Archive for the ‘Free time and demurrage’ Category
Free time and Demurrage
Demurrage
Origin
Remember that the origin port has an earliest return date prior to export. There will be accessorial charges if the port has to receive equipment early. This can be an issue if you are working on a project shipping multiple containers on the same sailing.
Solution: Plan ahead. If you don’t have the room in your own yard to stage the equipment after it’s been loaded – be sure to communicate with your freight forwarder well in advance. Most dray companies will be more than happy to stage the equipment in their own yard prior to sailing for a fraction of the cost of port accessorial charges.
Destination
The destination port and the steamship line will each have their own allotted free time. Very seldom are they the same. Each port and each steamship line will have a different policy for free time and detention. Be sure to think of this in the planning stages of your project. Again, this is mostly an issue if you are shipping multiple containers at once.
Moral of the story: Ready … Plan ahead. 
Moving things around the world is expensive and I realize that everyone is trying to cut costs wherever possible. Don’t forget about detention charges and don’t be surprised when you get an invoice for them if you’ve been warned about them ahead of time.
Always ask your forwarder ahead of time how much free time you get at the port and with the steamship line.
*** Consider using shipper owned containers if you are concerned about timing and staging of equipment in remote destinations. Often times the price of a used container will end up being cheaper than the detention charges for liner owned equipment.
