Ship Chartering and Demurrage Masterclass Training Course

Duration 10 days 16 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Advanced Certificate on completion
Who attends Chartering Managers, Shipping Operations Managers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-MP-002

Before you join: Participants should have at least three years of experience in ship chartering, vessel operations, marine claims, freight trading, shipbroking or port logistics.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Ship chartering disputes often turn on a small number of words in the fixture recap, charter party, notice of readiness, statement of facts or terminal record. Senior operators, charterers, brokers and claims staff must translate commercial agreements into defensible voyage instructions, calculate laytime accurately, preserve evidence and decide when a demurrage claim should be pursued, settled or resisted. Errors can produce substantial exposure through unpaid freight, disputed port costs, rejected notices, missed time bars and avoidable arbitration.

This advanced masterclass examines voyage and time chartering through the commercial and legal mechanics that determine performance and payment. Participants work with fixture recaps, GENCON, ASBATANKVOY, BIMCO clauses and bespoke rider clauses; prepare voyage estimates; interpret laytime provisions; assess notices of readiness; calculate laytime, demurrage and despatch; and analyse exceptions such as weather, congestion, strikes, shifting and cargo documentation delays. The course also addresses claim preparation, correspondence strategy, settlement assessment and dispute escalation.

Instruction combines focused technical briefings with detailed charter-party extracts, port documentation, calculation packs, negotiation scenarios and claims case files. Participants progressively build a chartering and demurrage case file from commercial assumptions through to a quantified, evidenced claim position. They leave with a reusable voyage estimate model, laytime calculation workbook, notice and evidence checklist, claim chronology and settlement decision framework that can be adapted to their own trades and charter forms.

The programme is designed for experienced maritime professionals who already encounter fixtures, port calls or shipping claims and need greater command of the contractual detail behind operational and financial decisions.

What you will be able to do

  • Interpret fixture recaps and charter-party clauses to identify allocation of cost, risk and time
  • Prepare voyage estimates using freight, bunker, port, commission and time assumptions
  • Draft operational instructions that preserve charter-party rights during port calls
  • Calculate laytime, demurrage and despatch from statements of facts and contractual definitions
  • Assess notice of readiness validity against berth, port, cargo and documentary requirements
  • Build evidenced demurrage claims using chronologies, supporting records and contractual time bars
  • Evaluate exceptions, interruptions and disputed deductions using clause-by-clause analysis
  • Present a negotiated chartering and demurrage position supported by quantified commercial analysis

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Stronger authority when challenging ambiguous fixture and rider-clause wording
  • Faster preparation of defensible laytime and demurrage calculations
  • Better judgement on valid notices, exceptions and time-bar risks
  • Greater credibility in discussions with owners, charterers, brokers and terminals
  • A repeatable method for moving claims from port records to settlement decisions

For your organisation

  • Fewer avoidable demurrage exposures caused by weak notices and incomplete evidence
  • More accurate voyage-margin decisions before fixing vessels or cargoes
  • Earlier identification of charter-party clauses that create disproportionate operational risk
  • Better recovery rates through timely, documented and quantified claims submissions
  • More consistent escalation decisions between operations, commercial teams and legal counsel

Course modules

16 modules over 10 days

Participants can distinguish chartering structures and map their commercial and operational risk allocation.

  • Voyage, time and bareboat charter structures compared through risk allocation
  • Owners, charterers, brokers and agents mapped against contractual obligations
  • Freight, hire, deadfreight and detention distinguished by payment trigger
  • Cargo sale terms linked to vessel nomination and delivery exposure
  • Incoterms 2020 responsibilities compared with charter-party obligations and port practice
  • Commercial chain analysis identifies gaps between sale contracts and fixtures

Participants can negotiate and validate fixture recaps before contractual obligations become fixed.

  • Fixture negotiation sequence from offer through subjects, recap and clean fixture
  • Subject clauses assessed for certainty, withdrawal rights and commercial timing
  • Recap hierarchy tested against printed forms, riders and correspondence
  • Main terms checklist covers cargo, ports, freight, laytime and cancelling
  • Broker authority and commission wording examined for avoidable payment disputes
  • Post-fixture confirmation process assigns owners, deadlines and document control

Participants can interpret standard forms and identify rider clauses that alter core risk positions.

  • GENCON clauses examined for loading, discharge and laytime allocation
  • ASBATANKVOY provisions analysed for tanker operational and claims consequences
  • BIMCO rider clauses ranked by commercial impact and drafting priority
  • Printed form conflicts resolved using precedence and incorporation language
  • Additional clauses tested against recap terms and operational feasibility
  • Ambiguous drafting converted into targeted clarification questions before execution

Participants can prepare voyage estimates and test freight decisions against operational uncertainty.

  • Voyage estimate structure links revenue, time, cost and margin assumptions
  • Bunker consumption calculated by laden, ballast, port and waiting periods
  • Port disbursements, canal dues and agency costs validated against quotations
  • Freight, commission and address commission modelled under alternative outcomes
  • Speed and consumption warranties tested against weather and routing assumptions
  • Sensitivity analysis quantifies exposure to delays, fuel prices and port costs

Participants can identify the laytime regime governing a voyage and its calculation consequences.

  • Laytime clauses classified as fixed, reversible, separate or averaged allowances
  • BIMCO Laytime Definitions 2013 applied to commonly disputed expressions
  • Running hours, weather working days and working days explained precisely
  • SHINC, SHEX, UU and EIU clauses compared against operational calendars
  • Commencement, suspension and expiry events mapped onto a port-call timeline
  • Reversible laytime pools tested across loading and discharge port sequences

Participants can assess whether a notice of readiness validly starts the laytime process.

  • Port and berth charter distinctions tested against arrival and congestion facts
  • Notice of readiness requirements checked for location, readiness and timing
  • Physical readiness assessed through holds, tanks, gear and survey status
  • Documentary readiness examined for customs clearance, free pratique and certificates
  • Invalid notices traced to consequences for laytime commencement and damages
  • Protest wording preserves positions where readiness or tender validity remains disputed

Participants can establish a reliable evidence record for laytime and performance claims.

  • Statement of facts reviewed against logs, notices and terminal timestamps
  • Time records reconciled using UTC, local time and daylight-saving changes
  • Master's log entries structured to record interruptions and causation clearly
  • Letters of protest drafted for berth delays, cargo faults and instructions
  • Terminal records challenged where timestamps conflict with vessel evidence
  • Evidence register links each disputed period to supporting source documents

Participants can produce auditable laytime calculations using the applicable contractual method.

  • Laytime statement structure separates counted, excluded and disputed time periods
  • Notice-to-commencement interval calculated under clause-specific trigger wording
  • Weather interruptions measured using terminal records and meteorological evidence
  • Concurrent causes analysed before allocating time under exception provisions
  • Reversible and non-reversible calculations compared using worked port sequences
  • Calculation audit trail records assumptions, source documents and clause references

Participants can quantify delay-related payments and distinguish their contractual bases.

  • Demurrage rates interpreted as liquidated payment, damages or debt claims
  • Despatch clauses tested for all-time, working-time and saved-time formulations
  • Detention claims distinguished from demurrage through contractual entitlement analysis
  • Partial-day calculations applied using pro rata and conventional rounding methods
  • Currency, interest and tax treatment checked before issuing payment demands
  • Claim valuation compares contractual recovery with settlement and collection risk

Participants can analyse disputed interruptions and determine whether time should count.

  • Weather exceptions tested against clause wording, records and causal connection
  • Strike clauses examined for parties affected, scope and notice requirements
  • Congestion, berth unavailability and tidal restrictions allocated under charter terms
  • Cargo documentation delays analysed through responsibility and prevention principles
  • Shifting, bunkering and survey time assessed under express allowances
  • Burden of proof assigned for each asserted exception or deduction

Participants can manage terminal interfaces without conceding charter-party rights.

  • Terminal nomination requirements aligned with charter-party port and berth clauses
  • Loading and discharge rates tested against cargo, gear and terminal constraints
  • Safe berth and safe port obligations distinguished from operational assurances
  • Cargo readiness evidence reviewed before vessel arrival and notice tender
  • Terminal operating rules assessed against charter-party performance commitments
  • Escalation messages preserve rights during unsafe, delayed or restricted operations

Participants can assess time-charter performance issues alongside voyage-specific delay exposure.

  • Hire payment mechanics analysed through hire periods, deductions and anti-technicality notices
  • Off-hire clauses tested against breakdowns, deficiencies and causation requirements
  • Speed and consumption claims calculated using warranted performance methodology
  • Underperformance evidence reconciles noon reports, weather data and routing records
  • Employment and indemnity clauses allocated between charterer orders and owner risk
  • Bunker delivery, redelivery and quantity disputes assessed from survey evidence

Participants can assemble claims files that meet contractual and procedural deadlines.

  • Claim chronology built from fixture, port call, correspondence and invoice records
  • Time-bar clauses diarised from completion events, not invoice issue dates
  • Document requests targeted at missing facts, authority and causation evidence
  • Demurrage claim letters state contractual basis, calculation and payment deadline
  • Without-prejudice correspondence separated from open factual and contractual communications
  • Claim file index enables rapid review by management, insurers and counsel

Participants can evaluate settlement options and prepare disputes for formal resolution.

  • Merits assessment separates contractual entitlement, evidence strength and recovery prospects
  • Settlement ranges developed using quantum, costs, delay and relationship factors
  • Commercial negotiations planned around concessions, authority limits and alternative outcomes
  • Mediation preparation identifies agreed facts, disputed issues and decision makers
  • Arbitration clauses reviewed for seat, rules, tribunal appointment and notice requirements
  • Expert evidence needs assessed for weather, port practice and vessel performance

Participants can design controls that reduce recurring chartering and demurrage failures.

  • Pre-fixture approval matrix assigns authority for rates, clauses and deviations
  • Port-call checklist links operational actions to charter-party protection points
  • Claims dashboard tracks exposure, ageing, recovery rates and recurring causes
  • Clause library records approved wording, fallback positions and legal commentary
  • Post-voyage review identifies estimate variance, delay drivers and control failures
  • Escalation protocol connects operations, chartering, finance, insurance and legal teams

Participants can build, review and present a complete chartering and demurrage case file with a recommended commercial resolution.

  • Fixture recap reviewed for commercial assumptions, hierarchy and claim-critical wording
  • Voyage estimate completed using freight, cost, delay and margin scenarios
  • Port-call chronology assembled from notices, statements of facts and protests
  • Laytime calculation produced with clause references, exclusions and supporting evidence
  • Claim and defence positions evaluated through entitlement, quantum and time-bar analysis
  • Settlement recommendation presented with risk assessment, negotiation range and action plan

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Voyage estimate model
  2. Fixture recap review checklist
  3. Laytime calculation workbook
  4. Notice of readiness and evidence checklist
  5. Demurrage claim chronology template
  6. Settlement decision framework

Who should attend

  • Chartering Managers — need stronger control of fixture terms, voyage economics and post-fixture exposure
  • Shipping Operations Managers — must turn charter-party obligations into defensible port-call actions
  • Demurrage and Claims Managers — require disciplined calculations, evidence packs and settlement positions
  • Senior Shipbrokers — need to negotiate recaps that reduce ambiguity and subsequent disputes
  • Legal Counsel — need operational understanding of charter performance and laytime evidence
  • Commodity Trading Logistics Managers — need to manage freight exposure and vessel performance across cargo chains

Skills and tools covered

Charter-party interpretationVoyage estimatingLaytime calculationDemurrage claimsPort-call evidenceSettlement strategy

Tools and standards

BIMCO Laytime Definitions 2013, GENCON 2022, ASBATANKVOY, Incoterms 2020

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short technical briefings followed by charter-party clause review, worked calculation packs, port-call case files, group negotiations and claim simulations. Participants compare fixture wording against operational records, test competing interpretations and prepare commercial responses under realistic time constraints. Cases cover dry bulk, tanker and commodity-trading situations. Application planning connects the methods to participants' own charter forms, trade routes, terminal arrangements and claim-handling procedures.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have at least three years of experience in ship chartering, vessel operations, marine claims, freight trading, shipbroking or port logistics. They should already understand basic voyage terminology, common port-call documents, freight structures and the distinction between voyage and time charters. Familiarity with reading charter-party clauses is expected. This is not an introductory shipping course. No law degree, formal maritime qualification or prior arbitration experience is required, but participants must be comfortable working with contractual wording, operational records and numerical calculations.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should already work with charter parties, vessel operations, freight, port calls or maritime claims. The course assumes familiarity with shipping terminology and is not intended as an introduction to maritime transport.

Bring a laptop for calculation work and, where permitted, anonymised fixture recaps, charter-party clauses or claim issues from your business. Trainers can use these materials during application planning without requiring confidential commercial details.

The course is best suited to senior chartering, operations, claims, broking, trading logistics and legal professionals. It is particularly useful for people who must decide whether delay-related costs are payable, recoverable or worth settling.

This programme concentrates on the contractual and evidential detail behind fixtures, laytime, demurrage and claims. It spends less time on broad maritime industry orientation and more time interpreting clauses, calculating time and building defensible positions.

Participants can use the templates to review live fixtures, improve port-call instructions, verify laytime statements and organise claim files. The case-file method also supports clearer handovers between commercial, operational, finance and legal teams.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first week establishes chartering, voyage economics and laytime calculation methods; the second week addresses exceptions, claims, settlement and the final case-file presentation.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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