Chartering refers to chartering the entire ship. Chartering fees are lower than liner ships, and direct routes can be selected, so bulk cargoes are generally chartered for transportation. There are mainly two ways of chartering, namely, fixed-trip chartering and time chartering.
Scheduled charter. Schedule chartering is a chartering method based on voyages, also known as voyage chartering. The ship owner must complete the cargo transportation task according to the voyage specified in the charter contract, and be responsible for the ship's operation and management and various expenses during the voyage. The freight of voyage charter ships is generally calculated according to the quantity of goods shipped, and some are calculated according to the charter amount of the voyage. The rights and obligations of both parties to the charter party shall be stipulated in the charter party: In the voyage charter party, the contract should specify whether the ship party bears the cost of loading and unloading the goods at the port. If the ship is not responsible for loading and unloading, the time limit or rate for loading and unloading shall be specified in the contract, as well as the corresponding demurrage and dispatch charges. If the tenant fails to complete the loading and unloading operations within the deadline. In order to compensate the shipowner for the losses caused by the delay in sailing, a certain penalty shall be paid to the shipowner, namely demurrage. If the charterer completes the loading and unloading operations in advance, the ship will pay the charterer a certain bonus, called dispatch fee. Usually the dispatch fee is half of the demurrage fee.
Regular charter boats. Time charter is a method of chartering a ship for a certain period of time. It is also called a time charter. The ship party shall provide a seaworthy ship during the lease period stipulated in the contract and bear the relevant expenses for maintaining seaworthiness. During this period, the charterer can still dispatch and control the ship by itself in the prescribed shipping area, but shall be responsible for various expenses in the operation process such as fuel fee, port fee and loading and unloading fee.