Reachable on Arrival

What it does

A reachable on arrival undertaking, often paired with the phrase always accessible, is a promise by the charterer that on the vessel's arrival a berth will be available which the ship can actually reach without delay. Unlike the arrival-shifting clauses, it is framed as a positive obligation on the charterer rather than as wording about when a notice may be tendered, and breaking it gives the owner a claim.

The practical effect is that if the ship arrives and cannot get to a berth, whether because of congestion, tidal restrictions, or other obstacles within the scope of the promise, the charterer is in breach and owes the owner for the resulting delay. This claim can run in parallel with, or instead of, laytime and demurrage, and is one of the most owner-favourable ways of dealing with the risk of a berth not being available.

Commercial effect

Reachable on arrival is a powerful allocation of berthing risk to the charterer, because it turns the unavailability of a reachable berth into a breach sounding in damages rather than merely a question of whose time is running. The owner can recover for delay even where laytime or demurrage might not bite, which makes the undertaking valuable precisely at the difficult ports where it matters most.

The scope of the promise is the battleground: whether it covers only congestion, or also tidal and weather obstacles to reaching the berth, determines how much the charterer has taken on. Because the consequences are damages rather than a simple time count, the wording is negotiated carefully and the clause is read alongside the laytime and notice provisions to see how the remedies overlap.

Owner's perspective

The owner values a reachable on arrival or always accessible undertaking because it places the risk of a berth being unreachable squarely on the charterer and gives a damages claim if the promise is broken. It is often more effective than the arrival-shifting clauses, since it can capture delay caused by obstacles, such as tides, that whether-in-berth-or-not wording may not clearly reach.

The owner wants the undertaking drafted broadly, ideally covering anything that prevents the ship reaching the berth on arrival, and wants it clear that the remedy is damages independent of the laytime regime. That breadth lets the owner recover for waiting time in circumstances where a laytime argument alone might fail, so the wording is something the owner presses for at congested or tidally constrained ports.

Charterer's perspective

The charterer is cautious of reachable on arrival because it converts berthing problems into a breach for which the charterer pays damages, even where it has no real control over the cause, such as congestion or tide. Accepting a broad undertaking at a difficult port can be a significant and somewhat open-ended exposure compared with an ordinary laytime count.

Where it gives the undertaking, the charterer tries to narrow its scope, for instance limiting it to congestion and excluding tidal or weather obstacles, and to clarify how the resulting claim interacts with laytime and demurrage so it is not exposed twice for the same delay. It also weighs the promise against the berths it expects to use and against its onward contractual terms.

Negotiation points

• Whether a reachable-on-arrival or always-accessible undertaking is given at all.
• The scope of the promise — congestion only, or also tidal and weather obstacles.
• Whether the remedy is damages independent of, or overlapping with, laytime and demurrage.
• How the undertaking aligns with the specific berths and ports in the charterer's trade.

Common variations

• Reachable on arrival, promising a berth the ship can reach without delay on arriving.
• Always accessible, often read to cover both reaching and, in some trades, leaving the berth.
• An undertaking confined to congestion, excluding tidal or weather-related obstacles.
• The undertaking combined with whether-in-berth-or-not wording for overlapping protection.