Some clearances are routine or obtainable only after berthing, while some charterparties permit NOR before free pratique or customs clearance. The key question is whether the outstanding matter is a formality, a real impediment to cargo work or a condition addressed by the contract.

05 — Physical Readiness vs Legal Readiness

A bulk carrier with wet residues in a hold is not physically ready for a moisture-sensitive cargo. A tanker whose tanks fail the required cleanliness inspection may face the same problem. By contrast, a vessel may be physically ready but still await a health or customs formality. Whether NOR can nevertheless be tendered may turn on WIFPON, WCCON, local practice and the precise commencement clause.

Readiness is cargo-specific. Operators should connect the NOR decision with the cargo description, previous cargoes, cleaning standard, survey requirements and any express warranties.

06 — WIBON, WIPON, WIFPON and WCCON

These abbreviations are risk-allocation tools. They can widen the circumstances in which NOR may be tendered while a vessel is waiting, but none should be treated as an automatic guarantee of validity.

BIMCO gives specific meanings to WIBON and WIPON when its definitions are incorporated. Fixtures may amend them, so read the whole NOR and laytime mechanism—not only the four-letter recap.

07 — When Does Laytime Start After NOR?

Tendering NOR does not necessarily mean that laytime starts immediately. A valid notice may activate a separate commencement provision: six hours after receipt, at a stated time on the next working day, or under another negotiated formula. Weekends, holidays, office hours and “unless sooner commenced” wording may also affect the calculation.

The second example deliberately uses a fresh notice at the opening of contractual hours. Depending on the wording and governing law, an out-of-hours notice may be treated differently. Retendering without prejudice to the earlier NOR is a practical way to protect the record when there is doubt; legal advice may be needed on the effect of any disputed notice.

08 — What Happens If NOR Is Invalid?

An invalid NOR may fail to trigger laytime. The exposure grows when the vessel waits for days and the parties calculate time from different starting points.

Common causes include tender before the contractual destination is reached, unclean holds or tanks, inaccessible cargo, incomplete ship-related clearances, failed inspection, service on the wrong party or use of a non-permitted method. A notice that was factually premature does not normally become valid automatically just because the vessel later reaches the correct place or becomes ready.

If there is doubt, the master should normally tender a fresh NOR once the vessel is unquestionably arrived and ready, stating that it is without prejudice to the validity of earlier notices. The later notice does not concede the earlier one was invalid; it creates an additional contractual record.

09 — Common NOR Disputes in Real Operations

• Berth congestion: Was the fixture a port or berth charter, and did WIBON or waiting-time wording transfer the risk?
• Anchorage position: Was it the customary or recognised waiting place permitted by the contract, or merely a convenient offshore location?
• Berth unavailable: Was the vessel prevented by congestion, or was the berth inaccessible for a different reason not covered by the clause?
• Hold or tank rejection: Did the failed inspection show that the vessel was not ready when NOR was tendered? When were defects rectified and was a fresh NOR served?
• Free pratique and customs: Were these routine formalities addressed by WIFPON/WCCON, or did a substantive problem prevent lawful operations?
• Shifting: Does time spent moving from anchorage to berth count, and does the charterparty exclude it or place it on a particular party?
• Early or out-of-hours NOR: Was the notice factually premature, merely served outside a contractual window, or effective only at a later time?
• Multiple NORs: Which notice was valid, when was it received and was each tender made without prejudice to the previous one?
• Weather delay: Weather may affect access, readiness or time counting differently. The NOR issue should be separated from later weather exceptions in the laytime calculation.

Congestion is where these issues become especially expensive. A vessel may be operationally ready yet wait several days before berthing. Whether those days fall on the owner or enter laytime depends on the arrived-ship analysis, the NOR clauses and any separate “time lost waiting for berth” provision. For wider context, see Tide Signal’s guide to port delays and commercial waiting-time risk.

10 — NOR vs Statement of Facts

NOR and the Statement of Facts are not the same document. NOR is the vessel’s contractual declaration of arrival and readiness. The Statement of Facts records the chronology of the port call: arrival, anchoring, NOR tender and acceptance, free pratique, berthing, inspections, cargo operations, stoppages and completion.

The Statement of Facts does not automatically prove that an NOR was legally valid. It can, however, become important evidence when the parties reconstruct events and calculate laytime. Times in the NOR, emails, deck log, port records and Statement of Facts should be consistent. This section should later link to the planned Tide Signal guide: Statement of Facts (SOF) Explained.

11 — Worked Voyage Example: M/V Tide Star

The following fictional example is illustrative. Assume a port charter with NOR permitted WIBON, WIPON, WIFPON and WCCON by email to charterers and agents between 08:00 and 17:00 Monday to Saturday. Laytime begins six hours after valid NOR. The vessel’s dry bulk holds must be clean, dry and ready for inspection.

On these assumptions, laytime potentially commences at 14:15 on 12 March—not when the vessel berths and not when loading begins. If the holds had failed at 11:20 on 13 March, the parties could dispute whether the vessel was truly ready at 08:15 the previous day. The inspection result, cleaning records, photographs, survey evidence and charterparty wording would then become important.

12 — Practical NOR Checklist for Masters and Operators

1. Verify the NOR, arrived-ship and laytime clauses in the final charterparty and recap.
2. Confirm whether the fixture is a port charter or berth charter.
3. Confirm that the contractual destination or permitted waiting place has been reached.
4. Check physical readiness for the nominated cargo.
5. Check hold or tank condition, access and relevant cargo equipment.
6. Confirm free pratique, customs and other required clearances—or the clauses addressing them.
7. Use the contractually permitted tendering method and correct recipient details.
8. Check office hours, notice periods, weekends and holidays.
9. Record times in local time and state the time zone clearly.
10. Preserve sent emails, delivery records and agent or charterer acknowledgements.
11. Retender without prejudice if there is any reasonable doubt about an earlier NOR.
12. Ensure the Statement of Facts, deck log and correspondence accurately record the sequence.

Notice of Readiness: Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Notice of Readiness in shipping?

It is the notice by which the vessel states, subject to the charterparty, that she has reached the required contractual location and is ready to load or discharge. A valid NOR is commonly a condition for the commencement of laytime.

Can NOR be tendered while the vessel is at anchorage?

Potentially, yes. The answer depends on whether the anchorage is the contractual or customary waiting place and whether the port/berth wording, WIBON, WIPON or other clauses permit tender there.

Does WIBON automatically make an NOR valid?

No. WIBON may address berth unavailability, but the vessel must still satisfy the other contractual requirements, including readiness, location as modified by the clause, timing and correct service.

Does laytime start as soon as NOR is tendered?

Not necessarily. The charterparty may provide a notice period, an office-hours mechanism or a specific commencement time. The exact laytime start must be calculated from the agreed wording.

What happens if the holds or tanks fail inspection?

A failure may support an argument that the vessel was not physically ready when NOR was tendered. The result depends on the contract, the reason for failure, the facts at tender and any cure or retender provisions. Record rectification and tender a fresh NOR where appropriate.

Should the master tender more than one NOR?

If validity is uncertain, a fresh NOR can be tendered when the vessel is unquestionably arrived and ready, without prejudice to earlier notices. This protects the timeline without necessarily abandoning the owner’s position on the first NOR.

Sources and Further Reading

• BIMCO — Laytime Definitions for Charter Parties 2013
• BIMCO — Official Laytime Definitions PDF
• Gard — Notice of readiness and the commencement of laytime
• Steamship Mutual — Notice of Readiness: FAQs
• Steamship Mutual — Notice of Readiness under voyage charterparties
• Skuld — A brief history of laytime