If it is short, the tow could collide with the tug. A computer program has been developed to show the exact length and thickness of the tow-rope. Other examples could be cited, for instance the so-called permissible loss in the transport of oil. A computer program takes account of the age of the tanker, the duration of the voyage, the quantity of oil, the grade, etc., and determines the exact percentage of loss. Such a percentage will then be inserted in the charter-party as an express term.
Nothing is new and it is just another method of transferring data.
All that is needed is the fitting of the new method into the established framework. The consent exists in both cases. A dispute between the parties on the absence of consent or a discrepancy between the offer and acceptance is a matter of evidence and is not related to the elements of the contract. Similarly, as a result of the speed in transmission of the consent, questions of errors have to be resolved in accordance with the rules of evidence. In brief, some jurists took the view that the main principles of the ordinary Law of Contract could be easily adapted to be applied to electronic contracts.