What is laycan in shipping?
Laycan is the first thing a broker checks when matching a ship to a cargo: can this ship be at the load port, ready, inside the window? Get it wrong and the cargo misses its sale, or the ship ballasts for nothing.
Laycan meaning
Laycan is short for laydays / cancelling. It is a date range, for example 12 to 20 October. The first date is the earliest day laytime can start: a ship arriving earlier can wait, but laytime will not count before that date unless the charterer agrees. The last date is the cancelling date: if the ship is not ready by then, the charterer may cancel the charter.
Laycan vs laytime
| Laycan | Laytime | |
|---|---|---|
| Question it answers | When must the ship arrive? | How long may cargo work take? |
| Expressed as | A date window | Days, hours or a rate per day |
| If missed | Charterer may cancel | Demurrage becomes payable |
If the ship will miss the cancelling date
An owner who expects to arrive late cannot simply keep sailing and hope. Most modern charters include an interpellation clause: the owner declares a new expected readiness date, and the charterer must decide within a short time whether to cancel or accept the new date. Without such a clause the owner may have to proceed to the port before the charterer is obliged to decide.
Narrowing the laycan
Cargo orders are often circulated with a wide spread, for example 'first half November'. Once fixed, the charter may allow the charterer or owner to narrow it, say to a 5-day or 10-day window, by a set date. This lets the terminal plan the berth while giving both sides flexibility early on.
Why laycan drives matching
A ship only fits a cargo if its open position and date, plus the ballast time to the load port, land inside the laycan. That is why a vessel's open date and position are as important as its size. Our matching checks laycan feasibility from each vessel's open position before a ship is proposed.
Frequently asked questions
- What does laycan stand for?
- Laydays and cancelling: the earliest date laytime can commence and the date after which the charterer may cancel.
- Can a ship load before the laycan?
- It can if the charterer agrees, but laytime usually does not count before the first layday unless the charter says it does.
Where this applies on our desk: Clean petroleum products shipping, Vegetable oil shipping and Black Sea to Egypt grain.