Tank Cleaning

What it does

A tank cleaning clause sets the standard to which a tanker's cargo tanks must be cleaned before loading the next cargo, and allocates the time and cost of achieving it. Different cargoes demand different degrees of cleanliness, from a simple wash to a rigorous standard for sensitive parcels, and the clause defines what is required and who is responsible for getting the tanks to that condition.

It also deals with inspection, since a charterer's surveyor typically checks the tanks before loading and can reject them if they fail the agreed standard. The clause therefore addresses what happens if tanks are rejected, including further cleaning, the time it consumes, and how that time is treated for laytime and hire, making it a frequent flashpoint in the tanker trades.

Commercial effect

Tank cleanliness directly affects both the cargo and the schedule. A failed inspection means re-cleaning, which costs time and money and can delay loading, so the standard required and who bears the cleaning burden are real commercial terms. For sensitive cargoes the required standard can be demanding, and meeting it can be a significant part of the turnaround between voyages.

How the time and cost are allocated, and how rejected tanks are handled, can move meaningful sums. If cleaning time counts against the owner, delays erode its schedule; if it falls on the charterer, the charterer carries the cost of a demanding standard. The clause is read with the laytime and, on time charters, the hire and off-hire provisions, since cleaning delays raise questions about whose time is running.

Owner's perspective

The owner wants the required cleaning standard defined clearly and realistically, so that it knows what its crew or contractors must achieve and is not exposed to an open-ended or subjective cleanliness requirement. It wants the time and cost of ordinary cleaning recognised appropriately and resists standards that are impractical for the ship or the cargo sequence in question.

The owner also wants a fair inspection and rejection process, so that tanks are not rejected on unreasonable grounds and that, where genuine further cleaning is needed, the consequences are allocated according to fault. It links the clause to the laytime and, on time charters, the off-hire provisions, to manage how cleaning time affects the running of the clock.

Charterer's perspective

The charterer wants the tanks clean enough to protect its cargo from contamination, which for sensitive parcels means a demanding standard and a right to inspect and reject. It is willing to specify what it needs but wants confidence that the ship can deliver it, since contamination of a cargo can be far more costly than the cleaning itself.

The charterer also weighs who bears the time and cost, since a high standard can slow the turnaround and a rejection can delay loading. It negotiates the allocation so that ordinary cleaning is the owner's responsibility while genuinely exceptional requirements are recognised, and it aligns the cleanliness standard with the demands of its sale contracts for the cargo being loaded.

Negotiation points

• The cleaning standard required before the next cargo, which varies with cargo sensitivity.
• Who bears the time and cost of cleaning, and of any re-cleaning after rejection.
• The inspection and rejection process and the grounds on which tanks may be failed.
• How cleaning time is treated for laytime and, on time charters, for hire and off-hire.

Common variations

• Cleaning to a standard sufficient for the next cargo as nominated.
• Cleaning to a defined high standard for sensitive or clean petroleum cargoes.
• Owner responsible for ordinary cleaning, with exceptional requirements for the charterer.
• A clause addressing rejected tanks, re-cleaning, and the time it consumes.