Legal Definitions - forward and backward at sea

Forward and backward at sea is a term used in marine insurance to define the comprehensive scope of coverage for a vessel's movements during a specified voyage.

It signifies that the insurance policy covers the ship for all its operational movements, including any intermediate stops, diversions, and various ports visited along the entire course of its journey. This is distinct from coverage that might only apply to a direct trip from a single starting point to a single destination and then back. Essentially, it ensures protection for the full, often complex, itinerary of the vessel as it navigates between different locations, encompassing all the necessary maneuvering and port calls.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Container Ship Route: Imagine a large container ship insured for a voyage from the Port of Los Angeles to Tokyo. However, its planned itinerary includes scheduled stops in Honolulu and Busan (South Korea) to load and unload cargo before finally reaching Tokyo. The "forward and backward at sea" clause ensures that the marine insurance policy covers the vessel not just for the direct journey between Los Angeles and Tokyo, but also for its movements, operations, and time spent at the intermediate ports of Honolulu and Busan, as well as the travel segments between all these points. It covers the entire operational sequence of the voyage.

• Cruise Liner Itinerary: Consider a luxury cruise liner embarking on a two-week Mediterranean tour, starting and ending in Rome. During this period, the ship visits multiple ports such as Naples, Athens, Istanbul, and Marseille, with various travel segments between each stop. The "forward and backward at sea" provision in its insurance policy means that the vessel is covered for its entire journey, including all the navigation between these diverse ports, the time spent docked at each destination, and any necessary maneuvers within those harbors. The coverage is not limited to just the initial departure from Rome and the final return, but extends to every leg and stop of the intricate itinerary.

• Offshore Supply Vessel: An offshore supply vessel is insured for a period of operations supporting an oil rig in the North Sea. Its tasks involve repeatedly traveling from a shore base in Aberdeen, Scotland, to the rig, delivering supplies, returning to Aberdeen, and then potentially making another trip to a different rig or a nearby support vessel. The "forward and backward at sea" term ensures that the insurance covers all these repetitive, non-linear movements between the shore base, the various rigs, and other operational points within the designated area. It provides continuous coverage for the vessel's dynamic and multi-directional work pattern, rather than just a simple round trip between two fixed points.