What Is a Statement of Facts and How Should It Be Checked?

Whoever prepares the laytime calculation after completion was very often not in port. The most important evidence they have is the SOF: when notice was tendered, when work began, which stoppages occurred and why.

That makes the SOF more than an operational log; it is the foundation of the financial settlement between the parties. An incomplete or vague SOF can lead to lengthy arguments conducted by email weeks later. Recording events accurately, on site and as they happen, prevents most of those arguments from arising.

The SOF is also the memory of the call. When a cargo claim, stevedore damage claim or insurance matter surfaces months later, it is among the first documents consulted to establish what happened, in what order and under what conditions, so it deserves care beyond laytime alone.

Formats vary by port and agent, but certain entries are expected. Each is recorded with date and time, in the order events occurred.

A typical SOF includes:

In practice the SOF is usually prepared by the vessel's agent, drawing on ship's records, terminal data and its own follow-up. The master signs it, and depending on the contract and local practice, shippers, receivers or the terminal may sign as well.

Sometimes there is no single agreed SOF but several sets of records: the ship's log, the terminal's report and others. Differences between them are reconciled during the laytime calculation, which is why it matters that each party keeps its own independent records.

Circulating a draft to the parties before signature reduces arguments at the moment of signing. On longer operations, a draft SOF updated daily also removes the risk of entries being completed later from memory.

Stoppages are the most disputed part of any laytime calculation. Whether a stoppage counts against laytime often depends on its cause: weather, ship's gear breakdown, a terminal problem or cargo not being ready may each be treated differently.

Writing "operations stopped" is not enough. The entry should state start and end times, the cause and which hatches were affected. Rain stopping work at two hatches while the others continue, for example, may be treated differently from a stoppage of the whole ship.

Planned breaks such as shift changes, meal breaks and equipment changes should be recorded clearly too, as the contract may deal with them separately.

Most SOF errors come from entries completed after the event, from memory. Poor handover between shifts is another frequent cause.

The errors seen most often in practice are:

If a party believes an entry is wrong, it should say so when signing. In practice this means adding a remark next to the signature, signing "under protest" or issuing a separate letter of protest.

How an objection should be worded, and how it will be weighed later, depends on the contract and the facts. In any such dispute, the principal should act on the charter party terms and, where needed, on the advice of its legal advisers.

An objection is most useful when it is short, specific and factual, stating which entry is disputed, why, and what the correct time is according to the party's own records.

Throughout the operation, the port captain keeps independent time records: arrival, NOR, berthing, commencement and completion by hatch, stoppages and their causes. Before the agent's SOF is signed, it is compared with these records and any discrepancy is reported to the principal in time.

That comparison gives the principal independent data when laytime is calculated. Karan Gözetim can keep such records as part of its port captain service from Gemlik, with the scope agreed at the quotation stage.