SHIPOWNER'S ASSESTMENT OF THE PROPOSITION OF THE VOYAGE CHARTER DEAL

Abstract

The paper considers the process that precedes negotiations regarding the conclusion of the deal of the voyage chartering of a vessel - evaluation and selection of proposals (offers) of the cargoowner - the charterer by shipowner. The main interests of the shipowner regarding the terms of the first offer are correlated, through the terms of the voyage charter party and the shipowner's responsibility under it, with the terms for the fulfillment of the voyage proposed by the charterer in the offer. Such terms are the kind and quantity of the cargo, the terms of its readiness for shipment, the (first) port of loading. It was determined that for some of them already at this stage trading by the shipowner is not possible, so he accepts such offers for evaluation only if he is ready to give up his interests already at the stage of pre-selection of offers. In order to proceed to the next stage - negotiations - it is necessary to compare the voyage expenses on the terms proposed in the offer and the expected income. The cost components largely depend on the duration of the voyage - these are fixed costs and costs for the purchase of fuel; the costs of paying disbursement accounts are determined directly by the ports between which the voyage is proposed to fulfill, their number and the route between them. According to the offer, the voyage freight should be considered as a revenue component. The general order of their calculation is given. It is emphasized that the obtained calculation results are of an approximate nature, because many factors cannot be taken into account at the stage of offers acceptable for consideration by the shipowner, and currently already during the voyage (as a result of the conclusion of the agreement) may slightly change the previous results. Similary, the structure of expenditure and income components cannot be determined with a certain accuracy in preliminary calculations according to the offer. To rank the offers regarding the degree of interest of the shipowner in them, it is suggested to use the level of profitability. It is noted that in the process of further negotiations, the shipowner's interest in this or that offer depends on the length of the negotiation process, during which both parties (the shipowner and the charterer) can concede their interests regarding the wording of the terms of the offer for the dealing the voyage charter-party.