Ship Chartering

What you will find here

Ship chartering is the deal that puts your cargo on a ship. It settles who hires whom and who pays for fuel and port costs. It sets how fast the ship must load and discharge, and what the freight or hire is. These pages explain how dry bulk and breakbulk ships are chartered, starting from the basics. They cover the shape of each charter and the clauses that decide who pays when a voyage runs late.

Start with the charter party, the contract behind every fixture. The three main charter types build on it. In a voyage charter, you pay the owner a freight rate per tonne, and the owner carries the operating risk. In a time charter, you pay hire per day and decide where the ship works. A trip charter is a time charter for a single voyage. Our chartering process page follows a fixture from first inquiry to the signed recap.

Who it is for and where to start

We wrote these pages for cargo owners, traders, and operators. They help you read a recap, a laytime statement, or a freight idea without guessing at the terms. Each page explains one idea, shows how it differs from the terms people often mix it up with, and links to the related clauses.

• New to chartering? Read the charter party page, then the voyage charter page.
• Pricing a voyage? See the freight rate and the voyage estimate.
• Where time costs money: laytime, laycan, demurrage, and dispatch.
• Comparing charter types: spot charter, voyage charter, time charter, and bareboat charter cover whole-ship and single-voyage deals. A lump-sum charter sets the freight as one fixed sum with no per-tonne rate. A slot charter buys container space on a ship.
• Trade terms and payment: Incoterms decide who charters the ship and who pays the freight. The bill of lading is the document that travels with the cargo. An assignment of proceeds lets a seller raise finance against a letter of credit before the voyage ends.

Tell us about your cargo when you are ready to fix. A broker will reply within one business day.