Reversible Laytime

Reversible Laytime is a voyage chartering arrangement under which the laytime allowed for loading and discharging is treated as one combined allowance rather than two completely separate periods. In simple terms, Charterers may combine the laytime allocated for the load port and the discharge port. If Charterers save time at the loading port, that saved time may be used at the discharge port. If Charterers use more time at the loading port, that excess may reduce the time available at the discharge port, depending on the wording of the charter party.

Reversible Laytime is important because laytime is one of the most financially sensitive parts of a voyage charter. Laytime determines how long the Charterers may use the ship for cargo operations without paying extra compensation. If cargo operations exceed the agreed time, demurrage may become payable. If cargo operations finish before the allowed time and the charter party provides for despatch, the Charterers may be entitled to despatch money. Reversible Laytime therefore affects the calculation of demurrage and despatch, the allocation of operational risk, and the commercial balance between Shipowners and Charterers.

In Voyage Chartering, the ability of Charterers to combine the laytime allowed for loading and discharging is called Reversible Laytime. The clause may be expressed in different forms, such as “laytime reversible,” “laytime to be reversible,” “loading and discharging time reversible,” or similar wording. The exact legal effect depends on the charter party wording, the laytime clause, the exceptions, the demurrage clause, the despatch clause, and the agreed method of calculation.

The practical purpose of Reversible Laytime is flexibility. Cargo operations are not always predictable. Loading may be fast because the cargo is ready, the berth is efficient, weather is favorable, and the terminal has strong equipment. Discharging may be slow because of congestion, receiver delays, customs issues, poor equipment, rain interruptions, or limited working hours. A reversible clause allows Charterers to use unused time from one end of the voyage at the other end.

However, Reversible Laytime does not mean that every calendar day saved at one port automatically becomes transferable to the other port. The calculation must respect the laytime wording. If the laytime is stated as Weather Working Days, Sundays Holidays Excepted, or subject to weather exceptions, the saved or used time must be assessed according to the agreed laytime rules. Excepted periods should not be converted into saved time unless the charter party clearly provides otherwise.

With Reversible Laytime, excepted days should neither increase nor reduce the laytime unless the clause expressly changes that result. For example, if loading laytime is five Weather Working Days of 24 consecutive hours, Sundays and holidays excepted, and laytime starts on Thursday, the calculation cannot be made by simply counting calendar days. Weather, Sundays, holidays, and other exceptions must be applied in accordance with the charter party.

Assume loading laytime is five (5) Weather Working Days (WWD) of 24 consecutive hours with Sundays excluded (SHEX). Laytime starts on Thursday, and loading is completed on Saturday. On a simple calendar view, the ship has left the loading port before the laytime period would have expired. However, if Sunday is an excepted day, it is not a laytime day and cannot normally be treated as saved laytime. In that example, only the laytime days that would otherwise have counted, such as Monday and Tuesday, may be transferred to the discharge port. The calendar days saved and the laytime days saved are not necessarily the same.

The reverse position may also arise. If laytime starts on Monday and five days are allowed for loading, but loading finishes the following Monday, the charterer may appear to have used three calendar days beyond the expected completion date. However, if Sunday is excepted and does not count, only the counting laytime periods should be treated as excess time. If laytime is reversible, the excess time used at loading may reduce the time available at discharge, but excepted time should not be included unless the charter party says so.

Although Average Laytime and Reversible Laytime can produce similar commercial results, they are not identical. Their actual outcome depends on whether the charter party permits Charterers to average laytime, reverse laytime, or simply apply separate laytime allowances at each port. The distinction matters because demurrage and despatch calculations may differ.

Reversible Laytime in Ship Chartering

In ship chartering, laytime is the agreed period during which the Shipowner must make the ship available for cargo operations without receiving additional compensation beyond the freight. Laytime begins when the ship is an arrived ship, the required Notice of Readiness has been validly tendered, and any agreed waiting period has expired, subject to the wording of the charter party.

Laytime may be expressed in several ways. It may be stated as a fixed number of days or hours. It may be expressed as a loading or discharging rate, such as a specified number of metric tons per weather working day. It may be based on “customary quick despatch,” “liner terms,” “working days,” “weather working days,” “running days,” “SHEX,” “SHINC,” or other familiar chartering expressions. The laytime clause must be read with the Notice of Readiness clause, exceptions clause, demurrage clause, despatch clause, and any port-specific terms.

Reversible laytime is a concept that provides additional flexibility for the charterer. Under a reversible laytime clause in the charter party, the time allocated for loading and unloading can be used interchangeably. If less time is used at the loading port, the unused time may increase the time available at the discharging port. If more time is used at the loading port, the additional time may reduce the balance available at the discharging port. The calculation is made by treating the agreed laytime as a combined allowance.

For example, a charter party may allow five days for loading and five days for discharging, with laytime reversible. If loading is completed in three days, the two unused laytime days may be carried forward to discharge. The Charterers may then have seven days available for discharging, subject to the exact wording and any applicable exceptions.

This flexibility can be valuable for Charterers because the real difficulty of cargo operations may not be known in advance. The load port may be fast and the discharge port slow, or the opposite may occur. Reversible Laytime reduces the risk that Charterers pay demurrage at one port while still having unused time at another port. From the Charterers’ perspective, it is commercially sensible to treat the voyage as one cargo operation spread across two ends.

From the Shipowner’s perspective, Reversible Laytime may create uncertainty. If loading is completed quickly, the shipowner may not immediately benefit from the saved time if that time can still be used at discharge. The ship may arrive at the discharge port and remain under the laytime allowance for longer than the owner expected. This can affect the ship’s schedule, next employment, bunker planning, and commercial utilization. For that reason, Shipowners may seek a higher freight rate, stricter laytime wording, a clear election requirement, or limited reversible rights.

The clause should clearly state whether the laytime is automatically reversible or whether Charterers must declare an election to reverse. Some charter parties require Charterers to elect before completion of loading, before sailing, before arrival at discharge port, or within another stated period. If the charter party requires an election and Charterers fail to make it in time, they may lose the right to reverse laytime.

Reversible Laytime also affects despatch. If despatch is payable, the parties must know whether despatch is calculated separately at each port or only after the combined laytime calculation is completed. In many cases, when laytime is reversible, demurrage or despatch is assessed only after the total time used at both ends is compared with the total laytime allowed. However, charter party wording can produce different results.

Commercial Purpose of Reversible Laytime

The commercial purpose of Reversible Laytime is to give Charterers flexibility in managing loading and discharging time. In many commodity trades, the Charterers control or influence cargo readiness, terminal nomination, receiver arrangements, documentation, port agents, and cargo-handling coordination. They may therefore want the ability to use time efficiently across the whole voyage rather than lose saved time at one port while paying demurrage at another.

Reversible Laytime is especially useful in bulk trades where cargo operations can vary widely between loading and discharging ports. Grain, coal, iron ore, fertilizers, steel, cement, minerals, and other bulk cargoes may be handled at ports with very different equipment and working patterns. One port may load by conveyor at high speed, while the discharge port may rely on grabs, trucks, barges, or limited storage capacity. Reversible Laytime helps Charterers manage these differences.

Shipowners, however, must consider the cost of giving that flexibility. The owner’s ship is tied to the voyage until cargo operations and laytime consequences are complete. If the Charterers use saved loading time at discharge, the owner may lose the opportunity to fix the next cargo earlier. Therefore, reversible laytime is a commercial concession that should be priced and drafted properly.

In freight negotiations, the presence of a reversible laytime clause may influence freight, demurrage rate, despatch rate, laytime allowance, loading and discharging rates, and the owner’s willingness to accept tight cancelling dates for the next employment. A broker should identify whether the laytime is separate, average, or reversible before comparing freight ideas with other fixtures.

How Reversible Laytime Works

Reversible Laytime works by combining the laytime allowed at the loading port and discharging port into one overall allowance. Instead of calculating loading time separately and discharge time separately for final demurrage or despatch purposes, the parties calculate the total laytime allowed and compare it with the total laytime used.

A basic method is:

  1. Identify the laytime allowed for loading.
  2. Identify the laytime allowed for discharging.
  3. Add the two allowances together.
  4. Calculate the laytime actually used at loading.
  5. Calculate the laytime actually used at discharge.
  6. Add the time used at both ports.
  7. Compare total time used with total laytime allowed.
  8. If total time used exceeds total laytime allowed, demurrage is payable.
  9. If total time used is less than total laytime allowed and despatch is agreed, despatch may be payable.
This basic method must always be adjusted to the charter party wording. The parties must apply all agreed exceptions, including weather, Sundays, holidays, strikes, breakdowns, shifting, waiting time, free pratique, customs clearance, and other clauses. They must also consider whether demurrage once incurred continues to run without interruption under the usual principle “once on demurrage, always on demurrage,” subject to exceptions that expressly apply to demurrage.

Where the charter party uses loading and discharging rates rather than fixed days, the total laytime may first have to be calculated from the cargo quantity and agreed rates. For example, if 30,000 metric tons are loaded at 10,000 metric tons per weather working day, loading laytime may be three weather working days. If the discharge rate is 7,500 metric tons per weather working day, discharging laytime may be four weather working days. If laytime is reversible, the combined allowance may be seven weather working days, subject to the wording.

Reversible Laytime Vs Average Laytime

Reversible Laytime and Average Laytime are related concepts, but they should not be treated as automatically identical. Both concepts are designed to soften the strict division between loading laytime and discharging laytime, but the calculation and legal effect may differ depending on the charter party.
  1. Reversible Laytime:
Reversible Laytime means that the laytime allowed for loading and discharging is combined or pooled. Time saved at one end may be applied at the other end. Time exceeded at one end may reduce the balance available at the other end. It gives Charterers the ability to use the total allowance across the whole cargo operation.

For example, if the charter party allows five days for loading and five days for discharging and laytime is reversible, the total allowance is ten days. If loading uses three days and discharge uses seven days, the total time used is ten days. There is no demurrage and no despatch if the calculation is made on the combined allowance and no other clause changes the result.

  1. Average Laytime:
Average Laytime, also called averaged laytime or laytime averaged, is a method of calculating laytime by allowing time saved in one operation to be set off against time lost in another. In practice, the result may resemble Reversible Laytime, but the clause wording may require a different approach. Average Laytime is often associated with balancing time used at loading and discharging rather than treating the allowance as one automatically pooled period from the start.

The difference matters in borderline cases. The time at which demurrage is triggered, whether an election is needed, whether despatch is calculated separately or globally, and how exceptions apply may depend on whether the charter party says laytime is reversible, average, or separate.

Parties should avoid assuming that “average” and “reversible” always mean the same thing. The safer approach is to define the calculation method clearly in the charter party. If the parties intend that no demurrage or despatch should be calculated until both loading and discharge are complete, the clause should say so clearly.

Reversible Laytime and Demurrage

Demurrage is the agreed compensation payable by Charterers when laytime is exceeded. In a reversible laytime arrangement, demurrage is usually calculated after the total laytime used at both ports is compared with the total laytime allowed. If the combined time used is greater than the combined allowance, the excess is demurrage.

For example, if total reversible laytime is ten days and Charterers use twelve laytime days in total, two days of demurrage may be payable. The fact that one port was completed within its original allowance may not matter if the combined total exceeds the reversible allowance.

The important issue is when demurrage begins. If laytime is truly reversible, a delay at the loading port may not immediately produce final demurrage if there is still available discharge laytime to offset it. However, if the loading delay is so long that the total combined allowance is already exhausted before the ship reaches the discharge port, then the ship may arrive at discharge already on demurrage. The calculation must be made carefully.

The principle “once on demurrage, always on demurrage” may affect the result after laytime is exhausted. Once the ship is on demurrage, laytime exceptions such as weather or holidays generally no longer interrupt the running of demurrage unless the charter party expressly provides that the exception applies to demurrage. This can make reversible laytime calculations more complicated where delays occur after the combined allowance has expired.

Reversible Laytime and Despatch

Despatch is money payable by the Shipowner to Charterers when cargo operations are completed in less than the laytime allowed, if the charter party provides for despatch. Despatch is not automatic. It exists only if the charter party expressly provides for it.

In reversible laytime, despatch is commonly calculated by comparing total laytime allowed with total laytime used. If the total time used is less than the total allowance, the difference may be saved time. If despatch is payable on all time saved, the calculation may include all saved time. If despatch is payable only on working time saved, excepted periods may be excluded. The charter party wording is decisive.

For example, if total reversible laytime is fourteen days and Charterers use eleven laytime days in total, three days may be saved. If despatch is agreed at a daily rate, the saved time may generate despatch. However, if the clause states “despatch on working time saved” rather than “all time saved,” the calculation must exclude periods that would not have counted as laytime.

Despatch calculations are often disputed because small wording differences can change the result. The statement of facts, time sheets, port logs, weather records, and holiday calendars should be accurate and complete.

Reversible Laytime and Excepted Periods

Excepted periods are periods that do not count as laytime under the charter party. Common examples include weather interruptions, Sundays, holidays, strikes, breakdowns not attributable to Charterers, or other agreed exceptions. In reversible laytime, excepted periods must be handled carefully.

If a day would not count as laytime at the loading port, it should not normally become saved time merely because the ship left port before that day arrived. For example, if Sunday is excluded, the fact that the ship sailed before Sunday does not mean Charterers saved Sunday as laytime. Sunday was not laytime in the first place.

Similarly, if weather prevents loading during a Weather Working Day clause, the weather-excepted time should not count as used laytime. If the ship finishes loading early, the calculation of saved time must be based on the laytime that would actually have counted under the charter party, not on a simple calendar count.

This point is one of the most common sources of error. Laytime calculations must distinguish calendar time, working time, weather working time, excepted time, and demurrage time. Reversible Laytime does not remove these distinctions; it only permits the allowed loading and discharging time to be considered together.

Reversible Laytime Calculation Example 1

Assume the following:
  1. The agreed reversible laytime is 10 days.
  2. The loading time actually used is 4 days.
  3. The discharging time actually used is 6 days.
The calculation is:
  1. Loading time used: 4 days
  2. Discharging time used: 6 days
  3. Total time used: 4 days + 6 days = 10 days
  4. Agreed reversible laytime: 10 days
  5. Total time used: 10 days
In this example, Charterers used exactly the agreed reversible laytime. There is no demurrage because the total time used does not exceed the total allowance. There is also no despatch because no time has been saved. The loading and discharging operations together consumed the entire laytime allowance.

Reversible Laytime Calculation Example 2

Assume the following:
  1. The agreed reversible laytime is 12 days.
  2. The loading time actually used is 8 days.
  3. The discharging time actually used is 7 days.
  4. The demurrage rate agreed is $2,000 per day.
The calculation is:
  1. Loading time used: 8 days
  2. Discharging time used: 7 days
  3. Total time used: 8 days + 7 days = 15 days
  4. Agreed reversible laytime: 12 days
  5. Excess time: 15 days - 12 days = 3 days
  6. Demurrage: 3 days x $2,000 per day = $6,000
In this example, Charterers used three days more than the agreed reversible laytime. Therefore, demurrage of $6,000 is payable, assuming there are no additional exceptions or clauses affecting the demurrage calculation.

Reversible Laytime Calculation Example 3

Assume the following:
  1. The agreed reversible laytime is 14 days.
  2. The loading time actually used is 6 days.
  3. The discharging time actually used is 5 days.
  4. The despatch rate agreed is $1,000 per day.
The calculation is:
  1. Loading time used: 6 days
  2. Discharging time used: 5 days
  3. Total time used: 6 days + 5 days = 11 days
  4. Agreed reversible laytime: 14 days
  5. Saved time: 14 days - 11 days = 3 days
  6. Despatch: 3 days x $1,000 per day = $3,000
In this example, Charterers saved three days. If the charter party provides for despatch, and if the despatch clause applies to the saved time calculated in this way, Charterers may be entitled to $3,000. If the charter party does not provide for despatch, no despatch is payable even though time was saved.

Reversible Laytime Calculation Example 4: Weather Working Days and SHEX

Assume the following:
  1. Loading laytime is 5 Weather Working Days, Sundays and Holidays Excepted.
  2. Discharging laytime is 5 Weather Working Days, Sundays and Holidays Excepted.
  3. Laytime is reversible.
  4. Loading laytime starts at 08:00 on Thursday.
  5. Loading completes at 08:00 on Saturday.
  6. Sunday is excluded.
  7. No rain interruption occurs.
The loading operation used two working days: Thursday and Friday. Saturday may count if Saturday is a working day under the charter party, depending on the exact time calculation. If loading completed at 08:00 Saturday, only the counted part of Saturday may be relevant. Sunday should not be treated as saved laytime because Sunday is excluded. Therefore, the saved laytime must be calculated according to working laytime, not calendar days.

This example shows why Reversible Laytime calculations must be based on the charter party wording. A ship may sail early in calendar terms, but Charterers can transfer only the laytime actually saved under the clause. Excepted periods are not saved laytime unless the charter party clearly says otherwise.

Reversible Laytime Calculation Example 5: Delay at Load Port

Assume the following:
  1. Loading laytime is 5 working days.
  2. Discharging laytime is 5 working days.
  3. Laytime is reversible.
  4. Loading uses 7 working days.
  5. Discharging uses 3 working days.
The calculation is:
  1. Total reversible laytime allowed: 5 + 5 = 10 working days
  2. Total time used: 7 + 3 = 10 working days
  3. Result: no demurrage and no despatch
Although loading exceeded its original separate allowance by two working days, the discharge operation used two working days less than its separate allowance. Because laytime is reversible, the extra loading time and saved discharge time offset each other. If the laytime had not been reversible, the result might have been different.

Reversible Laytime Calculation Example 6: Demurrage Already Incurred

Assume the following:
  1. Total reversible laytime is 10 days.
  2. Loading alone uses 11 days.
  3. The ship then sails to the discharge port.
  4. Discharge takes 2 days.
  5. Demurrage rate is $5,000 per day.
The total time used is 13 days. The total reversible allowance is 10 days. The excess is 3 days. Demurrage is therefore $15,000, subject to charter party wording.

In this example, the full combined laytime allowance has already been exceeded before discharge begins. The ship may be treated as already on demurrage when it reaches the discharge port. Once on demurrage, exceptions may no longer protect Charterers unless the charter party expressly provides otherwise.

Common Wording for Reversible Laytime Clauses

Reversible Laytime clauses may be short, but their effect can be substantial. Common wording may include:
  • “Laytime reversible.”
  • “Laytime for loading and discharging to be reversible.”
  • “Time saved at loading to count at discharging and vice versa.”
  • “Loading and discharging laytime to be calculated as one total allowance.”
  • “Charterers have the option to reverse laytime.”
  • “Laytime to be averaged/reversible between loading and discharging ports.”
The clause should ideally state whether reversal is automatic or optional, when the option must be declared, how despatch is calculated, whether excepted periods are included, and whether the calculation is made only after completion of discharge.

Ambiguous wording may lead to disputes. If the parties use both “average” and “reversible” in the same charter party without defining them, they may create uncertainty. Clear drafting is better than relying on market habit.

Reversible Laytime from the Charterer’s Perspective

For Charterers, Reversible Laytime is usually attractive because it reduces the risk of demurrage. If one port performs better than expected and another performs worse, the Charterers can balance the time. This is especially useful where Charterers do not fully control terminal performance or where discharge arrangements depend on receivers, customs, storage, trucks, barges, or inland transport.

Advantages for Charterers include:

  • greater flexibility across the voyage
  • reduced risk of paying demurrage at one port while saving time at another
  • better protection against uncertain discharge performance
  • more efficient use of negotiated laytime
  • possible reduction in operational pressure at one end of the voyage
However, Charterers should not treat Reversible Laytime as unlimited protection. They must still tender cargo, nominate berths, arrange receivers, handle documents, coordinate stevedores, and comply with charter party requirements. If total laytime is exceeded, demurrage remains payable.

Reversible Laytime from the Shipowner’s Perspective

For Shipowners, Reversible Laytime may reduce the benefit of fast loading or fast discharge. If the ship completes loading early, the owner may not receive immediate despatch benefit or earlier release from the laytime bargain if the Charterers can use the saved time later. This may delay the ship’s next employment.

Shipowners should consider:

  • whether freight compensates for the flexibility granted
  • whether the demurrage rate is commercially adequate
  • whether despatch should be payable and on what basis
  • whether Charterers must elect to reverse laytime by a deadline
  • whether the clause affects scheduling for the next voyage
  • whether exceptions continue after demurrage begins
  • whether the statement of facts will support a reliable calculation
A Shipowner may accept reversible laytime in a strong freight market if the overall terms are favorable. In a tight scheduling situation, the owner may resist it or price the risk into freight and demurrage.

Reversible Laytime and Statement of Facts

The Statement of Facts is essential in any laytime calculation. For Reversible Laytime, it is even more important because the final result depends on the combined calculation at both load and discharge ports.

The Statement of Facts should accurately record:

  • arrival time
  • Notice of Readiness tendering time
  • Notice of Readiness acceptance time
  • free pratique and customs clearance
  • berthing and shifting times
  • commencement and completion of cargo operations
  • weather interruptions
  • rain periods
  • Sundays and holidays
  • strikes or stoppages
  • equipment breakdowns
  • waiting for berth
  • waiting for cargo or documents
  • draft survey periods
  • hatch opening and closing
  • delays caused by ship or shore
If the Statement of Facts is incomplete or inaccurate, demurrage and despatch calculations may become disputed. Masters, agents, operators, and charterers should review the record carefully before signing or issuing protest.

Reversible Laytime and Notice of Readiness

Reversible Laytime does not remove the need for a valid Notice of Readiness. Laytime normally begins only when the ship has become an arrived ship, is ready in all material respects, has tendered a valid Notice of Readiness, and any contractual waiting period has expired.

If the Notice of Readiness is invalid at loading or discharge, the laytime calculation may change significantly. A reversible clause cannot cure an invalid Notice of Readiness unless the charter party or later conduct produces that result. Therefore, ship operators must still pay close attention to arrival status, berth or port charter wording, free pratique, customs clearance, hold readiness, and tendering requirements.

In reversible laytime disputes, parties sometimes focus only on arithmetic and forget the starting point. The correct question is not only how much time was used, but when laytime legally began and which periods counted.

Reversible Laytime and Multiple Ports

Some voyages involve more than one load port or more than one discharge port. Reversible Laytime in multi-port voyages requires careful drafting. The parties should specify whether laytime is reversible between all ports, only between loading and discharging as a whole, or only between specified ports.

Potential issues include:

  • whether laytime is calculated per port or per operation
  • whether shifting time counts
  • whether waiting time between berths counts
  • whether separate Notices of Readiness are required at each port
  • whether weather exceptions apply separately
  • whether despatch is calculated port by port or globally
  • whether demurrage begins after the total allowance is exhausted
For multi-port cargoes, a short phrase such as “laytime reversible” may be insufficient. Detailed wording can prevent later disputes.

Common Disputes in Reversible Laytime

Reversible Laytime disputes often arise from calculation methods rather than from the basic principle. The parties may agree that laytime is reversible but disagree on how the reversible calculation should be performed.

Common disputes include:

  • whether the clause created automatic reversibility or only an option
  • whether Charterers elected to reverse laytime in time
  • whether excepted periods can be transferred as saved time
  • whether demurrage began at the load port or only after discharge calculation
  • whether despatch is payable on all time saved or working time saved
  • whether weather interruptions count after demurrage begins
  • whether the Statement of Facts is accurate
  • whether time waiting for berth counts
  • whether invalid Notice of Readiness affects the calculation
  • whether average laytime wording changes the result
Many disputes could be avoided by clearer charter party drafting and better port records. Brokers and operators should avoid copying clauses without understanding how they interact with the rest of the charter party.

Practical Checklist for Reversible Laytime

A practical checklist can help Shipowners, Charterers, brokers, operators, agents, and Masters manage Reversible Laytime correctly.

Before Fixture:

  • confirm whether laytime is separate, average, or reversible
  • confirm whether reversibility is automatic or optional
  • state when Charterers must elect to reverse laytime
  • define loading laytime and discharging laytime clearly
  • confirm whether laytime is based on days, hours, or cargo rates
  • check whether SHEX, SHINC, weather, holidays, or other exceptions apply
  • agree whether despatch is payable
  • state whether despatch is on all time saved or working time saved
  • confirm demurrage rate and calculation method
  • ensure the clause works for multiple ports if applicable
At Load Port:
  • record arrival and Notice of Readiness accurately
  • record free pratique, customs, and berth readiness issues
  • record commencement and completion of loading
  • record weather interruptions and excepted periods
  • record stoppages and their causes
  • issue letters of protest where necessary
  • prepare a clear Statement of Facts
During Voyage:
  • prepare a provisional laytime calculation after loading
  • identify any time saved or exceeded at the load port
  • check whether Charterers must declare reversal
  • advise the discharge port agent of relevant laytime terms
  • preserve all load port records for final calculation
At Discharge Port:
  • record arrival and Notice of Readiness
  • record berth delays, weather, customs, and receiver delays
  • record commencement and completion of discharge
  • record all interruptions with reasons
  • prepare the discharge Statement of Facts
  • combine load and discharge calculations according to the clause
  • calculate demurrage or despatch only after applying all relevant terms

Conclusion: Reversible Laytime

Reversible Laytime is a flexible laytime arrangement that allows Charterers to combine the time allowed for loading and discharging. It can reduce demurrage exposure for Charterers and allow more efficient use of the total laytime allowance. However, it also creates scheduling and commercial uncertainty for Shipowners.

The correct calculation of Reversible Laytime depends on the charter party wording. The parties must consider laytime commencement, Notice of Readiness, weather exceptions, Sundays and holidays, demurrage, despatch, average laytime wording, multi-port operations, and the accuracy of the Statement of Facts.

Reversible Laytime should never be treated as a simple calendar calculation. It is a contractual calculation based on the agreed laytime language. Clear drafting, accurate records, and disciplined calculation are essential. When properly used, Reversible Laytime can be a practical and fair mechanism for balancing time saved and time lost across the whole voyage.