Scrap metal shipping · dry bulk
Charter a vessel for your scrap metal cargo.
Heavy melting scrap, shredded scrap and bundles. CharterDeck's AI works out how much of a ship your scrap will fill, screens bulk carriers on hold volume, tank-top strength and discharge gear, and compares the voyage economics; your broker then negotiates the fixture with owners.
- Cube, not deadweight
- Light scrap fills the holds long before the ship is down to her marks.
- Loading damage in view
- Tank tops and hold condition checked against grab and magnet loading.
- Broker-led fixture
- Your broker settles intake, damage and discharge terms with the owner.
How AI helps with scrap cargoes
Scrap is light for its bulk, so the usual shortcut of picking a ship by deadweight goes wrong. CharterDeck's AI does the arithmetic first and gives your broker ships that can actually lift the stem:
- Calculates the cubic space your grade mix needs from its stowage factor and checks it against each ship's bale capacity
- Flags ships that would fill their holds before reaching the agreed quantity, before that becomes a dispute
- Checks tank-top strength and hold condition against grab and magnet loading
- Matches the ship's gear to the equipment at the receiving mill's berth
- Ranks the ships on the cost per tonne they can actually lift, not on the freight for their deadweight
The grade mix sets the intake
Heavy melting scrap, shredded scrap, bundles and turnings stow very differently. A light grade can fill the holds long before the ship reaches her deadweight, so the grade mix decides which ship fits and how much cargo she can take.
Loading is hard on the ship
Scrap is usually loaded with grabs and magnets and can drop heavily onto the tank tops. Tank-top strength, the condition of the holds and how damage is handled are part of choosing and fixing the ship.
Turnings and borings
Metal turnings, borings and shavings can self-heat and are treated as hazardous under the IMSBC Code, unlike heavy melting scrap. They need their own precautions, and not every owner accepts them.
Scrap into Türkiye
Türkiye is one of the largest buyers of ferrous scrap, and its steel mills' berths set the discharge side of the fixture: equipment, draft and rates vary from mill to mill.
Send the grades, quantity and receiving mill, and get ships that can actually lift your scrap.
Send your cargoWhich ships suit a scrap parcel
Handysize and supramax bulk carriers with large, box-shaped holds are the usual choice for deep-sea scrap; the grade mix and its stowage factor decide how much each ship can load. A geared ship matters where the discharge berth has no cranes.
| Grade | Stows | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy melting scrap (HMS) | Loose and bulky | Cube limits, impact on tank tops |
| Shredded scrap | Denser than HMS | Grab handling, residues |
| Bundles | Compact and heavy | Point loads on the tank tops |
| Turnings and borings | Dense and fine | Self-heating; hazardous under the IMSBC Code |
What your broker needs to find ships and quote
- Scrap grades and the mix, e.g. HMS 1&2 80:20 or shredded
- Quantity and tolerance
- Stowage factor or density, if known
- Load port and the receiving mill's berth
- Discharge equipment at the mill
- Laycan and load and discharge terms
What moves the freight
- How much of the ship the grade mix fills
- Ship size, and the market for that size at the time
- Ballast distance to the load port
- Load and discharge rates at the scrap terminal and the mill
- Hold condition and how damage is dealt with
- Port costs and waiting time at the discharge berth
How a scrap 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
- Why does scrap need a bigger ship than its weight suggests?
- Because it is light for its volume. A light grade fills the holds before the ship reaches her deadweight, so the ship is chosen on cubic capacity. We work out the intake from the grade mix before proposing ships.
- Do you ship turnings and borings?
- They can self-heat and are treated as hazardous under the IMSBC Code, so they need suitable ships, precautions and owners who accept them. Tell us the grade and we'll check the options.
- Do you work scrap cargoes into Türkiye?
- Yes. Scrap imports into Türkiye are among the trades our Istanbul desk works most closely.
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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.