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Inquiry → Fixture → Voyage → Settlement

How Ship Chartering Works

How to charter a ship through Bulkargo, step by step, from inquiry to fixture, charter party, voyage and post-fixture. See what you do, what your broker does, and how long each step takes.

Two brokers reviewing freight figures on a laptop with a calculator, charts and a report on the desk
Why use a broker

Three reasons cargo owners use a broker

To charter a ship means hiring a ship, in whole or in part, for one voyage, a period of time, or a set programme of cargoes. Our ship chartering overview explains the mechanics, the contracts and how the market works. This page covers what happens when you bring an inquiry to a broker, and why most cargo owners use one. Our ship chartering company page describes the full service of an independent broker: finding the ship, negotiating and settling.

The market is scattered and hard to see into. Thousands of owners and disponent owners (companies that run ships they have chartered in) operate tens of thousands of ships across many jurisdictions. Position data is partial and goes out of date fast. Rates change every day, and no single place publishes them. The same route can fix at very different prices. The price depends on how keen the owner is, where the ship is sailing empty from, and recent fixtures. You need to be in the market every day, and know the desks that control the ships, to find the right ship at the right price.

The contract is technical. A charter party runs to twenty pages or more of working charter party terms: laytime, demurrage, dispatch, hold cleanliness, weather working, off-hire, deviation, BIMCO standard amendments, war risk, sanctions and riders for the specific cargo. You leave money and risk on the table if you draft and negotiate these without experience. Small wording choices matter. A reversible laytime clause and a non-reversible one, for example, can swing the result of a voyage by tens of thousands of dollars.

Problems after the fixture are routine. Demurrage calculations, mate’s receipt disputes, bill of lading wording, voyage delays, off-hire claims, hold cleanliness disputes: something almost always needs handling after the ship sails. The broker who fixed the deal knows the background and can settle these quickly. Cargo owners who go direct often find the commission they saved turns into a steady drain on their operations team.

Compliance adds more work. Sanctions screening, checks on the ship and its owners, flag and class checks, P&I cover checks, and ESG questions on a ship’s emissions are now standard before any fixture. Bulkargo handles all of it, start to finish.

Two people shaking hands over a desk with contract documents and a pen

The six-step chartering process

Every fixture follows the same six steps. Below you can see what you provide, what we do, and how long each step usually takes. Our ship brokering team handles each step for you. That runs from your inquiry through the laycan, the fixture recap that binds the deal, and the master’s notice of readiness at the load port. The steps are the same for a one-off spot voyage and a long-term contract of affreightment. The amount of work in each step changes. A repeat programme on a familiar route moves fast through steps one to three. A first project cargo or a sensitive trade takes longer. The first thing a broker works out from your inquiry is where you sit on that range.

  1. 01

    Define your shipping requirement

    20 to 30 min

    We turn your cargo and timeline into an inquiry the market can work with: the ship size it needs, port limits and the laycan. We ask questions to fill any gaps before the inquiry goes out. The offers then come back on the same basis and are easy to compare. We run standard KYC and sanctions checks on both sides before the fixture. We send you the document list when you first inquire.

    You provide
    Cargo type and tonnage, load and discharge ports, laycan, any limits on the ship
    We handle
    Stowage factor, hold cleanliness needs, port limits, how the cargo will be weighed
  2. 02

    Market canvass

    24 to 72 hrs

    We ask our network of owners and operators for ships that match your cargo, laycan and limits. We use direct contacts, fixture databases and AIS ship positions. We also look past the obvious ships, to ships sailing empty toward you and ships finishing nearby fixtures. These often offer the better price on a tight laycan.

    We handle
    DWT and cubic fit, age and class, last cargo, current position, trading limits
  3. 03

    Offer evaluation and negotiation

    24 to 48 hrs

    We give you a shortlist with indicative prices and our recommendation. Then we negotiate every term: freight or hire, laytime, demurrage, dispatch, loading and discharge rates, laycan, charter party form, BIMCO clauses and cargo clauses. We compare each offer with recent similar fixtures. We tell you which numbers the market has fixed and which have room to move.

    We handle
    Compare with recent fixtures, negotiate the full term sheet
  4. 04

    Fixture and charter party

    24 to 72 hrs

    The recap concludes the fixture. It binds both sides once the subjects are lifted. We then draw up the formal charter party on the right form: GENCON for general bulk voyages, or the form used in your cargo trade. The recap settles who pays for cargo handling (liner terms, FIO, FIOS), and the charter party repeats it. We check every clause against the recap and our standard checks. The subjects period is short, often one working day. We coordinate the order in which subjects are lifted, so neither side is exposed if anything slips.

    We handle
    Charter party review, push back on amendments that favour the owner, signature coordination
  5. 05

    Pre-loading coordination

    The ship sails to the load port. The master tenders Notice of Readiness (NOR) on arrival, once the ship is ready in all respects. A valid NOR plus the turn time in the charter party sets the start of laytime. Laytime then counts against the agreed terms. A local ship agent at the load port deals with the port authorities, customs clearance, the master on berthing, and the stevedores. Hold cleanliness inspection and pre-loading surveys come next: draft, moisture and grade checks. We stay in touch with the master, owner and agents. We sort out cargo readiness, berth windows and hold passes before laytime starts running.

    We handle
    Contact with master, owner, port agents and shippers. We fix last-minute problems before they turn into disputes
  6. 06

    Voyage execution and post-fixture

    Loading finishes, the bill of lading (B/L) is issued and the ship sails. At the discharge port come the NOR, discharge laytime and the statement of facts (SoF). After discharge we review the SoF and settle demurrage if any is due. The fixture closes once the numbers are reconciled, and we stay with it until then.

    We handle
    Voyage monitoring, weather watch, demurrage calculation, settlement coordination

Most problems after the fixture start before the ship sails. They come from charter party wording that did not match how the voyage really runs at the load port, at sea or at discharge. We check each clause against your cargo and route, so the voyage itself runs as routine paperwork. The broker who fixed your ship also handles the settlement.

We negotiate the fixture and we stay with it. Demurrage settlement, owner correspondence and dispute support after the fixture are all part of our standard service.

On the brokerage relationship
Inquiry checklist

What to send when you reach out

Send what you have. We can work with partial information. The list below matches the fields on our quote form. Each item is there because it shapes the ship shortlist, the price, or both. The more you give us up front, the sooner we can come back with firm offers.

  • Cargo type and rough tonnage. “About 32,000 MT urea in bulk” is enough to start. The cargo type sets the stowage factor, the hold cleanliness needed (grain clean, hospital clean, last three cargoes restrictions) and any IMSBC Code declarations for solid bulk cargo. The tonnage points to the ship size.
  • Load port or region. A specific port is best. A range is fine for an early inquiry. The port sets the draft and air draft limits, the loading rate and equipment, the berths available and the turn time. All of these affect which ships fit and the laytime figures.
  • Discharge port or region. The same applies at the other end. Some countries also have their own receiver rules: ship age limits, P&I cover levels, sanctions exposure or local cargo handling rules. These can rule whole groups of ships in or out.
  • Preferred laycan. A 7- to 14-day window is normal. A tighter window leaves fewer ships to choose from and tends to push the price up. Owners charge for the risk of waiting around a narrow slot. A wider window lets us include ships sailing empty toward you and ships finishing nearby fixtures, which usually gets you a better price.
  • Special requirements. Hold cleanliness, loading or discharge gear, draft limits, ship age limit. Each of these rules ships off the shortlist outright. Tell us at the start, and we will not waste time negotiating for ships that would fail the checks later.
  • Charter type preference. Voyage, time, COA or spot, if you have a preference. We will advise you if you do not. The right choice depends on how predictable your cargo is, how much freight risk you want to carry, and how much control you want over the ship.
  • Budget expectations. Optional, and useful for context. We use your budget as a reference point. It lets us tell you quickly whether the market is above, below or in line with your number.

For a recurring programme, also send your annual or seasonal volume forecast, the port pairs and any existing COA terms. We can then plan your freight as one programme. A programme commitment to owners often gets you better terms than a string of separate fixtures.

Common questions

How long does it take to charter a ship?
A standard dry cargo voyage charter on a routine route takes three to seven business days from inquiry to signed fixture. The first day goes on clarifying your inquiry and checking the market. The next two to three days go on comparing offers and negotiating. The rest goes on the recap, lifting subjects and signing the charter party. Tanker fixtures are faster in a liquid market, usually 24 to 48 hours. The contract forms are more standard there, and the desks are set up for high volume. Project cargo, heavy lift, and specialist chemical or gas fixtures usually need 4 to 8 weeks. Fewer ships are available for them, and the engineering reviews take time. The market also stretches or shortens these times. Even routine fixtures can take longer when ready ships are scarce. Owners come back the same day when the market has more ships than cargoes.
How much does it cost to charter a bulk carrier?
You pay for a voyage charter by the tonne of cargo, and for a time charter by the day. The price depends on the route, the cargo, the size of the ship, and whether the market is going up or down. To give you a sense of scale in a normal market: a Capesize voyage costs a few dollars a tonne on a short run, and USD 25 a tonne or more to carry iron ore from Brazil to China. A Panamax on time charter usually costs USD 12,000 to USD 30,000 a day. Handysize and Supramax ships cost less, and a Capesize can cost a lot more when the market is busy. These prices swing a lot over the market cycle. Most cargo owners follow the Baltic Dry Index (BDI), but an index won't tell you what your cargo will cost on your route, so we give you a live market read on every inquiry.
Do I need a broker to charter a ship?
Strictly speaking, no. You can approach owners direct. In practice almost every cargo owner uses a broker. Market access, negotiating skill, risk management and post-fixture support are hard and expensive to build in-house. A broker gives you three things. The first is a network of owners and operators who return your calls on a tight laycan. The second is a benchmark against recent similar fixtures, so you know a fair price on the day. The third is someone who stays with the deal through to settlement of demurrage and disputes. Tanker work adds another layer of checks: vessel vetting (SIRE inspections, owner and ISM compliance, age and class) and sanctions screening. These are hard to run cleanly without a broker. The ship owner pays the broker's commission out of the freight, so you pay no direct cost.
What is the minimum cargo size for chartering?
You can charter a mini bulker from around 3,000 MT. They are common on short sea trades in Europe, the Mediterranean and within Asia. Handysize starts around 25,000 MT, Supramax and Ultramax at 50,000 MT, Panamax at 65,000 MT to 80,000 MT, and Capesize at 150,000 MT to 180,000 MT and above. The usual answer for less than 3,000 MT is a part cargo on a multi-purpose ship. Liquids and chemicals can take a slot on a parcel or chemical tanker, where several shippers share one ship. We advise you on the setup that fits your volume, cargo and route.
What documents do I need to provide?
To start, you only need the cargo details, the load and discharge ports, and the laycan. We coordinate the rest: drafting and reviewing the charter party, the fixture recap wording, bill of lading instructions, the statement of facts review, and the other shipping documents your trade needs. Those can include a certificate of origin, phytosanitary or quality certificates for commodities, a dangerous goods declaration for IMDG cargo, and sanctions and compliance statements. You stay in charge of the cargo specification and your sale or purchase contract. We look after the ship and the contract of carriage that links them.
Can the same broker handle ongoing programmes?
Yes. We can set up a long-term arrangement as a COA (contract of affreightment) or a rolling time charter. Both fix the freight and the capacity, so no single cargo is exposed to the spot market.

Related references

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Cargoes we have fixed since 2022

  • Cement
  • Quicklime
  • Bitumen
  • Project cargo
  • Machinery
  • Mining ores and earths