Case Law Study of Demurrage Claims: Concerning Disputes of Inchoate Notices

Demurrage clause is stipulated in voyage charter parties so that ships and oil tankers would not be detained. Demurrage is a kind of liquidated damage which sets a penalty against charterer of the ship in the case that he detains the ship or tanker for more than the agreed lay time for loading or unloading the ship or tanker. It is common and usual that parties of this kind of charter party would determine a particular situation, stipulated in contract, for sending a notice of readiness, from owner of the ship to the charterer, or whom he introduces to the owner. Therefore owner, or captain of the ship as owner’s deputy, is obliged to send such notice under such circumstances. Sending notice of readiness before reaching the agreed circumstances has been a cause for a lot of demurrage claims. In this article we have examined leading cases on this subject which have made changes to the jurisprudence of this issue.