Evidently, all demurrage claims arise in the first place from a voyage charter-party, but the expression “non-maritime” demurrage claims is used here to describe those in which neither party is a shipowner.

The parties in such claims are usually a trader who has purchased a cargo either f.o.b. or afloat and sold it c.i.f., chartering a vessel to carry it in the former case, and his client the buyer. If the trader has himself purchased the cargo afloat in a string of contracts, there will be, excluding that of the shipowner, as many demurrage claims as there are contracts in the string. For the sake of simplicity (although that in the end may prove not to be the right word) we propose to examine the case of the sole trader who has purchased a bulk oil cargo f.o.b. and sold it to his buyer c.i.f.

The trader, in his role of charterer, will be conscious of his liability to pay to the shipowner any demurrage which may be due owing to the vessel being delayed not only at the loading port but also at that of discharge, it the total time taken to load and discharge exceeds the allowed laytime, and so will wish to be sure of recuperating by suitably drafting the sale/purchase contract that part of a demurrage claim which is due to the buyer failing to discharge the vessel in the period of time allowed him by the sale/purchase contract.

In the case of dry cargoes, this is usually comparatively easy as it is usual to allow in such charters separate laytimes for the loading and discharging ports.

In the bulk oil trade this simplicity does not exist, as a single period of time is allowed to cover the laytime allowed for loading and discharging, usually 72–84 hours, depending on the size of the vessel.

If the trader has purchased f.o.b., he usually wishes to conclude his sales contract, if he can, before chartering the carrying vessel. Thus, when he concludes his c.i.f. sales contract, the price is a fixed one although he does not know what freight he will have to pay. Moreover, he runs a further risk inasmuch as all the allowed laytime may be consumed at the loading port so that the vessel arrives at the loading port on demurrage, with the result that time on demurrage recommences immediately with no six hours’ notice and no allowance for the time required by the vessel to proceed from the anchorage to the berth unless the charter-party expressly provides for this (as in the “STB Voy”). Nevertheless, as far as obtaining any demurrage payment from his buyer is concerned, the trader must make his calculations as though the vessel had not arrived on demurrage and allow the six hours’ notice, etc., plus the full laytime provided in the sale/purchase contract.

In view of the risks mentioned above, which are inherent in this kind of transaction, it could be thought that special attention would be paid to this question in drafting the contract. Not so! Traders, like chartering brokers, seem to negotiate by telephone and