Hadi
What are the key features to be successful in Ship Broking area?
I'm an Esl student in Van, who aim to become a manager of Ship Broking company. Since I arrived in Vancouver, I'm looking for a way to get in this sector. I need some enlightenment about it. Thank you #international-trade #shipbroking #freightforwarders #shipping #brokers #business
2 answers
Souheil S.
Souheil’s Answer
I would start by selecting what type of ships you would like to broker, for example what field of transportation you are interested in (Petroleum, gas, containers ...etc). As a ship broker you will typically be put on a team that is dedicated to one sector.
Secondly, I would get acquainted with the economics of shipping:
- Read a charter party (the contract to charter a vessel)
- Understand freight rates, demurrage, laytime ...etc (All those terms are mentioned in charter contracts)
- Know the different vessel sizes (Suezmax, panamax, VLCC ...etc)
Finally, I would do research on companies that constitute the supply and demand of vessel chartering in the sector of interest in order to network. As a broker you will rely on your network to bring supply and demand together.
Shipping is a very interesting field, but know that it's not a 9 to 5 jobs. Since vessels and ports never sleep, you might get calls at 3am from a charterer that needs to urgently ask a vessel to increase speed to reach a port on time.
I hope this helps.
Tanvir Siddiqui
Tanvir’s Answer
You should know about scrap metal pricing and global commodities market.
You should understand dead metric ton vs real tonnage.
It's important to know about the composite materials of a ship, especially the boilers, turbines, fittings/trimmings - what can be salvages and resold and what can be scrapped.
Are their toxic materials on board the ship?
Towing distance - who pays.
Bank loans/financing - how is it structured.
There are hundreds of questions you can ask but the best is to work as a volunteer at a ship scrapyard.