Which payment is typically made by the charterer to the shipowner for delays in loading/discharging?

Which payment is typically made by the charterer to the shipowner for delays in loading/discharging?

• A. Demurrage
• B. Despatch
• C. Vessel Cost
• D. Bunker surcharge

Answer: (B)

In a charter party, the key idea is laytime—the window allowed for loading and discharging the cargo. When delays stretch beyond this agreed period, the charterer pays demurrage to the shipowner. Demurrage compensates the shipowner for the extra time the vessel is tied up and unavailable for other revenue-earning trades. It acts as a penalty or liquidated damage for not meeting the agreed schedule, usually calculated at a specified rate per day or per hour for the time beyond laytime. Despatch, by contrast, is the opposite idea: if loading or discharging finishes earlier than the laytime allowance, the shipowner may owe despatch to the charterer at a set rate, rewarding efficient performance. The other terms listed aren’t standard payments tied to delays in loading/discharging.

In a charter party, the key idea is laytime—the window allowed for loading and discharging the cargo. When delays stretch beyond this agreed period, the charterer pays demurrage to the shipowner. Demurrage compensates the shipowner for the extra time the vessel is tied up and unavailable for other revenue-earning trades. It acts as a penalty or liquidated damage for not meeting the agreed schedule, usually calculated at a specified rate per day or per hour for the time beyond laytime.

Despatch, by contrast, is the opposite idea: if loading or discharging finishes earlier than the laytime allowance, the shipowner may owe despatch to the charterer at a set rate, rewarding efficient performance. The other terms listed aren’t standard payments tied to delays in loading/discharging.