Laycan
Laycan — from laydays / cancelling — is the agreed window of dates in a charter party within which the vessel must arrive at the load port and be ready to load. The first date (laydays) is the earliest the charterer is obliged to start; the last date (cancelling) is the deadline after which, if the ship has not arrived and tendered a valid Notice of Readiness, the charterer may cancel the charter.
Laycan is a pivotal commercial term: it ties the ship's schedule to the cargo's availability and gives the charterer protection if the vessel is late. Owners plan voyages and bunkering to hit the laycan; missing the cancelling date can lose the fixture. It works alongside laytime (the time allowed for cargo operations once loading starts) and the Notice of Readiness in the mechanics of chartering.
Laycan is where a ship's schedule and a cargo's timing are contractually locked together. Hit it and the fixture proceeds; miss the cancelling date and the charterer can walk away, losing the owner the voyage. It is one of the most consequential dates in any charter, driving voyage and bunker planning to make the window.
What happens if a ship misses its laycan?
If it has not arrived and tendered a valid Notice of Readiness by the cancelling date, the charterer may cancel the charter.
How is laycan different from laytime?
Laycan is the arrival window for the ship to be ready to load; laytime is the time allowed for the cargo operations once loading begins.