What does affreightment mean?
Affreightment is a noun used chiefly in maritime law and international trade to describe the contract by which a shipowner agrees to carry goods by sea for a merchant, in return for payment known as freight. It covers the whole range of arrangements for hiring shipping capacity — from a full vessel taken under charter to a single consignment booked as part cargo. The term appears most often in bills of lading, charter agreements, and legal commentary on admiralty matters, and it carries a distinctly formal, professional register: few people outside shipping circles ever use it. Its value lies in precision. Where 'freight' refers to the cargo or its cost, and a 'charterparty' is one particular kind of shipping agreement, affreightment names the overarching contract of carriage itself. For anyone reading shipping documents, studying maritime law, or negotiating the movement of goods overseas, understanding affreightment clarifies exactly who is obliged to do what — and at whose risk and expense.
nounA contract by which a shipowner agrees to provide a vessel, or space on it, for the carriage of goods in exchange for freight; the hiring of a ship for transporting cargo.
- The contractual engagement of a vessel or shipping space for the conveyance of goods by sea, whether by full charter or partial booking.
- More broadly, any contract of carriage of goods by water between a shipowner and a merchant.
"The grain merchant entered into an affreightment with the shipping line to move the harvest across the Atlantic."
"Under the terms of the affreightment, the shipowner was responsible for loading the steel within forty-eight hours of arrival."
"Maritime lawyers drafted the contract of affreightment to cover both the voyage charter and the laytime penalties."
The plural is rare but legitimate when referring to multiple such contracts, e.g. across a fleet's portfolio of shipping agreements.
"The company's ledger recorded dozens of affreightments concluded over the trading season."
Every container crossing the ocean sits atop a legal document called an affreightment — a word so old its roots trace back to medieval contracts for hiring ships.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of affreightment
Affreightment derives from the verb 'affreight', meaning to hire a ship for the carriage of goods, which in turn comes from 'freight'. Freight entered English from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German 'vracht' (or 'vrecht'), the hire paid for transporting goods by water, reflecting the dominance of Hanseatic and Netherlandish maritime commerce in medieval northern Europe. The word has been used in English commercial and legal writing since at least the early modern period, and it remains current in admiralty law today. It shares its Germanic root with related shipping terms such as freightage.
How affreightment is actually used
Affreightment is a technical term confined almost entirely to maritime law and commercial shipping contexts. It is formal and rarely encountered outside contracts, legal textbooks, and trade documentation. In everyday speech, people simply say 'charter' or 'shipping contract'. The word is understood in both British and American admiralty practice.
Easily confused with affreightment
Freight is the cargo itself or the charge for carrying it, whereas affreightment is the contract for hiring a ship or shipping space to carry that cargo.
A charterparty is one specific type of affreightment — a detailed charter agreement — while affreightment is the broader term for any contract of carriage by sea.