Shipbroker
A Shipbroker is a specialist intermediary in the shipping market who brings together the parties to a shipping transaction and negotiates the deal, earning a commission (brokerage) on its conclusion. Shipbrokers work in distinct fields: chartering brokers match cargoes with ships (dry cargo or tanker), sale and purchase (S&P) brokers arrange the buying and selling of vessels, and others handle newbuildings, demolition or specialised segments.
Because the shipping market is global, opaque and fast-moving, shipbrokers provide essential market knowledge, contacts, and negotiating skill — knowing which ships and cargoes are available, where rates are, and how to structure and fix a deal. A concluded charter is a fixture, and brokers also assist with post-fixture work. Firms like the members of the Baltic Exchange are central to how ships and cargoes are matched and vessels traded. Shipbrokers are a vital part of the commercial machinery of shipping, and closely tied to the chartering and freight markets.
The shipping market is global and opaque — thousands of ships and cargoes, constantly shifting rates — and the shipbroker is who makes it work, matching the two and negotiating the fixture with market knowledge no single party has. They are the connective tissue of chartering and vessel trading, and understanding their role illuminates how the whole freight market actually functions.
What does a chartering broker do?
Matches cargoes with available ships and negotiates the charter (fixture), earning a brokerage commission.
What is an S&P broker?
A sale and purchase broker who arranges the buying and selling of ships between owners.