How much does it cost to charter a bulk carrier?
There is no list price for a ship. The cost of chartering a bulk carrier depends on its size, where it is, where the cargo goes and what the market is doing that week. What you can do is understand how a quote is built, so you can judge the offers you receive.
Two ways to pay
On a voyage charter you pay freight, a rate per tonne of cargo or a lump sum, and the owner carries the fuel and sea-time risk. On a time charter you pay daily hire and also the voyage costs: bunkers, port costs and canal dues. For a single cargo most charterers compare both by converting them into a cost per tonne delivered.
What moves the price
- Ship size: larger ships cost more per day but less per tonne
- Where the nearest suitable ship is, and how long it must ballast
- Route length and any canal or strait transits
- Port performance: load and discharge rates, congestion, restrictions
- Bunker prices, which feed straight into freight
- Cargo characteristics: stowage factor, gear needed, cleaning required
- Laycan: a tight window limits the ships that can make it
- The market itself, which the Baltic Exchange indices track by ship size
Building a cost per tonne from a time charter rate
Illustrative figures, not a market quote. A supramax on hire at USD 14,000 per day for a 20-day voyage, including ballast and port time, with USD 150,000 of bunkers and USD 90,000 of port costs, carrying 50,000 mt.
| Line | USD |
|---|---|
| Hire: 20 days × 14,000 | 280,000 |
| Bunkers | 150,000 |
| Port costs, both ends | 90,000 |
| Total voyage cost | 520,000 |
| Cargo | 50,000 mt |
| Cost per tonne | 10.40 |
Why the cheapest rate is not always the cheapest voyage
A lower rate from a ship that is gearless at a port without shore cranes, or one that arrives at the end of the laycan, can end up costing more in shifting, delays or demurrage. We compare offers on the whole voyage, with the reasons written down, so you see the total cost and the risk, not just the headline.
What we need to quote
- Commodity and quantity, with tolerance
- Load and discharge ports
- Laycan
- Load and discharge rates or terms
- Any requirements: gear, max age, draft limits
Frequently asked questions
- How is the price of chartering a ship quoted?
- Voyage charters are quoted as freight per tonne or a lump sum. Time charters are quoted as hire per day, with the charterer also paying bunkers and port costs.
- Where can I see current bulk carrier rates?
- The Baltic Exchange publishes daily indices by ship size, including Capesize, Panamax, Supramax and Handysize. For a specific cargo, a broker's indication for your route and dates is more useful than an index.
- Is it cheaper to charter a bigger ship?
- Per tonne, usually yes, if the cargo, the ports and the draft allow it. Per day, a bigger ship costs more.
Where this applies on our desk: Bulk carrier chartering, Grain shipping and Black Sea to Egypt grain.