Notice of Readiness (NOR)

What is a Notice of Readiness in shipping?

A Notice of Readiness is a document issued by the captain of a ship to showcase readiness for loading or unloading goods from/into his ship. When NOR is issued, it signifies to the person or company in need of the ship to be immediately available for loading or unloading of their goods.

NOR is an essential document because it supports the adherence to the time allotted for loading and unloading the charterer's goods. Most parties to a voyage charter make a conditional laytime for the issuance or a valid tender of NOR.

In the case where NOR is not issued or is invalid, the charterer will consider the vessel as not readily available on the basis of the agreement. For this, the charterer will not be liable for demurrage.