Competitive Rates


Obtaining the most competetive tanker rates is a complex game of chess. The Soundtanker Chartering team regularly obtains better rates than its competitors. Experience is the key. Our combined years of chartering experience always puts the Soundtanker client in the best position possible.

Charter rates are a combination of many factors, not the least of which involves the quality of an individual subject and the collective fleet that it comes from. Every tanker owner is after the same thing as every potential charterer: the best possible rate for his/her bottom line. Hence, the quality and experience of a tanker broker is an important variable to this equation.

For the savvy tanker owner, the use of time charters can help to mitigate the seasonality of the spot market business. Contracts of affreightment (“COAs”), which are agreements whereby the shipowner is hired to move an agreed amount of cargo on an agreed route at a set price per ton, can also serve the same purpose. These agreements can be based upon market conditions or a fixed rate, but COAs are usually of a shorter duration than time charters but provide some of the same advantages. Your Soundtanker broker can also use these same strategies to ensure that your charter is structured in a way that takes full advantage of current – and future – market conditions.

Other owners sometimes speculate by trading in Forward Freight Agreements (FFA) or the paper market. Utilizing a “long” or “short” position, the longer term FFAs serve as “synthetic time charters.” Both COAs and FFAs are additional means by which a tanker owner balances market risks to his/her bottom line. The Soundtanker team takes every variable into consideration when negotiating the best possible rate for you.

The structure of your charter will depend on the nature of your business. A single cargo lifting or single voyage will probably involve far different terms than that required for a series of cargoes or voyages emanating from a long-term supply agreement. As such, vessels may be operated under bareboat charters, time charters, voyage charters and contracts of affreightment. Which is right for you? There’s no easy answer. Because the tanker business has most always been highly cyclical in its nature, freight and charter rates are necessarily influenced by the supply of tank vessels and the associated demand for those services. Call your Soundtanker broker to find out more.