Laytime is the period of time a charterparty grants the charterer to load or discharge cargo before demurrage begins to accrue. It is negotiated up front, expressed in days, hours, or as a loading rate per day, and it is the single clause that decides whether a voyage ends with a demurrage invoice or a despatch credit. If demurrage is the penalty, laytime is the clock the penalty runs on.
Most people meet laytime backwards: an invoice arrives claiming the vessel sat beyond its allowed time, and someone in operations is asked to check whether the claim is right. Checking it means answering three questions. When did the clock start? What paused it? When did it stop? Each question has a precise contractual answer, and each answer is worth money.
