Bottom Fouling: Whose head it falls on? Dr. Arun Kasi
Dr. Arun Kasi, 4-5 Gray's Inn Square
This article (in the same or a different version) previously appeared on Lloyd’s Shipping & Trade Law, Vol. 21, No. 7, September 2021, p. 1, The Report: The Magazine of the International Institute of Marine Surveying, No. 98, December 2021, p. 85 and The Marine Law Box, No. 6, January, 2022.
Bottom fouling by marine growth is a subject of frequent dispute in time charters. Bottom fouling increases the friction and thereby affects the performance of the vessel in terms both of speed and consumption. It also necessitates cleaning. The bottom may be in a fouled condition at the time the vessel is delivered or, as it happens more frequently, the bottom may get fouled during the charter service. When the bottom is fouled during the service, often that is due to the orders given by the charterer for a long idle stay on waters, such as at or outside port or at anchorage while awaiting berth or loading. Technically, bottom fouling may also result from slow steaming that a charterer might order.
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