The Importance Of Shipbroking Services
Shipbroking is an important part of our international shipping industry, even though many people aren’t aware of it. Shipbrokers act as intermediaries between the owners of a ship and the charterers who use it to transport their cargo. They can also intermediate between the sellers and buyers of ships.
A large shipbroking firm may be broken up into many separate departments, each one with its own specialty. Some companies move enormous amounts of cargo every year, in all kinds of sizes and quantities. These companies hire specialized brokers with a great deal of experience handling all aspects of chartering, and maintain strong relations with ship owners and chartering companies all over the world.
There are important shipbroking centers in large cities all over the planet, including Copenhagen, Houston, Hamburg, Hong Kong, London, New York, Oslo, Shanghai, Tokyo and many others. These cities see huge amounts of cargo move back and forth, and are an excellent base for shipbrokers, enabling them to have access to all the clients and resources they require for their jobs.
Most shipbroking can be divided up into a few basic categories: sale and purchase, dry cargo broking, tanker broking and container broking. In addition to normal shipbroking services such as negotiating charters, circulating orders, and vetting offers, a shipbroker may offer recommendations based on market information, data about freight rates and cargo availability, and help putting together chartering strategies. A good shipbroking company can be a useful tool for a shipowner or chartering company.
Sales and purchase brokers are responsible for buying and selling ships. They discuss market trends and possiblities with the ship owners, determine the value of vessels, report on sales, and look for ships to meet specific requirements. They often negotiate on behalf of the buyer and seller in purchases and can help with dispute resolution.
Dry cargo brokers specialize in chartering bulk carriers, and can work for either the charterer or the ship owners. They usually have huge databases of vessels, rates, and cargos, and keep a close eye on what the market is doing. They help clients improve profit and minimize expenses, and may work with specific classes of ships.
Tanker broking involves the chartering of tanker ships, and requires a completely different skillset from broking dry cargo. Oil products, gas, crude petroleum and chemical tankers are common specialties for these brokers, who may also negotiate maritime contracts. Container brokers are specialists in chartering containers ships. Like other types of brokers, they produce market information to both charterers and the owners of ships, but stick to container ships.
Nearly every product out there has been handled by a shipbroker at some point in its life cycle, whether as a raw material or finished good. Shipbrokers don’t get a lot of press, but they’re vital to the world economy, and help keep products and materials moving. Anyone who needs to move cargo, or who owns a ship needs to talk to a good broker.
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