Defence Guide 16 Mar, 2022 Defence Guide - Notices of redelivery in a nutshell Julien Rabeux Head of Claims (Singapore) The purpose of a notice of redelivery is to enable the owner to have enough time to fix the ship for her next employment. Usually the charter party will provide for example that “Charterers are to give Owners not less than 20/15/10/7 days approximate notice of vessels expected date of re-delivery, and probable port and 5/3/2/1 day(s) definite notice of redelivery”.  Download PDF Is the tender of a redelivery notice a prerequisite for redelivering a ship?  It is important to note that charterers can redeliver a vessel back to owners without issuing notices of redelivery. Although charterers will be in breach of contract, owners will not be able to reject the delivery of the ship and insist in continuing the charter.  Does an approximate notice need to be accurate? An approximate redelivery notice implies that there is no absolute obligation to redeliver on the approximate date given. An approximate redelivery notice is not contractually binding or a condition precedent to redelivery, unless the charter party and/or the notice state otherwise. Although an approximate notice of redelivery does not need to be precise, it must be given honestly and upon reasonable grounds. Owners will not be able to claim damages if the timing of such a notice is incorrect but was deemed reasonable and given honestly at the time when the notice was issued. Many events can arise between the first notice (20 days in the above example) and the actual redelivery (port congestion etc.). Definite notices of redelivery  A definite notice will have to be correct and accurate. If charterers redeliver the vessel within the charter party permitted period but give a definite redelivery notice with a shorter time frame than that required in the charter party and/ or do not serve any notice, owners will have a right to damages, although owners will still be oblige