Whether in port or not (WIPON). In the English Court of Appeal decision in The Kyzikos, 1987, which dealt mainly with the phrase “whether in berth or not”, it was said:
“Notice of Readiness may be given whether in berth or not . . . therefore Notice of Readiness may be given before the vessel has reached its contractual destination. Some limit must , of course, be placed on the provision. Nobody suggests that Notice of Readiness can be given while the vessel is still at sea (I say nothing as to the effect of `whether in port or not’, which was also included in this charterparty . . .)”
The above statement would seem to suggest that either in a “berth charter” or in a “port charter” the owner can give Notice of Readiness even though the vessel has not reached the port nor the commercial, fiscal and legal limits of the port, nor be at the effective and immediate disposition of the charterer. It would seem to suggest that the Notice of Readiness could be given even though the vessel is not an “arrived ship”.
However, the use of these seldom-used words covers the possibility that a bunkering berth or other berth might be “at” a port but not “in” a port and may allow for port formalities and procedures, such as Customs clearance, to be completed while the vessel was outside the port limits, thus allowing a Notice of Readiness to be “valid”.
