What Is a Statement of Facts (SOF)?

The Statement of Facts is the signed, time-stamped record of everything that happened during a vessel's port call — and the evidence every laytime and demurrage figure is argued from.

The Statement of Facts is the single most important document in any laytime or demurrage calculation. It is the official, chronological record of everything that happened during the vessel's port call — and it is the evidence every figure is ultimately argued from.

What the SOF records

Compiled by the ship's agent and signed at the port, the SOF logs each event with its date and time, typically including:

• Arrival at the port or anchorage
• Notice of Readiness tendered and accepted
• Berthing / all fast
• Hoses connected, and the start of loading or discharging
• Any stoppages — weather, shifting, breakdowns, waiting for cargo or documents
• Completion of cargo operations, hoses disconnected, and departure

Why it matters for demurrage

Laytime is measured against the SOF timeline. The time counted, the moment the clock starts, and every deduction all come from these entries. If the SOF shows a two-hour weather stoppage, that is what supports excluding it. If it records slow loading, that may point to a Letter of Protest and a deduction on the terminal's account. Get the SOF reading wrong and the whole laytime calculation is wrong.

Where disputes come from

SOFs arrive in many formats — agent templates, owner versions, scanned handwriting — and the owner's and charterer's copies do not always agree. Common friction points are the exact NOR time, whether a stoppage is on the owner's or charterer's account, and gaps or overlaps in the timeline. Reading them carefully, port by port, is where contested time is found.