定期租船合同出租人撤船权研究

Study on the ship owner’s right of withdrawal in time charterparty

出租人撤船权的正确行使与定期租船合同之履行及承租双方利益直接相关。在定期租船合同中,出租人撤船权往往规定在租金支付条款之中,承租人未能按时足额支付租金时,出租人能否行使撤船权很大程度上取决于租金支付条款的定性。租金支付条款应定性为中间条款,只有当承租人不支付租金行为构成毁约,或者在租金支付条款中明示撤船权的,出租人才可以行使撤船权。出租人行使撤船权还需符合宽限期要求,建议借鉴定期租船标准合同格式租金支付条款的规定,在《海商法》第140条中加入出租人撤船权行使的宽限期限制。

Exerting the right of withdrawal properly is directly related to fulfillment of time charterparty and the interests of both parties.In the time charterparty,the term of hire payment always include the details about right of withdrawal.When the charterer does not pay the hire timely and fully,the owner can withdrawal the vessel or not depend on the character of hire payment term.The terms of hire payment shall be identified as the intermediate terms.The owner may exercise the right of withdrawal only if the charterer’s not paying the hire constitutes a breach of contract,or the right of withdrawal is expressed in the terms of hire payment.Furthermore the grace period requirement shall be complied with.It is recommended to add the grace period requirement to Art.140 in Maritime Code of the People’s Republic of China.