Grain shipping · dry bulk
Charter a vessel for your grain cargo.
Wheat, barley, corn and other grains. CharterDeck's AI analyses your cargo requirement, screens bulk carriers on capacity, hold condition, draft and laycan, and compares the voyage economics, so your broker takes the strongest ships to owners and negotiates the fixture.
- Shortlist in seconds
- Bulk carriers that suit your parcel, ranked with the reasons they fit.
- Intake checked
- Cubic space worked out from the stowage factor, at the top of your tolerance.
- Broker-led fixture
- Your broker validates the shortlist, works the owners and negotiates the terms.
How AI gets a grain fixture moving faster
A grain parcel only fits a ship when the volume, the ports and the dates all line up. CharterDeck's AI does that checking up front and hands your broker a ranked shortlist instead of a long list of open ships:
- Works out the cubic space your grain needs from its stowage factor, at the top of the quantity tolerance, and checks it against each ship's grain capacity
- Matches ship size to the parcel and to the draft and length limits at both ports
- Checks each ship's open position and ballast against your laycan
- Flags hold-cleanliness and fumigation requirements that must be confirmed before fixing
- Ranks the candidates on freight and whole-voyage economics, with the reasons shown
Holds fit for grain
Grain needs clean, dry holds, free of residues from earlier cargoes and of loose rust scale. Hold condition is commonly surveyed before loading, and a ship that fails can lose the laycan. The previous cargoes and the ship's cleaning plan matter as much as its size.
Stability and the Grain Code
Grain can shift in the holds during the voyage. Ships loading grain in bulk need grain-stability approval under the IMO International Grain Code, and the stowage is planned so the ship stays within its stability limits. Your broker confirms this with the owner as part of the fixture.
Moisture, sweat and fumigation
Grain and changing air temperatures can cause condensation in the holds, so ventilation and the condition of the hatch covers matter. Fumigation in transit may be required by the buyer or the discharge country; when it is, it has to be agreed and allowed for in the terms.
Have a grain cargo to move? Send the details and get a ranked shortlist of ships.
Send your cargoWhich ships suit a grain parcel
The right size depends on the quantity, the stowage factor and the ports. As a rough guide:
| Parcel | Often suits | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Up to about 35,000 mt | Handysize | Smaller or draft-limited ports |
| About 35,000 to 60,000 mt | Supramax / ultramax | Geared ships where the discharge port has no shore cranes |
| Larger stems | Panamax / kamsarmax | Deep-water terminals at both ends |
What your broker needs to find ships and quote
- Grain type and specification, e.g. milling wheat or feed barley
- Quantity and tolerance, e.g. 30,000 mt ±10% in owner's option
- Load and discharge ports or ranges
- Laycan
- Load and discharge rates or terms
- Stowage factor, if you have it
- Any fumigation or survey requirements
What moves the freight
- Ship size, and the market for that size at the time
- Ballast distance from the ship's open position to the load port
- Port costs, draft limits and waiting time at both ends
- Load and discharge rates, and the laytime and demurrage terms
- Seasonal demand around harvests, which can tighten tonnage in exporting regions
- Fumigation, cleaning and survey costs
How a grain fixture runs with CharterDeck
- You send the requirement, in a minute with the form or as you would circulate it
- Our AI structures it, screens suitable ships and compares the voyage economics
- Your broker reviews the shortlist with you and checks every point the AI has flagged
- Your broker works the owners and negotiates freight and terms
- The recap is issued from the agreed terms, and the voyage is followed to discharge
Questions, answered
- What size of ship do I need for 30,000 mt of grain?
- Often a handysize or a supramax, but it depends on the stowage factor, the tolerance and the draft at both ports. We work out the cubic intake first, then propose ships that load the full stem and can work both berths.
- How is grain freight quoted?
- Usually per metric tonne on a voyage charter, for an agreed quantity, ports, laycan and terms. We compare the offers on the whole voyage, not only the headline rate.
- Who confirms the holds are fit for grain?
- The owner is responsible for presenting holds fit for the cargo, and a hold survey before loading is common. Your broker makes sure hold condition and any survey are covered in the terms before the ship is fixed.
- Is wheat handled differently from other grains?
- The process is the same. What changes is the stowage factor and the specification: lighter grains such as barley take more space per tonne than wheat, which changes the ship that fits.
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Matched in seconds, negotiated by a broker
Send us a cargo or an open vessel. Our system matches it in seconds, and your broker comes back with the best options.