A sum of damages awarded to owners who successfully sue charterers for unreasonably detaining their ship beyond a reasonable demurrage period.
There may be a maximum number of days allowed on demurrage, which if exceeded allows owners to claim their actual losses caused by the delay, i. e. damages for detention, which will normally be more punitive than demurrage. Owners would have a claim for damages for detention, for example, where an extended delay on one charter prevented them from taking up a second charter on which their ship had been fixed on the assumption that she would be available by then.
