What is laycan?
The window of days within which the vessel must arrive and be ready to load. Miss the laycan and the charterer may cancel; arrive early and the vessel waits at the buyer’s or seller’s expense depending on terms.
Key points
- A window of dates, not a deadline.
- Arrive after the cancelling date and the charterer may walk away.
- Whether early waiting counts as laytime depends on the notice of readiness clause.
At a glance
| Stands for | Laydays and cancelling |
|---|---|
| Typical spread | 2–5 days for bulk fixtures |
| Arrive early | Vessel waits; laytime treatment depends on the NOR clause |
| Arrive late | Charterer gains a cancelling option |
| Governed by | The charter party, not the Incoterm |
What a laycan is
Laycan is a contraction of “laydays and cancelling”. It defines two dates: the first day the vessel may present for loading, and the last day it may present before the charterer gains the right to cancel.
It is a window, not a deadline. A vessel arriving before the first layday cannot force the terminal to start loading; a vessel arriving after the cancelling date gives the charterer an option to walk away.
Why it governs the whole trade
Laycan is the hinge between the sale contract and the shipping contract. Cargo readiness, storage, financing and the letter of credit shipment date all have to line up with it, which is why a laycan change usually forces changes elsewhere.
In practice the laycan is agreed narrowly — often a two to five day spread — then tightened by notices as the vessel approaches. A wide laycan gives the shipowner flexibility and the cargo interest uncertainty.
What goes wrong
Early arrival is the quieter problem: the vessel waits, and whether that waiting counts as laytime depends on the notice of readiness provisions rather than the laycan itself.
Late arrival gives a cancelling right, but exercising it is not always attractive — the charterer may have no replacement tonnage. In tight markets a missed cancelling date is more often renegotiated than enforced.
Frequently asked questions
- What does laycan mean in shipping?
- Laydays and cancelling: the window of dates within which the vessel must arrive and tender notice of readiness. Before the first date the terminal need not load; after the last, the charterer may cancel.
- What happens if a vessel misses its laycan?
- The charterer gains the right to cancel the charter. Whether it does depends on the market — with no alternative tonnage available, the parties usually renegotiate instead.
- How long is a typical laycan?
- Commonly two to five days for bulk commodity fixtures, narrowing as the fixture approaches. Wider windows favour the shipowner; narrower ones favour the cargo.
Related terms
A daily charge payable when loading or discharging takes longer than the agreed laytime. On bulk cargoes it can move the economics of a shipment materially, which is why laytime terms belong in the contract, not the covering email.
The seller delivers the goods on board the vessel at the named load port and clears them for export. Risk and cost transfer to the buyer once the cargo is loaded, so the buyer arranges and pays for ocean freight and insurance.
The document issued by the carrier that serves as receipt for the cargo, evidence of the contract of carriage, and — critically — a document of title. Whoever holds the original endorsed bill controls the goods.
The seller pays for carriage to the named destination port, but risk transfers to the buyer when the goods are loaded at origin. The seller does not insure the cargo — that gap between cost and risk is the difference buyers most often miss.
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