Chartering of a vessel is maritime term which is used to describe hiring or renting a

vessel especially for bulk cargo transportation. Both time and voyage charters are
types of charter party contracts that can used when chartering of vessels for bulk cargo
carriage.
There are different standard format time and voyage charter party contracts available
that can be used with different type of commodity transportation. For example;

 BIMCHEMTIME 2005 is a standard format time charter party contract,

which is created by BIMCO, is used when chartering vessels carrying chemicals in
bulk.
 Gencon 94 is a standard format voyage charter party contract, which is
created by BIMCO, is used when chartering vessels carrying commodity cargoes in
bulk.

What is a voyage charter party?

A voyage charter party can be defined as a legal contract, in which shipowners
promise to carry a particular cargo on a particular ship on a particular voyage for an
agreed sum.

What is a time charter party?

A time charter party can be defined as a legal contract, in which charterers are hiring
of vessels for a specific period of time from the shipowners.

What are the differences between voyage charter parties and time charter
parties?

Responsibilities of the Parties:

Time Charter Parties:
 Under time charter party contracts, shipowner remains responsible for the
technical operation of the vessel, but commercial control of the vessel is handled by
the charterer. 
 Under time charter party contracts, shipowner must cover all costs associated
with crewing, maintenance of the vessel and insurance, but vessel fuel consumption
and port charges will be compensated by the charterer.
Voyage Charter Parties:
 Under voyage charter party contracts both technical and commercial
management handled by the shipowner.
 Under voyage charter party contracts, shipowner is not only responsible for the
costs associated with crewing, maintenance of the vessel and insurance, but also pays
for all the costs of the voyage, including bunkers and port charges.
Duration:
Time Charter Parties:
 Time charter party contracts are signed for a limited period of time without
dictating a fixed route to the charterer. During the charter party contract period, the
charterer could operate the vessel commercially within allowed routes freely.
Voyage Charter Parties:
 Voyage charter party contracts are signed to carry specific amount of goods
between pre-determined route. Under voyage charter parties shipowners carry pre-
defined cargo between pre-determined ports. Once the transportation is completed, the
voyage charter party contract comes to an end.

Calculation of the Contract Amount:

Time Charter Parties:

 Under time charter party contracts charterers pay daily hire to the shipowners
of the vessels.
Voyage Charter Parties:
 Under voyage charter party contracts charterers are obliged to pay the freight to
the shipowners. Freight is calculated either according to the quantity of cargo loaded
or carried, or a lump sum freight (money paid to shipper for a charter of a ship up to
stated limit irrespective of quantity of cargo).