G.R. No. 101503, 15 September 1993, 226 SCRA 476

FACTS:

Planters Products, Inc. (PPI), purchased from Mitsubishi International Corporation (MITSUBISHI) of New York, U.S.A., 9,329.7069 metric tons (M/T) of Urea 46% fertilizer which the latter shipped in bulk on 16 June 1974 aboard the cargo vessel M/V “Sun Plum” owned by private respondent Kyosei Kisen Kabushiki Kaisha (KKKK) from Kenai, Alaska, U.S.A., to Poro Point, San Fernando, La Union, Philippines, as evidenced by Bill of Lading No. KP-1 signed by the master of the vessel and issued on the date of departure.
On 17 May 1974, or prior to its voyage, a time charter-party on the vessel M/V “Sun Plum” pursuant to the Uniform General Charter2 was entered into between Mitsubishi as shipper/charterer and KKKK as shipowner, in Tokyo, Japan.3 Riders to the aforesaid charter-party starting from par. 16 to 40 were attached to the pre-printed agreement. Addenda Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 to the charter-party were also subsequently entered into on the 18th, 20th, 21st and 27th of May 1974, respectively.

ISSUE:

Whether a common carrier becomes a private carrier by reason of a charter-party.

RULING:

A “charter-party” is defined as a contract by which an entire ship, or some principal part thereof, is let by the owner to another person for a specified time or use; 20 a contract of affreightment by which the owner of a ship or other vessel lets the whole or a part of her to a merchant or other person for the conveyance of goods, on a particular voyage, in consideration of the payment of freight; 21 Charter parties are of two types: (a) contract of affreightment which involves the use of shipping space on vessels leased by the owner in part or as a whole, to carry goods for others; and, (b) charter by demise or bareboat charter, by the terms of which the whole vessel is let to the charterer with a transfer to him of its entire command and possession and consequent control over its navigation, including the master and the crew, who are his servants. Contract of affreightment may either be time charter, wherein the vessel is leased to the charterer for a fixed period of time, or voyage charter, wherein the ship is leased for a single voyage. 22 In both cases, the charter-party provides for the hire of vessel only, either for a determinate period of time or for a single or consecutive voyage, the shipowner to supply the ship’s stores, pay for the wages of the master and the crew, and defray the expenses for the maintenance of the ship.
It is therefore imperative that a public carrier shall remain as such, notwithstanding the charter of the whole or portion of a vessel by one or more persons, provided the charter is limited to the ship only, as in the case of a time-charter or voyage-charter. It is only when the charter includes both the vessel and its crew, as in a bareboat or demise that a common carrier becomes private, at least insofar as the particular voyage covering the charter-party is concerned. Indubitably, a shipowner in a time or voyage charter retains possession and control of the ship, although her holds may, for the moment, be the property of the charterer. 28

*Case digest by Ana Azalea O. Adraincem, LLB-IV, Andres Bonifacio Law School, S.Y 2018-2019