Reading the Notice of Readiness
A cadet on a coastal cargo vessel is handed two documents. Document A, a Notice of Readiness, states: "The vessel arrived at the pilot station at 06:40 and is in all respects ready to load 3,200 tonnes of bagged cement from 08:00 on 12 May." Document B, the deck log, records that the port authority closed the berth for dredging from 09:00 to 15:00 on 12 May and that loading actually began at 16:10 the same day. The charterer's agent argues the notice was invalid because the vessel was not at the berth. The master asks the cadet to summarise the position in plain English for a report, keeping the distinction between arrival, readiness and actual commencement of work clear.
1. Identify which document is the primary factual record and which is the formal declaration, and explain why the distinction matters for the dispute.
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Document B (deck log) is the primary factual record. It is compiled contemporaneously by the crew and records observable events: berth closure 09:00–15:00 and loading start 16:10.
Document A (Notice of Readiness) is a formal declaration. It asserts arrival at the pilot station at 06:40 and readiness from 08:00.
Why it matters: The agent attacks the notice on the ground that the vessel was not at the berth. But a notice normally turns on arrival at the agreed place (here the pilot station) and readiness, not on being alongside. The log does not contradict arrival or readiness - it explains a delay caused by the port, not by the ship. So the two documents are not in conflict; they answer different questions. Keeping them separate prevents the agent's argument from being accepted by default.
2. Using the times given, state the delay that is attributable to the port rather than to the vessel, and show your reasoning.
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Readiness was declared from 08:00. Work could not begin until 16:10.
Total gap: 16:10 − 08:00 = 8 hours 10 minutes.
Break this down:
- 08:00 to 09:00 = 1 h 00 min (no recorded impediment - this is ordinary waiting).
- 09:00 to 15:00 = 6 h 00 min (berth closed for dredging - port's act).
- 15:00 to 16:10 = 1 h 10 min (reopening and preparation).
So 6 hours is directly documented as port-caused. The remaining 2 h 10 min is not automatically the vessel's fault either; it simply is not evidenced as port closure. A careful report should say 6 hours are clearly port-attributable and the balance is unexplained on the documents as they stand.
3. Write the two or three sentences the cadet should put in the report, in plain English, that a non-technical reader could follow.
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A model answer:
"The vessel reached the pilot station at 06:40 and declared itself ready to load from 08:00 on 12 May. The deck log shows the berth was shut by the port authority for dredging between 09:00 and 15:00, and loading only started at 16:10. The log therefore does not show the ship was unready; it shows the port kept the ship waiting for six hours."
Why this wording works: it states facts first, keeps the three times (arrival, readiness, actual start) distinct, and draws a limited conclusion that the evidence supports - without overstating what the log proves about the remaining 2 h 10 min.