THE TURN-ROUND OF A SHIP IN PORT J

The dock pilot once more comes on board, the vessel is
manceuvred out through the dock entrance into the river,
where the channel pilot takes charge until the open sea is
reached and the vessel is once more on her way to “ foreign
parts.”
CUSTOM OF THE PORT

Although an outline has been given, in general terms,
of the procedure which follows the arrival of a ship in port,
it must be understood that it is subject to no little variation
in detail according to circumstances of locality, trade and
other factors. Particularly is this the case in regard to
locality. One of the most difficult things for the outsider
to understand and allow for, is what is known as the
Custom of the Port—that is, some special custom or
practice relating to a particular port differing from the
common procedure and, therefore, introducing all sorts
of complications. A business man at a single port can,
no doubt, soon become familiar with the peculiar customs
at his port, but the shipowner whose vessels visit a great
number of ports will require almost a lifetime in which to
acquire a working knowledge of them all. To circumvent
any possible interference from this cause, clauses may be
found introduced into charter parties specifying conditions
and terms of loading and unloading ‘‘ notwithstanding any
custom of the port to the contrary.”

To take one illustration, in the grain trade of the Port of
London, the receiver is entitled to a period of twenty-four
hours after the reporting of the vessel at the Customs House
in which to take delivery, and the shipowner, however
anxious he may be to effect prompt discharge, is obliged to
await the consignee’s convenience within those limits. This
particular custom has probably arisen from the practice
of selling and reselling grain cargoes while en route, with
the consequent transfer through several hands of the
delivery orders up to the moment of the ship’s arrival.

Port Customs have originated and developed on all sorts

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