Sea freight of a vessel: cost, rates, price, insurance. Delivery of goods from China

Vessel charter has several concepts. Let's first define what ship charter or sea freight of a vessel is in our understanding. In relation to our services, freight can be given the following definition: ship freight is a place rented on a ship for the transportation of your cargo, in our case, most often container, therefore such a concept as container freight is also used.

All requirements for the upcoming sea transportation, as well as sea freight rates, are reflected in a specially concluded contract. When concluding a contract, you should take into account as many nuances and details as possible, such as the conditions and cost of freight, indicate the period during which express freight is valid and reflect the type of vessel (since depending on the type of cargo transported, you may need a non-standard cargo container , but the freight of a tanker, an entire ship, a bulk carrier or a barge). If it is necessary to provide additional related services (for example, freight insurance), this should also be reflected in the contract.

The company "Universal Cargo Solutions" offers sea freight services in two cases: if you order sea freight along with a range of other services provided by our company, such as delivery and customs clearance of your cargo, or in case of very large volumes of your cargo. You can order from us without any problems vessel charter, since the company “Universal Freight Solutions” has service contracts with shipping lines. Our company pays special attention to the Asian direction, thanks to which we have fully developed and optimized such a service as sea freight from China. We cooperate with most shipping lines on very favorable terms, so we can offer our clients economically convenient freight prices. Contact us, our sea transportation specialists will calculate the cost of sea freight based on your application. We are almost sure that the final amount of sea cargo freight offered to you will meet your expectations.

Freight rates

Ocean freight rates are frequently recalculated, so ocean freight rates are not constant. The cost of freight depends primarily on the carrier company, as well as on the direction of transportation of your cargo, line congestion and time of year. Freight rates include the costs of transport services provided and the average profit. The calculation of vessel freight is established for a specific period and depends on the type of vessel freight and the number of voyages when linking the following things:

• participants in this transaction
• client renting a boat
• Freight service validity periods
• locations of ports for loading, stowage and unloading of cargo

When calculating freight costs a unit of cargo mass is taken to be a measured freight ton, equal to approximately forty cubic pounds. When paying freight by cargo volume, it is necessary to take into account the dimensions of the cargo, taking into account the uneven surface, and you can also calculate the freight price based on the bill of lading weight, which is indicated in the transport documents. Paying freight based on the bill of lading is profitable and provides discounts of 1-2 percent. In this case of freight, the client cannot place his cargo as he pleases. The shipowner has the right to place cargo on the ship.

Chartering a vessel is a search for the required tonnage (vessel or space on a vessel) to transport cargo, followed by concluding a sea transportation agreement with the shipowner. In other words, we can say that chartering is an agreement to hire a vessel to perform a specific transportation (voyage) or to hire a vessel for a certain period of time.

In the case when the shipowner searches for cargo and enters into an agreement for its transportation, it is called chartering a ship. In practice, in both cases it is customary to use a single term: “chartering”.

The buyer, seller, shipper of cargo who charters the tonnage (vessel) is called the charterer. The shipowner providing the tonnage (vessel) for the carriage of goods by sea - the charterer. Under a charter agreement, the charterer undertakes to transport the cargo from the port of departure to the port of destination and deliver it to the consignee, and the charterer undertakes to pay a certain fee for this (freight).

It can be said differently: a maritime transport contract is an agreement under which one party (shipping company, shipowner, carrier, charterer) undertakes to transport goods from one port to another, and the other party (charterer, cargo owner) undertakes to pay for it established fee (freight).

Chartering is usually carried out by a special intermediary - a freight broker. Special organizations - brokerage firms or individuals - can act as intermediaries. A freight broker is a highly professional specialist with extensive experience and special knowledge. He must be well informed about the conditions of the global freight market, supply and demand for tonnage, and various cargo flows.

Freight market brokers use a variety of information, newsletters and other publications from the world's largest freight exchanges and brokerage houses. Many brokers have extensive contacts in the field of maritime transportation, and often the broker’s personal connections make it possible to quickly find the required tonnage for transportation.

A shipowner who has available tonnage (a vessel or vessels) turns to a freight broker with an offer to find cargo on the market that is suitable for transportation on the shipowner’s terms (as a rule, this most often applies to sea transportation of containers). The proposal with which a freight broker enters the market on behalf of the shipowner is called an offer. There are fixed and conditional sentences.

In the same way, the cargo owner (charterer) acts on the freight market through a freight broker with an offer to find a vessel that meets the conditions for transporting a given cargo. The charterer's order, issued in writing to his broker to find and charter a tonnage (vessel) for the carriage of cargo, is called a charter order. Freight orders are: regular (a freight transaction can be concluded within 20–30 days), urgent and extra urgent.

The freight market is subdivided according to the form of organization of transportation into the tramp and liner tonnage market, by type of vessel - into the dry cargo and tanker tonnage market, by type of cargo - into the timber, grain, refrigerated tonnage market, etc., as well as by transportation directions by geographic regions.

The entire volume of the freight market is determined by the number of freight transactions, and its situation is determined by the ratio between the supply of tonnage and the supply of cargo, i.e. demand for tonnage. This ratio is subject to sharp fluctuations due to various objective and subjective reasons: a decline or increase in traffic volume, a decrease or increase in fuel costs, etc.

Freight indices are used to assess the transport market and the magnitude of price changes. With their help, a detailed analysis of changes in freight rates on the world market, as well as freight rates for certain types of cargo or specific sectors of the freight market, is possible. Indices and information on concluded transactions and freight rates are published by many well-known publications.

The conclusion of charters is a complex process of negotiations between the shipowner and the charterer, because they have to negotiate many terms of the maritime transport contract. Freight transactions are concluded between parties located in different parts of the world, and thanks to modern means of communication, this task is greatly simplified.

In the world practice of chartering, typical (standard) charter forms have been developed in relation to the main types of cargo transported. The terms of the pro forma charter reflect the rules for transporting goods by sea and the specific features of such transportation.

The development of charters was carried out by the largest international freight and shipping organizations, which, if possible, tried to take into account all controversial issues arising at sea.

Main types of charters:

• Voyage charter - a ship is chartered for a specific voyage. The vessel can also be chartered on a round trip, i.e. to the port of destination and back. Such freight is most beneficial to the shipowner, since it ensures loading of the vessel in the opposite direction and eliminates an empty voyage (transition in ballast). A voyage charter gives the charterer the right to transport his cargo on a specific vessel. In this case, the right to own the vessel and control it is not transferred to the charterer.
• A Time Charter is an agreement to charter a vessel for a period of time. In this case, the shipowner undertakes, for a specified fee, to provide the charterer with the ship and the services of the ship's crew members for use for a certain period of time for the transportation of goods, passengers or other purposes of maritime navigation. The vessel is transferred to time charter in a seaworthy condition, equipped, and with a complete crew. But the right to own the ship and operate it is not transferred to the charterer.
• Bareboat charter is a type of contract for chartering a vessel for a time. It differs from a time charter in that the charterer hires a crew and assumes all the costs of maintaining the vessel, including the cost of paying the crew. In this case, the captain and crew of the vessel are in the service of the charterer. Thus, the charterer becomes the temporary owner of the vessel.

The charter must contain the names of the parties, the name of the vessel, an indication of the type and type of cargo, the cost of freight, the name of the place of loading of the vessel, as well as the name of the destination or direction of the vessel. By agreement of the parties, other conditions and clauses may be included in the charter. The charter is signed by the carrier (shipowner, charterer) and the charterer (cargo owner) or their representatives.

When chartering, the question often arises about the distribution of costs between the shipowner and the charterer for loading and unloading ships (payment for stevedoring work). These costs are usually within 10–30% of the final cost of the transport component when transporting cargo by sea. Therefore, when concluding a sea transportation contract, it is agreed in advance which of the parties will bear these costs. Here are some of the most commonly used terms:

• free in - the shipowner is free from the costs of loading cargo onto the ship. When concluding a contract of carriage with such a condition, the costs of loading are borne by the charterer;
• free out - the shipowner is free from the costs of unloading cargo;
• full name (free in and out) - the shipowner, under the contract of carriage with the charterer, is free from the costs of loading and unloading cargo;
• fios (free in and out, stowed) - the shipowner is free from the costs of loading and stowing cargo in the hold. This wording indicates at whose expense the so-called hold work will be performed (stowing cargo if the cargo is packaged and trimming (leveling) if the cargo is bulk or bulk;
• fiost (free in and out, stowed and trimmed) - the shipowner is completely free from the costs of loading, stowing, trimming and unloading cargo. The shipper (charterer) pays for this work.

The globe is entangled with roads and railways. They connect cities and countries, but are not able to provide transportation from one continent to another.

An alternative to expensive air transportation is transporting goods by sea. This type of delivery is much cheaper, even taking into account the presence of some pitfalls. The international logistics company Traffic delivers cargo by sea even to the most remote corners of the planet.

We will help you charter a whole ship or a separate container for a small shipment of goods and calculate the freight rate.

Our competitive advantages

Components of a freight rate

Freight rate is a composite unit. It consists of:

• basic freight rate (includes the freight owner's costs for loading, unloading, storage and voyage costs);
• maritime allowances;
• additional payments (port fees, duties, etc.).

Depending on the characteristics of the cargo and transportation conditions and route, sea taxes and surcharges are necessarily added to the base freight rate.

Main factors influencing the freight rate

1. Route:

• if the ship passes through areas where there is a risk of pirate attacks or hostilities, the fee increases;
• passage of the Bosphorus Strait, Suez Canal, Panama Canal, Gulf of Aden - the authorities of Turkey, Egypt, Yemen charge a fee for the use of these transport routes;
• additional payment is made for mooring the vessel in ports whose waters are frozen;
• surcharge in English ports;
• surcharge for high season (if goods are transported from Asian countries).

2. Dimensions:

• if the height exceeds 2.25 m;
• if the weight of what is being transported is greater than the standard weight for a 20-foot container;

3. Cargo features:

• dangerous;
• valuable;
• fragile;
• animals.

4. Surcharges compensating for possible penalties of the shipowner:

• fuel - depends on fluctuations in fuel prices, tied to oil prices;
• currency. In this way, the carrier compensates for losses due to currency fluctuations;
• freight tax. Paid if the ship calls at the ports of countries that levy a tax to compensate for the costs of servicing the refrigerator.

5. Port charges:

• mooring;
• ice;
• additional fees for cargo operations if the port is overloaded;
• port export-import duties;
• for safety;
• transportation costs.

6. Other possible payments:

• for cleaning the container;
• for processing customs documents;
• for using the container;
• for enhanced cargo security;
• for the use of technological transport inside the port;
• for returning an empty container;
• insurance examination fee
• and much more.

Paperwork and route planning

Maritime brokers from Trafic will help you understand all the nuances, prepare documents correctly and calculate the freight rate. Indeed, in this article we have listed only the main factors affecting the cost of transportation.

Our logisticians create the optimal route individually for each client. We work with many shipowners, so we can offer several cargo routes and a full range of cargo services along the way. The shortest route is not always the most profitable.

To get detailed information or charter a vessel, contact us by phone or leave a request on the website. The international logistics company Traffic guarantees prompt and safe delivery of your goods by sea to anywhere in the world.

The professionalism of our team is a guarantee of your peace of mind.

Call us on:
+7 495 775 86 35 for advice.

Commercial activities often involve the need to transport goods from other countries and even continents. And here the company faces a dilemma: what type of cargo transportation to use?

To choose the most suitable method of transporting goods, a businessman, first of all, must know how the rate of a particular freight is calculated, how the cargo is marked during loading, and what these special terms mean. In addition, it is necessary to take into account what difficulties may arise along the way. Let's look at these questions in more detail.

Sea freight

To carry out the transportation of goods, a freight agreement is concluded that regulates the terms of hiring a sea or air vessel between the charterer, who pays for the service, and the charterer, who undertakes to deliver the goods to the destination. The meaning of the word “freight” is acceptable both to the contract itself and to payment for the delivery of goods.

Cargo delivery by sea is one of the oldest types of transportation. However, it has not lost its relevance and popularity to this day.

How to correctly calculate the sea freight rate?

The cost of sea transportation includes the following components:

1. Basic freight rate represents direct payment for delivery of goods by sea. It depends on the length of the route and the size of the cargo.
2. Mandatory surcharge compensates for the shipowner's variable expenses. It is divided into 3 types:
   • Additional payment for the issuance of special documents at the port accompanying the process of loading and unloading goods.
   • Fee for handling cargo at the port terminal. This also includes payment for unloading and loading containers with goods onto the ship.
   • A surcharge that takes into account fluctuations in prices for fuel and oil used on the vessel is also included in the freight price.
3. Additional services include more comfortable customer service in addition to the basic one.
   It could be:
   • transportation of non-standard cargo,
   • cleaning the container after use on the ship,
   • use of a refrigeration unit, etc.

Freight loading terms include generally accepted specific terms that indicate who pays for the process of loading and unloading goods. These include:

1. Free Out (FO)— Transportation free from unloading, that is, a service not included in the freight price.
2. Free In (FI)— Transportation free from loading.
3. Liner Out (LO)— Linear conditions at the time of arrival indicate that container unloading and handling services are included in the freight price.
4. Liner In (LI)— Linear conditions at the time of departure, indicating that acceptance of the container and loading onto the ship is included in the carriage rate.