Demurrage is the charge an ocean carrier bills when a full import container sits inside the terminal beyond its free time. Detention is the charge when you hold the carrier’s container outside the terminal beyond free time. Free time is the number of days before each clock starts.
In short: demurrage means the box is still at the port; detention means you have the box and have not returned the empty. The pair is often abbreviated D&D and billed per container per day, frequently on a rising scale.
Each charge has its own free time, its own trigger events, and its own tariff line. This page is the overview; the demurrage and detention pages cover each clock in detail, and the three-way comparison with storage covers who bills what.
Tracking is the practical defence: the discharge, gate-out, and empty-return events are exactly the milestones that start and stop the two clocks. TrackingMCP watches those events per container and the free-time tool shows published free days by carrier and port, so the invoice is never the first time you hear about a slow box.
Free days, daily rates, and billing rules vary by carrier, terminal, port, and contract. Treat this page as orientation and confirm specifics against your own agreement and the applicable tariff before acting on an invoice.
Demurrage is the charge an ocean carrier bills when a full import container sits inside the terminal beyond its free time. Detention is the charge when you hold the carrier’s container outside the terminal beyond free time. Free time is the number of days before each clock starts.
To keep containers and terminal space circulating. A box idling in a yard or a warehouse is capacity the carrier cannot resell, so tariffs price the delay once free time runs out.
Free days and rates are commonly negotiated in service contracts, especially for regular volume. Once billed, disputes usually turn on whether the delay was within your control, so records of holds and terminal conditions matter.
Look up free time by carrier & port →
Track a container with D&D alerts →
More in Charges & free time: Demurrage · Detention · Demurrage vs detention vs storage · Free time · Last free day (LFD) · Per diem · Terminal handling charge (THC) · General rate increase (GRI) · Peak season surcharge (PSS) · Bunker adjustment factor (BAF) · Currency adjustment factor (CAF) · War risk surcharge (WRS) · Browse all 106 terms →