affreightment
Definition
- Noun (Maritime Law):
- Contract for carriage of goods by sea: "affreightment" refers to a legal agreement between a shipowner and a charterer (or shipper) for the transportation of cargo aboard a vessel. This contract specifies terms such as freight charges, loading and unloading responsibilities, and voyage details.
Usage Examples
- (A legal agreement for sea transport.)
- (The contractual obligations regarding loading.)
Advanced Usage
- "contract of affreightment": The full legal term for the agreement.
- Disputes over demurrage often arise from the contract of affreightment. (Disagreements about delay costs originate from the shipping contract.)
Variants and Related Words
- Freight (n): goods transported by ship, plane, or truck.
- The freight was loaded onto the vessel. (The cargo was placed on the ship.)
- Freighter (n): a ship designed to carry cargo.
- The freighter departed from the port. (The cargo ship left the harbor.)
Synonyms
- Charter party: a specific type of contract for hiring a ship.
- Shipping agreement: a general term for contracts related to sea transport.
- Bill of lading: a document of title for goods being shipped (though not identical, it is closely related to affreightment).
Related Idioms
- "to be under affreightment": to be subject to a shipping contract.
- The vessel is currently under affreightment for a voyage to Australia. (The ship is operating under a contract for cargo transport.)
Phrasal Verbs
- None directly associated with "affreightment" itself, as it is a noun. However, related verbs include:
- "to charter a ship": to hire a vessel under a contract.
- They chartered a ship for the oil shipment. (They hired a ship via a contract of affreightment.)
- "to freight goods": to load cargo for transport.
- The company freighted the machinery to Europe. (They arranged for the cargo to be shipped.)