Safe Berth

What it does

A safe berth warranty is the charterer's promise that the particular berth to which it orders the vessel will be safe for her, applying the same idea as the safe port warranty but at the level of the individual berth rather than the port as a whole. The ship must be able to get to the berth, lie at it, and leave it without exposure to avoidable danger, judged against the specific vessel and the conditions at the time.

It commonly sits alongside a safe port warranty, and the two can operate together: a port may be generally safe while a particular berth within it is not, or the reverse. Whether the charterer has promised berth safety, and whether that promise is absolute or qualified, decides who bears the loss when the nominated berth turns out to expose the ship to grounding, contact, or other harm.

Commercial effect

The safe berth warranty puts the risk of an unsafe berth on the charterer, which usually controls the berth nomination. Berth-specific hazards such as insufficient water at the quay, underwater obstructions, or inadequate fendering can damage the ship, and the warranty determines whether the charterer answers for that loss or whether it falls on the owner who had to comply with the order.

Because berths can be unsafe even within a safe port, the presence of a distinct berth warranty matters. Owners value it as closing a gap that a port-only warranty might leave; charterers weigh it as an additional and quite specific exposure. The strength of the promise, absolute or due diligence, is bargained just as it is for the port warranty, and the two are usually read together.

Owner's perspective

The owner wants a safe berth warranty in addition to the safe port warranty, so that danger arising at the specific berth, not just the port generally, is covered. The master must take the ship to the nominated berth on the charterer's orders, so the owner relies on the warranty to recover for berth-specific harm such as grounding at a quay with inadequate depth of water.

The owner prefers the berth warranty to be as firm as the port warranty and to extend to the approaches to the berth. It resists wording that would limit the promise to due diligence in nominating the berth, because that could leave the owner bearing loss from a hazard that was present but not reasonably discoverable when the berth was named.

Charterer's perspective

The charterer is cautious about an absolute safe berth warranty because berth conditions can change and some hazards are not reasonably knowable at the time of nomination. It prefers, where it can, a due-diligence standard, and it pays attention to the master's own duty to refuse a berth that is manifestly unsafe rather than proceeding and then claiming after the event.

The charterer also considers how the berth warranty interacts with local practice, since at some ports the choice of berth is effectively made by the authorities rather than the charterer. It tries to ensure it is not held strictly liable for a berth it did not truly select, and it aligns the warranty with the realities of the terminals in its trade.

Negotiation points

• Whether a distinct safe berth warranty is given in addition to the safe port warranty.
• Whether the berth promise is absolute or only a duty of due diligence in nominating the berth.
• Whether it extends to the approaches to the berth as well as the berth itself.
• How it applies where the berth is effectively chosen by the port authority, not the charterer.

Common variations

• A safe berth warranty paired with a safe port warranty, covering both levels.
• An absolute berth warranty guaranteeing the berth is safe for the vessel.
• A due-diligence berth promise rather than an absolute guarantee.
• A warranty extended to always safely afloat or to a stated depth of water at the berth.