On average, dry bulk vessels spend around 50% of their voyage duration in port, where unpaid waiting time can substantially erode profitability.
Predicting and measuring ‘time in port’ has long been a challenge, from voyage estimation to post-voyage analysis and demurrage disputes.
Marcura provides an elegant solution to address this challenge through two integrated digital solutions: PortLog Pro and Marcura Claims (formerly ClaimsHub).
Together, these solutions enable shipping companies to optimise port time and demurrage management, turning traditionally labour-intensive and error-prone processes into streamlined, data-driven workflows.
Pre-fixture optimisation with PortLog Pro
Port time risk assessment often relies on standard factors like SHEX and turn time, overlooking unpaid time due to weather, holidays, documentation, etc. which burdens owners with unexpected costs.
Misjudging unpaid time leads to TCE slippage and a false perception of despatch savings.
PortLog Pro helps chartering teams improve voyage estimates by predicting unpaid time with greater accuracy.
Drawing on historical port data, including terminal-specific trends and seasonal patterns, the platform provides more realistic port stay forecasts.
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Across the dry bulk sector, unpaid time averages 2.7 days per port call. But many operators budget only 1.5 days leaving a gap of 1.2-days
By using PortLog Pro consistently, operators can typically reduce this gap by around one day, adjusting estimates to 2.5 days.
This improvement can translate to savings of up to approx.. $15,000 per port call based on average TCE rates. More accurate estimates lead to better cargo selection, fewer high-risk voyages, and improved profitability.
Additionally, PortLog Pro supports portfolio-based negotiation strategies, enabling charterers to calibrate demurrage and despatch terms with confidence based on granular terminal-level insights.
Strategic adjustments guided by PortLog Pro’s data, such as increasing demurrage rates or reducing despatch incentives, can deliver median laytime improvements of around $2,000 per port call.
Post-Fixture Efficiency with Marcura Claims
Laytime calculation is a manual, time-intensive process, with analysts spending hours reviewing clauses and timestamps.
Ship operators collect documents from agents and forward them to the demurrage team, which finalises claims, issues invoices, and manages correspondence via email.
Marcura Claims modernises demurrage claims processing by consolidating and digitising documentation and contracts.
With more than 80% of tasks considered non-core, the process is prone to clerical errors and inefficiencies that quietly drain value. Marcura Claims uses AI to flag these issues early, reducing leakage and the risk of disputes.
Ambiguities in contract terms are another source of loss, accounting for 5–10% of total demurrage write-downs across the industry. Marcura Claims detects these weak spots and highlights them for corrective action.
It also tracks frequently disputed laytime clauses and ranks them by financial impact, helping teams negotiate clearer, more robust terms over time.
Are claims challenges slowing your team down?
Estimate how much slow, error-prone demurrage claims could be costing you. And learn how much you could recover with Marcura Claims
Eliminate basic errors
Over 60 % of demurrage disputes arise from avoidable errors like missed stoppages, wrong NOR conditions, or mis-applied CP terms.
Reduce financial losses
Shipping companies lose 3–7 % of potential demurrage recovery annually due to manual tracking and late claim submissions.
Stop wasting time
It takes most operations teams 2–3 days longer to finalise demurrage claims without automated laytime tracking.
Individually powerful – transformative together
The integration between PortLog Pro and Marcura Claims forms a powerful feedback loop.
Post-voyage data from Marcura Claims informs PortLog Pro’s forecasting, allowing chartering and operations teams to continuously refine their voyage estimates based on historical performance.
By feeding deterministic outcomes from Marcura Claims into PortLog Pro’s probabilistic models, Marcura enables a learning loop that strengthens trust in forecast accuracy and supports continuous improvement in both chartering and operations.
Even modest optimisations, such as a 1% improvement in port time efficiency, yield significant financial benefits, potentially millions of dollars annually.
Marcura’s integrated solutions enable maritime operators to transform previously uncontrollable port time into a reliable source of competitive advantage and enhanced profitability.
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