Container demurrage
D&D audit: demurrage and detention invoice review
Container demurrage and detention (D&D) is the carrier's charge for holding a container beyond the free time set out in your contract. We check these invoices against your own carrier contract and draft a claim — you only pay a share of what's actually recovered.
What demurrage and detention are
Contracted free time typically ranges from 3 to 14 days depending on the carrier and the contract. When a container is returned later than that, the carrier charges a fee for every extra day — often based on a contract rate that's misapplied or calculated from the wrong start date. The example below uses 5 days purely for illustration.
How the audit works
You send us the last few months' invoices and your contract — we review them for free and show you whether there are real errors. If we find a discrepancy, we draft a claim with a full calculation basis and prepare it to send straight to the carrier. If we recover nothing, you pay nothing.
The same scope covers the storage invoices the terminal issues for the same container — they come from a different legal entity, so they are almost never compared against the carrier’s demurrage invoice.
The audit isn't tied to a port: the claim is filed against the carrier under your contract, so we can review an invoice from any port or terminal. In Klaipėda, Riga, Tallinn and Gdańsk the review is automatic. Elsewhere we first request the terminal tariff — the result is the same, it just adds a few working days.
Price
Historic audit
25%
Of the amount actually recovered. If nothing is recovered — €0, never in advance.
Before you start: how long you have to bring a claim — the scope of a historic audit is limited by the limitation period, not by your archive.
No cap, no minimum fee.
What is needed
- Demurrage/detention invoices (required)
If you do not have it: Without the invoices the audit cannot be carried out. - Carriage contract with the free-time terms (without it some of the checks will not work)
If you do not have it: Without the contract we take the free time from the carrier's published terms, and those may differ from your contract. - Gate movement records (without it some of the checks will not work)
If you do not have it: Without them we cannot check when the clock actually stopped.
Frequently asked questions
Is this legal?
Yes. We only review your existing contract with the carrier and how it was applied to a specific invoice — this is a standard commercial dispute, nothing unusual.
Do you always recover money?
No. Not every claim is won — it depends on the contract terms and the specific case. That's exactly why, in the historic audit, you only pay for what's actually recovered, never in advance.
Can you check invoices from ports that aren't on your list?
Yes. A claim is filed against the carrier under your contract, not against a port, so the calculation check works anywhere. For four ports we already have terminal tariffs and holiday calendars on file, so the review is automatic and faster. Elsewhere we'll first ask for the terminal tariff — that adds a few days but doesn't change the result.
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