What Constitutes Detention?

Demurrage, as a means to compensate the shipowner for delays to his or her Vessel, is clearly defined within the majority of voyage charters. Not so clearly defined is the payment of detention or how long a Charterer is able to leave a Vessel on demurrage prior to incurring detention. In the below, we will examine the payment of detention while reviewing a couple of examples of the historical precedent (there are many) which work to form the industry’s current perception of detention. Finally, we will review contemporary boilerplates, which, in reacting to the historical precedent attempt to protect the Charterer (and hinder the Shipowner) by defining detention in terms of demurrage.