Voyage Charterparty Laytime Interpretation Rules, 1993 as a International Shipping Documents

The so-called ‘Voylayrules 93’ document was prepared by a joint committee of the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), CMI, the Federation of National Associations of Ship Brokers and Agents (FONASBA), and the International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners (Intercargo) to offer to the contractual parties the meaning of twenty-eight sets of initials and most commonly used words in voyage charterparties, such as port, berth, laytime, day, holiday, to average laytime, notice of readiness, demurrage, dispatch money, strike, and so on.
by Ship Inspection. A document on which the agent has made a calculation of the amount of demurrage (owed to owners) or despatch (owed to charterers), as the case may be, based on the facts in the Statement of Facts. Laytime can be defined as the amount of time allowed to a ship in a voyage charter for loading and unloading of cargo at a port. If a ship fails to complete the work during this allotted time and the ship is required to stay at a port for a longer time, then demurrage (fine) is incurred to the ship owner.

There are seven stages in a laytime calculation:
1,Read relevant clauses in the charter party.
2,Obtain Statement of Facts from agent.
3,Determine duration of laytime allowed.
4,Establish time of commencement of laytime.
5,Allow for interruptions to laytime as per the charter party.
6,Establish time of expiry of laytime.
7,Calculate despatch or demurrage payable.

Laydays refers to a period of specified days (e.g. “Jan 7/16”) during which owners must present the vessel for loading. Laydays should not be confused with laytime, which is the period allowed to the charterers for loading and/or discharging without payment additional to the freight.
2.5 Fixed laytime may be expressed in one or other units of time, which will form the subject of most of this chapter, or as a rate of working cargo, which, once the amount of cargo is known, will enable the amount of laytime to be calculated.
REVERSIBLE LAYTIME means an option given to the charterer to add together the time allowed for loading and discharging. Where the option is exercised the effect is the same as a total time being specifi ed to cover both operations.