What Is a Ship Chartering Company

According to global trade estimates in 2017, more than 10.702 billion tons of goods over 58 trillion kilometers in tonnage were shipped on 50,732 ships worldwide. If the container ships are removed, about 44,000 ships were involved in transporting oil, dry bulk, general purpose, gas, etc. Using standard forms, ship charterers plan a voyage, calculate associated costs, arrange ship handling and shipping, and process ship and cargo documents. It is also necessary to process claims and insurance claims if necessary. Good communication and interpersonal skills are therefore essential for this role, while an analytical and proactive nature can also be helpful. The authority or body that registers a merchant ship is called the Ship Register. This can be a registry of state ships or a registry owned by private organizations such as Lloyds Registry, Bureau Veritas, Indian Register of Shipping (IRS), etc. The price of this form of ship charter or ship charter is usually set in U.S. dollars per day. It is also possible to use it for a limited period of time, for example, if goods are to be brought from point A to point B and it is not a regular transport. This is the most common type of ship rental. A voyage charter usually involves renting the ship as well as its crew for a specific voyage between two or more ports.

Rent is based on the amount or weight of cargo carried during the journey, or it could be a fixed amount agreed between the parties. In other words, the shipowner receives a fixed income from the chartering of his ships and can use this income to cover the ship`s operating costs, repairs, etc. and pay interest and repay the loan. To make sure it still works, there are also insurance companies that cover the costs in case of a defect or breakdown. The procedure is still used when ships are sailing under foreign flags and Liberia, Antigua and Barbuda are the countries to which the flag is hoisted. The advantage is that the ownership of the vessel is not affected and an entry in the German register of ships still exists. The issue of insurance for ship charters cannot be solved in general. A ship operator is either the shipowner or the (legal) person responsible for the effective management of the ship and its crew. A ship charterer plans the details of the voyage, including the calculation of cargo handling costs for the ship and, depending on the cargo conditions agreed with the shipowner (such as FLT, FIO, etc.), if necessary, land cargo handling equipment, etc.

Before a shipowner offers a ship, a shipowner will be interested in knowing when a ship is being leased, which is called ship charters. Just as people rent an apartment or a car, some people can rent a ship according to their needs. This may involve carrying passengers or goods. Today, about 90% of the world`s non-bulk goods are transported by container ships. Container shipping connects countries, markets and businesses and enables them to buy and sell goods on an unprecedented scale. The leasing of a ship is called a ship charter and begins with the conclusion of an agreement between the shipowner and a third party. In maritime jargon, this Agreement is referred to as the Charter Party. Responsibility for the safety of the vessel and for all financial settlements with external parties rests with the charterer for the duration of the charter. A bareboat rental is also known as a shipwreck charter.

There are three general categories of container ships that correspond to their respective capacities: Feeder, Panamaxes and Post Panamaxes. Feeders have a capacity of up to 3,000 TEUs and typically serve small container ports; Panamax has a capacity of between 3,000 and 4,250 TEUs, and Post Panamax has a capacity of more than 4,250. It would do the broker good if they knew all these details before contacting a potential client. The charterer has direct contact with a large number of customers (mainly in the business sector) who wish to transport goods and therefore charters its vessels over the long term in order to manage the volume of orders. In this way, the rent of the ships is also guaranteed, which derives from the income from transport. Shipping brokers play an important role in bringing together the right shipowner and charterer and finalizing the terms of the agreement between them. A marine broker is not responsible for the vessel, its operation or the cargo it carries. He is only the intermediary between the shipowner and the charterer. A shipping broker can be active in many areas of brokerage such as dry cargo, tanker chartering, selling and buying ships, and general-purpose freight, but brokers generally prefer to specialize in one of these areas. The time charter equivalent is a standard measure for the shipping industry that is primarily used to compare changes in a shipping company`s performance from one period to the next despite changes in the combination of charter types. Just as the shipowner needs to know the type of cargo to be carried on the ship and its date of departure, etc., the charterer must know the handling capacity of the ship and its flag. In this case, the employment contract transfers responsibility for technical maintenance or administration to the hiring person.

When they take possession of the ship, they have full control over it and assume financial and legal responsibility as long as it is in their possession. A good shipping broker would have a solid database of contacts and an ear for the field in the shipping market and would be able to interpret market trends and look for opportunities for clients. Each ship must be registered, receive its nationality and confirmation of ownership. Each registered ship shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the law of the country in which it is registered, known as the flag State. Some countries or organizations can only register ships from that particular country. These organizations are known as national registries. So you can imagine that cargo owners who have the cargo don`t know all the owners of the 44,000 ships available to carry their cargo. .