Charter Trade provides a commercial management service to 3rd party owners of dry cargo vessels (ships) mainly by using our professional expertise and experience in securing potentially gainful employment for such vessels by facilitating their trading globally based on owners choice of trading areas, during a specified contracted period for such management. 

Charter Trade offers customised and cost effective Sea-Transportation and Logistics management solutions to its clients that covers chartering out Offshore vessels, ocean going cargo ships ranging from short sea coasters up to handysize Bulk Carriers on time/ trip or period charters contracts and offers their services as “Vessel Operators” to the cargo interests / trading community. Charter Trade thereby secures and executes contracts for carriage of goods by sea covering conventional dry bulk goods, unitized (break-bulk) goods and industrial project goods on a regional & global basis within maritime seaports worldwide. 

Such period charters may involve: 

• Voyage charters (usually single laden legs between two Ports);
• Trip charters (usually multiple laden legs between several Ports);
• Time charters that involve taking the vessels over pre-agreed long periods and then employing them for several such ocean carriage contracts / voyages mainly in the spot charter market / tramping trade.
• Complete Freight Risk Management for small and medium sized Traders who do not maintain an in-house shipping & operations personnel 

CHARTER TRADE offers a competitive ship brokerage service and can act as Ship-brokers for securing suitable cargoes / contracts for client vessel owners and vice versa, identifying suitable tonnages for executing ocean carriage of goods for our cargo interests (traders/ exporters/ importers) in the spot market trade and within various ports globally (cross-trade).

 What is the role of CHARTER TRADE as shipbrokers?

A seaborne trade involves:

a) Containerized trade wherein goods are stowed in standardized form of container (Dry-units, Reefers/ Specialized units, Tank Containers etc.) units that are loaded on mother vessels for deep sea carriage and onto feeders for local / regional distribution, additionally when necessary, combined with land transportation for “pre & on-carriage” movements by land ex. factory or Shipper’s warehouses at origin up to Consignee’s factory/ warehouse at destination – all of which forms the multi-modal means of transportation, that forms an integral part of the supply-chain management solutions.

b) Offshore trade wherein vessels like barges (flat top or hoppers) & supply vessels are used to carry certain types of cargoes in localized and coastal trade and areas otherwise inaccessible by larger vessels, specially smaller ports and/or jetties that lack modern port infrastructure and/or have limitations in sea-bo0rne navigation like shallow draft areas and up-river channels.

c) Conventional trade which caters to the shipment of goods in bulk & unitised form be it in short-sea coastal trading ships or be it handy size / Supramax /  Panamax  or Capesize tonnages that take care of the larger volumes that is shipped in one single bottom (lot) based on economies of scale for the cargo interests. Such category of goods include ores / minerals / fertilizers / grains and wet products like crude and refined liquid products in substantial quantities as one lot that would otherwise not be possible to be shipped economically in containerized mode of transport over longer distances.

For any commodity to be shipped safely and in a time-bound manner it is most important to identify the right type of ship, at the right area, at the appropriate time and also to negotiate and put in place a “contract of carriage” incorporating therein the entire details of the arrangements of carriage of the goods by sea,  the respective rights, responsibilities and obligations of the Ship owner ( or Ship Operator/Manager/Shipping Line as applicable)  and that of the Merchants (Charterer/Cargo Interest) under said contract. This is usually done after a thorough and extensive exchange called “fixture negotiations” which is facilitated by the Ship broker between the said two contractual parties and which eventually culminates into a Contract of Carriage that is brokered by the said professional Ship-broker.

Also, and most importantly,

1. How do you find the right kind of ship to transport your cargo that has been sold and
2. How to negotiate a contract with a Ship owner or
3. How to succeed in taking a ship on hire to solve your long term afreightment arrangements, or
4. How to buy a ship that will address your afreightment requirements over a longer term in an exclusive manner?
5. What are the provisions that govern such arrangements and contracts under either English or American Law, that are the two legal jurisdictions under which such contracts are commonly governed. {though Germany and Singapore are rapidly being chosen as alternate jurisdictions albeit using English Law provisions)

This is where CHARTER TRADE, as a Shipbroker, have their role cut-out and defined, and this is how we facilitate such critical processes and arrangements by way of our expertise and range of services.

Our role or profession involves acting as a “go between” or as an “intermediary” between the two parties to a contract, be it for contact to execute a voyage or to hire a vessel for a certain period or for purchasing a ship. Such parties could be either Buyers & Sellers of a Ship or a Charterer and a Ship owner in the chartering marketplace or a Ship Owner & a Ship Operator working on a long terms period contract, or be it a Buyers of a Ship and a financial institution.

We provide our professional service in various such areas be it for negotiating charter contract negotiations, or preparing presentations to institutions & new clients, providing market analysis, reports and competitive trade information to existing clients, drafting and finalizing contracts in detailed form and therefore assisting as an intermediary to facilitate favourable conclusion of such transactions.

CHARTER TRADE works with a cross section of Ship owners / Charterers / Shippers / cargo interests globally with specific focus paid to intra-regional trades & cross-trade sectors as well as within established shipping markets like London, Piraeus, New York, Singapore, Hong Kong as well as the giant markets of China and India, followed by Russia, Japan, Australia, Turkey, Romania, Ukraine, US East Coats & US Gulf, Brazil, Argentina, Columbia  and several African ports as a whole, including the North Eastern horn.

Entails a combined multi-modal transportation and handling solution ex. Works/factory at origin to the project site including complete logistics planning, costing and management solutions that is provided by CHARTER TRADE. Such movements involve over land and sea-carriage  of various project related cargoes viz. Large structures and machineries, oilfield and camp equipment, pipelines, heavy-lift and abnormal / out of gauge cargoes, etc. that also require special care while handling.

CHARTER TRADE has a team of highly experienced shipping professionals with extensive field knowledge and practical exposure that qualifies them to provide its client with case specific solutions in the vast & specialized field of maritime logistics. We privately advise EPC Contractors, financial institutions, Technical Engineering teams unfamiliar with the dynamics of logistics as well as for the purpose of cost estimations for Tenders and Bids.

Scopes of specialisation include:

• Pre-carriage solutions from plant/factory to Seaport & vice versa for bulk / unitised goods and out of gauge / heavy lift parcels
• Pre-shipment inspection procedures for goods
• Loading arrangements & means (shore or ship based)
• Stowage planning, natural / artificial segregation methods; dunnage usage / benching / securing aspects of cargoes
• Voyage Estimation & freight cost estimation and Analysis
• Afreightment Market reports & trends
• Spot-check procedures during cargo operations
• Procedures for avoiding stevedore handling damage
• Cash flow & Analysis for tonnage acquisitions and vessel operating Cost
• Determining effective shipment size & frequency vis-à-vis production speed, supply routes, origin & based on destination port infrastructure,  and delivery schedule
• Planning & preparation for Dry-docking of Ships
• Drafting specific “shipping clauses” in Contract of Sale(s)
• Drafting Contract of Carriage terms (Fixture Notes / charter-party(s) with customised need based & practical shipping terms & clauses
• Assessment of possible claims & recourses available
• Preparing files for Arbitration process and guidance on investigation process to prepare a case matter
• Recommending legal counsel & preparing initial submissions based on facts & figures
• Assistance in “Alternate Dispute Resolutions” (non-legal)   
• SOF assessment & Laytime calculation and checking statement of accounts
• Overall planning, guidance and execution of shipments for every major category of bulk and break-bulk goods 

CHARTER TRADE offers various categories of Marine Services by professional and highly experienced Master Mariners, Marine Engineers & Surveyors.

Our services include:

• Pre-purchase condition Survey for Ships and reporting
• Condition surveys and inspection prior to Time Charter delivery
• Inspection for ships for demolition & reporting
• Dry-docking (planning & follow-up supervision)
• Marine Superintendent Services
• Ship Loading / Unloading Supervision (Super Cargo)
• Vessel Damage Survey
• Cargo condition Survey (pre & post shipment and on board)
• Mill Test certification survey / sample collections and analysis  
• Delivery/Re-delivery (On-hire / Off-hire) Survey
• Draught (Draft) Survey
• Bunker Survey
• ISM Audit Services
• Charter-party Dispute (Handling)
• Loading / Discharging Supervision of Heavy-lift, 
  Project & Ro-Ro Cargo
• Pre-loading stowage planning
• Ocean Routing planning and assistance
• Technical support under Freight Management services