PART II
Clause I - Preamble
A few technical changes have been made to the first paragraph of the preamble.
 
For instance, it will be seen that reference is now made to GT/NT instead of the old GRT/NRT to correspond with the requirement of the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969 which became effective for existing vessels as of 18 July, 1994.
 
It appears that under English law when the charter party contains an ETA or cancelling date, there is a strict obligation on the part of the owners to ensure that the vessel sets out on the ballast voyage in time to reach the loading port within ETA or before the cancelling date.
 
Whilst the exception clauses in a charter party may protect the owners for delays which occurs after the vessel sets out for the ballast voyage, they may not offer similar protection for delays which may result from the previous voyage(s) and against which the owners may have had no influence whatsoever. Therefore, in order to rectify this position the words “as soon as her prior commitments have been completed” have been incorporated immediately after “vessel” (line 7).
 
If shipment of deck cargo has been agreed between the owners and the charterers, liability for loss of or damage to such cargo should always rest with the charterers.
 
However, to emphasize this position it has been deemed appropriate to insert the words “and responsibility” after “Charterers’ risk” (lines 10/11)

As will be seen, the reference previously made to “delivery of cargo on being paid freight on delivered or intaken quantity” is now more appropriately covered in Clause 4 (Payment of freight).

Clause 2 - Owners’ Responsibility
Great care has been taken not to change the responsibilities of the owners and the charterers set out in this very important clause. It is useful to recall that the task of the sub-committee engaged in the revision of the GENCON Charter was to undertake a modest review of the Charter, adding clarity and certainty to the rights and obligations of the owners and the charterers and not to fundamentally change the basic character of the Charter.
 
Clearly, changing the responsibilities of owners and charterers as embodied in Clause 2 and which have been tested by a vast number of legal decisions would almost per se change the basic concept of the Charter.
 
The changes made to Clause 2 were therefore confined to the deletion of the earlier reference to “the improper or negligent stowage of the goods (unless stowage performed by the shippers/Charterers or their stevedores or servants) or”, which is a logical consequence of the fact that the revised GENCON now applies f.i.o. terms only (for further comments see below under Clause 5 (Loading/Discharging)).
 

Clause 3 - Deviation
No change has been made to this Clause.

Clause 4 - Payment of Freight
This Clause has been revised to provide for alternative freight payment methods in line with modern standard documents deve