Letter of Protest (LoP)
Before we list out the various protests that can and should be issued, let’s briefly discuss the difference between a Letter of Protest and a Note of Protest.
A Note of Protest is a declaration by the Master made in the presence of a notary, magistrate, consul officer or other authority declaring that the circumstances beyond his control have or may cause damage. It has much a stronger legal standing, e.g. Weather damage to ship or cargo.
A Letter of Protest on the other hand, is simply a statement of facts issued by the Master to the concerning party.
We will concern ourselves with only the Letters of Protest since Noting Protests is beyond the scope of this topic.
The following are the Letters of Protest that need to be issued on a case by case basis:
LoP for Delay in Granting Free Pratique: As discussed earlier, this LoP is extremely important in safeguarding the owners interest in the event of delay in granting free pratique. All laytime could be lost from NoR tendered time until the commencement of cargo operations if this protest is not timely lodged
LoP for Delays during Berthing / Unberthing: There is a very fine line between the time that is on charterers account and the time that is on owners account. For e.g. the time from NoR tendered until anchor aweigh is on charterer’s account.
However, the time from Anchor Aweigh until Pilot Onboard and right until All Fast is on the Owners account and charterers are
entitled to deduct the laytime for this period. Similarly, after completion, the charterers are entitled approximately 3 hours free of charge for the documents (B/L, Cargo Manifest, Quality Certificate, Quantity Certificate etc.) to be on board. After the documents are on board, all delays are entirely on the owners account. Hence, it is crucial to note down all delays and do your best to mitigate the delays which are in the vessel’s control. Issue the LoP with remarks explaining the delays
LoP for Ullaging while Rolling / Ullaging in Open Sea Conditions: These protests are more likely to be issued at Single Buoy Moorings (SBMs) or during STS operations than when the vessel is alongside a terminal. The rolling motion could give false Ullage resulting in a significant difference between ship and shore figures. The protest safeguards owners interest in the event of disputes
LoP for Slow Loading: This protest should be issued if the loading rate is lesser than the ship’s maximum loading rate. Care should be taken to mention the max. Loading rate in the Pre-Transfer (Key Meeting) between the Chief Officer and Loading Master. An explanation for the cause of the slow loading rate (eg: Less Chicksan Arms offered, size of reducers offered, shore pumping capacity, etc.) should be indicated. Specific indication of the time is important (i.e., the time the vessel would have completed loading with full rate and the time actually taken) for demurrage calculation
LoP for Short Loading: This protest should be issued if the final loaded quantity (ship’s figure) is lesser than the vessel nomination as per Charter Party / Voyage Orders
LoP for Free Water in Cargo: This protest is more important for Crude Oil Tankers than Product Tankers
Products loaded will generally be free of any free water. However, to safeguard owner’s interest, it is prudent to issue this protest even if no free water is detected. The protest will generally have a remark “Insufficient time allowed for settling of water. This may result in an increase of the quantity of water observed subsequently.” This comes in handy if nil water is detected at the completion of loading but water is detected later in the voyage
LoP for B/L Quantity: Due to various reasons, the ship’s figure and the B/L figure will never be the same. Hence, irrespective of the percentage of difference, a protest should be issued after applying the VEF, indicating the difference in quantity and the percentage of difference
LoP for B/L Issuance: This is a generic protest which follows up on a document issued by the Master called “Notice of B/L” which
instructs the terminal to issue a B/L incorporating the New Jason Clause, Clause Paramount, Both to Blame Collision clause, etc. More often than not, these clauses will not be included in the B/L and hence this protest becomes a necessity.
The above is not an exhaustive list of protests. For other incidents / issues, a general Letter of Protest can be issued with appropriate explanation for the protest. (e.g. Damage to vessel structure, different tables used, unsafe operations, etc.)
