Fixing letter. As soon as the negotiations about the chartering of a vessel have resulted in the “fixture” of a ship, a “fixing letter” may be drawn up containing a summary of the main terms and conditions of the charterparty.
This can also be communicated electronically (telex or facsimile) by means of a “re-cap” message. (“Re-cap” is an abbreviation of “recapitulation” which means a summary or a “going over” of the main points or headings of a transaction.) A fixing letter or re-cap message is confirmation of a charter fixture and is usually accepted by both shipowners and charterers before the signing of the actual charterparty document.
