To the Charterers' satisfaction, the Owners have to accept the Charterers' point and acknowledge the despatch due to Charterers, as the shipowners have no chance to prove that any hold (at least one) was prepared for inspection and therefore ready for loading.
I'm not entirely convinced that the owner's acceptance of full despatch was appropriate in this case. Such a conclusion would surely be dependent upon the entire construction of the charter party vis a vis the description of the loading berth and the full tendering/arrival terms. For example, if the contract specified "WIBON/WIPON" and/or "1 safe berth always accessible" as well as other customary terms found in standard charter parties (eg the "Waiting Outside Port Limits" clause in the Norgrain form), the conclusion might have been different. As expressed in your c/p extracts, the lack of hold passes prior to 2400/July 10 clearly provides the charterer with an pre-defined opportunity to cancel the contract, but it does not, by itself, necessarily support the conclusion that the original NOR was invalid as there may have been other relevant terms to consider. In its original form, the master may have, in all good faith, believed that his holds were ready for loading the cargo and, until instructed otherwise by a surveyor, he would have considered his NOR valid. Indeed, it is possible that other customary c/p arrival terms would permit that only the time lost for cleaning the holds would be excepted from laytime. Otherwise, I applaud your initiative and look forward to your next posting.
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