LAYDAYS: refers to a period of specified days during which owners must present the vessel for loading.

CANCELLING DATE: is the final Layday and the date beyond which, if the chartered vessel has not been presented for loading, the charterers may reject her and cancel the charter.

Together, laydays/cancelling or, as it is often called, the “laycan” is the period within which the vessel must be presented at the agreed port or place. If the vessel arrives before the first day of the period, the charterers do not have to accept her until commencement of the agreed laydays. If she arrives after the final layday, the charterers are entitled to reject the vessel and cancel the charter.

LAYTIME: the period of time agreed between the parties during which the owners will make and keep the vessel available for loading or discharging without payment additional to the freight” or is time allowed to the charterers for cargo operations without additional payment, may be separate for load and discharge ports, or reversible (or “all purposes”)

NOTICE OF READINESS: is a notice to the charterer, shipper, receiver or other person as required by the charter party that the vessel has arrived at the port or berth, as the case may be, and is ready to load or discharge.

– may be (and is often) given by the ship’s agent on the master’s behalf. (In many cases the Notice of Readiness is sent by the ship’s agent to an agent of the charterer.)

– must be given before laytime can commence.

– must begiven within the “laycan” period.

– must be given in accordance with the procedure in the Notice Clause or Laytime Clause in the charter party.

– is often required to be given during office hours from Monday to Saturday.

– need only be given at the first of two or more load ports, unless the charter party provides otherwise.

– may (in common law) be oral, but for practical purposes (and because nearly all charter parties require it) should be given in writing.

– must be addressed to the charterers or their agent

– should be sent in duplicate with a request that the second copy, with the time and date of acceptance completed, should be returned for the master’s retention.

DEMURRAGE: normally become payable by the charterers to the owners for each day, or part of a day, that the ship is detained beyond the time of expiry of laytime. an agreed amount payable to the owners in respect of delay to the vessel beyond the laytime, for which the owners are not responsible. Demurrage shall not be subject to laytime exceptions.” Demurrage is normally paid per running day, i.e. without exclusion of any Sundays, holidays, or bad weather, strikes, etc., occurring during the detention period – hence the well-known expression “once on demurrage, always on demurrage”.

DESPATCH: If cargo operations are completed before expiry of the laytime, a monetary reward, termed dispatch or dispatch money, is normally payable by the owners to the charterer. Despatch money or despatch is defined as an agreed amount payable by the owners if the vessel completes loading or discharging before the laytime has expired. The daily despatch rate, which is normally quoted in US Dollars, is traditionally half the agreed demurrage rate, If despatch is payable for all time saved, the laytime exclusions (for weather stoppages, etc.) are not taken into account after the completion of cargo. If despatch is payable only for working time saved, laytime exclusions must be taken into account. For definitions of these despatch variations in Voyage Charter Party Laytime Interpretation Rules,

EXW : Ex Works (named place)

Seller to place goods at disposal of buyer at seller’s premises or another named place, not cleared for export and not loaded onto any collecting vehicle. Title and risk pass to buyer at seller’s door.

FCA : Free Carrier (named place)

Seller to deliver goods, cleared for export, to carrier nominated by buyer at named place. Title and risk pass to buyer on delivery to carrier.

FAS  : Free Alongside Ship (named port of shipment)

Seller to place goods, cleared for export, alongside vessel at named port of shipment. Title and risk pass to buyer alongside ship.

FOB : Free On Board (named port of shipment)

Seller delivers goods, cleared for export, when they pass ship’s rail at named loading port. Title and risk pass to buyer as goods pass ship’s rail.

CFR : Cost and Freight (named port of destination)

Seller delivers goods when they pass ship’s rail at named loading port and must pay costs and freight necessary to bring goods to named port of destination. Buyer bears all additional costs and risks after goods have been delivered over ship’s rail at loading port. Title and risk pass to buyer when goods delivered on board ship.

CIF: Cost, Insurance and Freight (named port of destination)

The seller must pay all costs including marine insurance and freight to carry the goods to the named destination, but risk passes from the seller to the buyer when the goods cross the ship’s rail at the loading port. The seller must supply the goods and make a contract (at his own expense) for carriage of the goods to the agreed port of destination, paying freight and charges for loading/unloading. He must arrange (at his own expense) a marine insurance policy covering the goods against the risks of carriage for the CIF price plus 10%. Any war risks insurance required by the buyer must be arranged by the seller but charged to the buyer. (The cost of providing these services are included in the invoice price for the goods.)

The seller must provide the buyer with clean, negotiable bills of lading (dated for the agreed period of loading), an invoice and an insurance policy or certificate of insurance. The bills of lading must be a full set of negotiable “order” marine bills so that delivery can be made to the order of the buyer or his agreed representative. (This enables the bills of lading to be passed to a bank in the documentary credit system, enabling the seller to obtain early payment.) If the bill of lading contains a reference to a charter party, the seller must also provide a copy of the charter party. The seller must tender all the documents to the buyer, his agent or his bank.

The buyer must accept the documents when tendered by the seller, and must pay the agreed contract price. Property passes on transfer to the buyer of the documents. The buyer bears all costs and charges excluding freight, marine insurance and unloading costs unless included in the freight when collected by the carrier.

CPT: Carriage Paid To (named place of destination)

Seller delivers goods to nominated carrier and pays cost of carriage to named destination. Buyer bears all additional costs and risks after goods delivered to carrier. Title, risk and insurance cost pass to buyer when goods delivered to carrier.

CIP: Carriage and Insurance Paid To (named place of destination)

Obligations same as under CPT with addition that seller procures insurance against buyer’s risk of loss/damage to goods during carriage. Title and risk pass to buyer when goods delivered to carrier.

DAF : Delivered at Frontier (named place)

Seller to place goods at disposal of buyer on arriving means of transport, not unloaded, cleared for export but uncleared for import, at named border point. Title, risk and responsibility for import clearance pass to buyer when delivered to named border point by seller.

DES : Delivered Ex Ship (named of destination)

Seller delivers when goods are placed at buyer’s disposal on board ship, not cleared for import, at named port of destination. Title, risk and responsibility for vessel discharge and import clearance pass to buyer when seller delivers goods on ship at destination port.

DEQ : Delivered Ex Quay (named port of destination)

Seller delivers when goods are placed at disposal of buyer, not cleared for import, on quay at named port of destination. Title and risk pass to buyer when delivered on board ship at destination point by seller who delivers goods on dock at destination point cleared for import.

DDU:  Delivered Duty Unpaid (named place of destination)

Seller must deliver the goods to the buyer, not cleared for import, and not unloaded, at the named place of destination. Title, risk and responsibility of import clearance pass to buyer when seller delivers goods to named destination point. Buyer is obligated for import clearance.

DDP:  Delivered Duty Paid (named place of destination)

Seller must deliver goods to buyer, cleared for import, and not unloaded, at named place of destination. Title and risk pass to buyer when seller delivers goods to named destination point cleared for import.