What is the difference between demurrage and detention?
Demurrage is charged for cargo sitting inside the terminal beyond the agreed free time. Detention is charged for keeping the carrier's equipment outside the terminal beyond its free time. The two run on separate clocks, are often billed by different parties, and can both appear on one delayed container.
Written by Raja Torain. Published 2026-08-18, last reviewed 2026-08-24.
The two are billed by different clocks and often by different parties, which is why a single delayed container can generate two invoices that look duplicated but are not.
Disputes usually turn on evidence: appointment availability, terminal gate records, chassis supply and the exact free-time terms in the contract. Collect that evidence while it is fresh, not after the invoice arrives.
What I Check First
- 1.What free time was actually contracted, per container type?
- 2.Was the terminal accepting returns on the days being billed?
- 3.Do gate-in and gate-out timestamps support the charge?
In practice
The expensive version is usually documentary, not operational: the cargo is available and the release is not. Free-time terms and release type belong in writing before departure, not in the first invoice dispute.
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