Voyage Charters

Timothy Young KC; Michael Ashcroft; Julian Cooke; Andrew Taylor; John Kimball; LeRoy Lambert; David Martowski; Michael Sturley

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Chapter 15 Laytime

6. Laytime	79
*(a) Separate laytime for loading and discharging	80
The cargo shall be loaded within the number of running hours as	81
indicated in Box 16, weather permitting, Sundays and holidays	82
excepted, unless used, in which event time actually used shall count.	83
The cargo shall be discharged within the number of running hours	84
as indicated in Box 16, weather permitting, Sundays and holidays	85
excepted, unless used, in which event time actually used shall count.	86
*(b) Total laytime for loading and discharging	87
The cargo shall be loaded and discharged within the number of total	88
running hours as indicated in Box 16, weather permitting, Sundays and	89
holidays excepted, unless used, in which event time actually used	90
shall count.	91
(c) Commencement of laytime (loading and discharging)	92
Laytime for loading and discharging shall commence at 1 p.m. if	93
notice of readiness is given before noon and at 6 a.m. next working	94
day if notice given during office hours after noon. Notice at loading	95
port to be given to the Shippers named in Box 17.	96
Time actually used before commencement of laytime shall count.	97
Time lost in waiting for berth to count as loading or discharging	98
time as the case may be.	99
* Indicate alternative (a) or (b) as agreed, in Box 16.

15.1 The topic of laytime and demurrage is so large that it merits a separate book on its own, and the Lloyd’s Shipping Law Library contains a specialist work on the subject.1 In the light of that work, and because the obligation of the charterer to provide cargo is fully dealt with in , it is not the intention of the present chapter to deal extensively with the numerous decisions on the wide variety of terms used in charterparties in connection with laytime and demurrage, but to simply deal with the general issues of law on the topic and with the specific provisions of the Gencon form. 15.2 Many of the terms used have been the subject of consideration by committees comprising representatives of BIMCO, CMI, FONSARBA, GCBS and INTERCARGO, and this has resulted in the production of various interpretative and definitional documents, including the Charterparty Laytime Definitions 1980, as amended; Voyage Charterparty Laytime Interpretation Rules 1993, intended to replace the earlier document; the Laytime Definitions for

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Charter Parties 2013; and the Baltic Code 2020. The definitions, of course, may have considerable persuasive force, although no statutory force and, unless incorporated into the charter by agreement, no contractual force.2

General

15.3 Sub-clauses (a) and (b) are alternatives and, as noted at the foot of the clause, the parties are to indicate in Box 16 of the standard form whether the agreed laytime is to be calculated separately for loading and discharging (alternative (a)) or is agreed to cover both loading and discharging together (alternative (b)). Similar considerations of construction, however, apply to both sub-clauses. 15.4 The general principles of the operation of laytime and demurrage have been summarised as follows by Hobhouse J. in The Forum Craftsman:3

A liability for demurrage is a liability for liquidated damages for breach of contract. The breach of contract is the failure to discharge (or load) within the permitted laytime. The obligation has two different aspects: the first is the obligation to discharge and the second is to do so within the limited time. There is no breach before that limited time has expired. Once the limited time has been exceeded there is a continuing breach for which the liability in liquidated damages (that is to say demurrage) continues to accrue minute by minute as the failure to complete discharge continues …

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