The age of modern container shipping has been with us for over two decades, yet until recently there was no time charter specially dedicated to the charter of complete container ships. The practice has been to amend standard charters such as the New York Produce Exchange charterparty, with the addition of the Inter-Club Agreement recommended by the P. & I. Clubs, or “Baltime” or “Linertime”.1 By contrast, much of the interest in container operations has been in the use of cross or slot chartering of ship space to facilitate joint services based on a variety of charter-parties dedicated to the particular type of joint operation, although often containing similar terms. The confidentiality invested in these contracts may have militated against adoption of a standard form, although many of their basic features have been well described.2 In respect of full ship chartering, the gap created by the absence of a standard charterparty dedicated to containership operations can now be filled by the “Uniform Time Charter Party For Container Vessels,” code name “Boxtime,” developed in 1990 by BIMCO.3 Apart from the review of the charter-party in the BIMCO special bulletin,4 there is an important Guide written by the originator of the project, which provides a complete review of Boxtime and explains the background to and object of its clauses.5 This article will attempt to review the charterparty briefly in the light of some aspects of law and practice.

The drafting working party sought to provide a relevant and balanced document acceptable to both sides of the contract after consultation. It is clearly written and it has a distinctively structured format. Boxtime reflects the current concern with quality in the drafting of chartering agreements and the balance achieved owes