The desks

Dry cargo chartering
Fixes voyage and time charters for bulk carriers, matching cargo stems with open tonnage and negotiating freight, laytime and demurrage terms.
Tanker chartering
Works crude, clean product, chemical and gas fixtures, quoting in Worldscale for crude and dirty trades and lump sum or per-tonne terms elsewhere.
Container and liner
Places boxship tonnage on period charter with liner operators and advises on charter rates by size class.
Sale and purchase
Handles secondhand vessel transactions: valuation, buyer and seller introduction, inspection, memorandum of agreement and closing.
Newbuilding
Negotiates shipbuilding contracts with yards, covering specification, berth availability, delivery slot, price and instalment structure.
Demolition
Places end-of-life tonnage with recycling yards and advises on scrap price levels and recycling standards.
Research and valuation
Publishes fleet, orderbook and asset price analysis, and issues formal valuation certificates used by lenders.

How brokers are paid

Chartering brokers are normally paid a commission on freight or hire, conventionally in the region of 1.25% per broker, deducted as earned. Sale and purchase and newbuilding desks earn a percentage of the contract price on closing. Address commission is a separate rebate to the charterer and is not broker income.

What to ask before appointing a broker

  • Which trades, routes and vessel classes does the desk fix in every week?
  • Are they acting for you exclusively, or also for the counterparty on the same fixture?
  • What is the commission, and is address commission separately disclosed?
  • Can they show recent comparable fixtures or sales to justify the level being quoted?
  • Do they hold professional indemnity cover and a recognised broking qualification?
  • Who covers post-fixture: laytime, demurrage and dispute support?

Standards and disputes

Reputable brokers work to recognised industry standards and use established forms such as BIMCO charter parties and the Norwegian Saleform for secondhand sales. Keep the recap and all negotiation messages: they are the evidence base if a dispute reaches arbitration.

This directory is editorial guidance, not a recommendation of any firm and not legal advice. Follow our shipbroking coverage, or read the ship chartering guide and freight rates guide.