Despatch money

A sum the owner pays the charterer for laytime saved, the mirror of demurrage. If the charterer loads or discharges faster than the agreed laytime allows, the charter may reward the saved time, conventionally at half the demurrage rate. Despatch is usually payable on all working time saved (ATS) or only on laytime saved (WTS), a distinction that changes the amount due. It applies in the dry trades far more than in tankers.