Demurrage time bars and documentation
The 90-day demurrage clause, what counts as a supporting document, and whether a documentary defect bars the whole claim.
A demurrage time bar clause requires an owner to present a demurrage claim, with specified supporting documents, within a fixed period after completion of discharge, failing which the claim is barred entirely. Ninety days is the common period in tanker charters.
The documentation requirement, rather than the deadline, is what usually defeats a claim. In Tricon Energy Ltd v MTM Trading LLC (The MTM Hong Kong) [2020] EWHC 700 (Comm) an amended ASBATANKVOY clause 38 barred any claim where the claim, invoice and all supporting documents were not received before the time bar; because demurrage was pro-rated by bill of lading quantities, the bills were supporting documents and their omission barred the entire claim, the clause making no reference to constituent parts as the clause in The Adventure [2015] EWHC 318 (Comm) had done.
The full article will cover the standard time bar wordings, what counts as a supporting document and why that turns on the calculation method, whether a defect bars the whole claim or only the affected part, the effect of a without prejudice resubmission, and how to build a compliant demurrage file.