Difference of Laydays and Laytime

Lay days and lay time are both commercial shipping terms that are often confused as referring to the same meaning. Though both deals with the same aspect – time for loading and discharging of the cargo, there is a major difference between the two terms. Laydays can be defined as the days kept aside in a ship’s voyage schedule for loading and unloading of the cargo. Laydays represent the time at which a ship must reach the charterer for cargo operations. 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.