Demurrage

Admiralty law
History
Code of Hammurabi Corpus Juris Civilis Digesta Ordinamenta et consuetudo maris Amalfian Laws Hanseatic League
Features
Fishing Illegal Fisheries law Maritime transport Shipping/Ferry Cargo Freight Shipbuilding Merchant marine Cargo ship Passenger ship Mortgage Registration Marine insurance Act of God Cargo Collision General average Seaworthiness Total loss Maritime security Letter of marque Drugs Piracy Pollution Smuggling Wartime prizes
Contract of carriage/Charterparty
Affreightment Agency Barratry Bill of lading Brokerage Chartering Consignment Demurrage Force majeure Invoice Commercial Pro forma Laytime Lien Maritime Manifest Packing list Proof of delivery Salvage Law Terms International Waybill
Parties
Agent Factor Freight forwarder Captain (Master) The captain goes down with the ship Carrier Charterer Freight company Manager Consignee Consignor Principal Owner Seaman Mutiny Stevedore
Judiciaries
Admiralty court Vice admiralty court
International conventions
Hague-Visby Rules Hamburg Rules Rotterdam Rules Maritime Labour Convention International Convention on Salvage United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) International piracy law SOLAS Convention MARPOL Convention Ballast Water Management Convention Anti-fouling Convention International Convention on Load Lines International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea SAR Convention Athens Convention
International organizations
International Maritime Organization Comité Maritime International London Maritime Arbitrators Association
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"Demurrage" /dɪˈmʌrɪdʒ/^[1] in vessel chartering is the period when the charterer remained in possession of the vessel after the period normally allowed to load and unload cargo (laytime).^[2] By extension, demurrage refers to the charges that the charterer pays to the ship owner for its delayed operations of loading/unloading.^[3] Officially, demurrage is a form of liquidated damages for breaching the laytime as it is stated in the governing contract (the charter party). The demurrage sometimes causes a loss to the seller as it increases cost of the total freight.^[3]

The demurrage fee is often a daily amount agreed between charterers and ship owners. Ideally, the demurrage fee (per day in US dollars) covers the daily time charter rate, daily voyage costs, and the ship owner’s risk premium.^[4]

The inverse of demurrage is despatch. If the charterer requires the use of the vessel for less time than the laytime allowed, the charter party may require the shipowner to pay despatch for the time saved.