My name is AJ. I’m doing an electrical engineering degree, but a friend’s dad told me that I have a really solid skillset in communications and planning, and he said that I should look into Demurrage because one of his buddies had a lot of success in it.
To be completely honest, aside from the little bit that I have read, I have absolutely no understanding of what Demurrage Analysts do, or what a day in their job looks like, and until yesterday, I had never considered a career in maritime operations, but I really trust his recommendations, so I am trying to do some research. From what I do understand, they submit Notices of Readiness and record SOFs to document what a ship does so that if it exceeds the required laytime, demurrage will have to be paid.
As you can probably tell, I don’t know too much, but I would appreciate any sort of feedback or help to see if this is something I may be interested in. My primary questions are:
What does a day in the life of a Demurrage Analyst look like? (Any software tools or legal things I need to know/learn, and any tasks that happen often that I should be prepared for?)
What is the best part of being one? Or what have you enjoyed about your career?
What is the hardest part of being a Demurrage analyst, or is there anything that is really frustrating about the job?
What does the pathway into becoming one look like?
Again, thank you to anyone who answers, and I appreciate any feedback or advice.
Hello AJ… Hopefully, someone will chime in with points to ponder, but while we are waiting, I suggest you, and anyone looking to start a career do some research on when you position will be replaced by AI. You can ask AI… it’s very helpful and optimistic.
Be careful how much weight you put into any advice offered based upon past results…
For starters you need to carefully examine @Ea_y_Money advise. I would do if i was in your shoes.
I was not doing demurrage analyses but as a chief mate and master was preparing SOF which was later compared with that of the agent and then agreed and signed by master.
With your bacground i am not sure it is an easy choice .
What I can do to help you make a decision is this..
Below is a pic of my literature. The one on the left I bought in Taiwan in 1992 . It is a first version and a bit outdated . The second on the right is the new one and updated.
Fantastic material and explains very basic things . You can skip Time Charters , Liner shipping and focus on Voyage charters Luckily i have a pdf version of the latest and can send it to you .
You must also be familiar with terms and conditions of various voyage charters and there are many . And believe me or not the volumes are intimidating .
Here is the very basic literature . I have more but you need to digest this before going any firther.
It would be great to have intimate knowledge or basic Voyage C.Ps . I have plenty and one can find them on BIMCO website . Pointless to send it now to you as the first step is the book above.
The book is 26 MB so i can not attached it here . Therefore pls send me PM with your email to get the pdf.
Consider getting in touch with shipping agent who takes care of bulkers in port . Surely he can answer a lot of your questions.
Thank you! The consensus I got from Gemini and ChatGPT was that although AI will likely automate some of the more manual work, Demurrage Analysts will still need to be present, since the nature of the contracts can get complicated and will require humans to step in and make decisions. But I do think this was useful for seeing which scopes of the job I need to focus on mastering and which I should more or less let AI handle for me in the future. Thank you for the advice!
Ok . Since creating google drive seems to be a problem or u simply have no time to do it , then i have split the original file into three managable parts.
Understanding Demurage is important vessel or cargo side of the carriage contract
The demurage agreement sets equipment redelivery parameters. Ship, container, rail car, and others. It’s a penalty for late deliveries not linked to cost of the equipment. Generaly much higher than daily cost.
Carriage contracts, Charters, Bills of Lading, Rail Bills etc have demurage clauses that should be understood by the cargo and equipment operators on scene representatives. Relating to Ships, the Master and cargo Mate, Stevedore, Agent, shore based cargo superintendent, anyone who makes decisions relating to time and expense loading and unloading.
Cargo owners should understand demurage terms too, in my experience they are not well understood in container trades. I’ve seen some very large demurage bills on containers. Demurage terms are filed with the FMC a carrier risk fines if terms are not honored. I had commercial claims settlement authority working for an owner. Never waived a demurage charge. Often made a commercial decision to pay damage claims if it made good business sense.
Bulk cargos, fewer transactions far higher demurage terms generally well understood. Vessels always report availability’s with notice of readiness delivered as soon as possible
To the original post question. Have never seen a dedicate Demurage analysis position. It’s a basic skill for many positions in shipping.
. Good luck!