Shipbroking has a rich history dating back to the 13th century. But today’s ship-brokers bear little resemblance to the men who haunted the harbors gathering intelligence and striking deals directly with ships’ captains. The lion’s share of shipbrokers are employed now by bulk shipbrokers and use digital technology that’s as customized and sophisticated as the tools other mission-critical industries rely on.
Lee Connor, of John S. Connor Global Logistics, a company founded by his grandfather in 1917, recalls, “Back in the day, we communicated via telex and walkie-talkies. Now we are as dependent on mobile apps as every other business and consumer out there.”
What Does it Take to be a Shipbroker?
Shipbrokers are problem solvers, salespeople, negotiators, and oracles rolled into one. Their foremost skill is connecting present-day and future dots to make trustworthy recommendations. Fundamentally they are communicators: through the exchange of information, they conceive and arrange mutually beneficial agreements among parties whose interests—and native languages—may be worlds apart.
How do you Train for a Successful Career in Shipbroking?
Bulk shipbrokers are expected to have both foundational knowledge and up-to-the-minute data on the trends affecting the shipping industry, from daily freight rate averages to the outlook on crude oil prices to the credibility and economic stability of market players. Many shipbrokers have undergraduate degrees in maritime studies but increasingly, they have MBAs in supply chain management, international trade and other relevant disciplines. Many shipbrokers are career-changers who come directly from sea-faring jobs. Shipbrokers may specialize in dry cargo chartering, tanker chartering, or ship sales and purchase. Some are exclusively bulk chartering brokers while other represent ship owners. Being multi-lingual doesn’t hurt in this business.
It’s worth noting that when it comes to shipbroking jobs, men outnumber women to an astonishing, though not surprising, degree for an industry valued at $177 billion. Women make up just 20%-30% of logistics and 1.2% of seafaring professionals, a gender gap that flows downstream to shipbroking companies.
What Does a Day in the Life of a Shipbroker Look Like?
Busy, complicated, and long! To get a grasp of a shipbroker’s typical day, it’s easier to dissect one shipbroking transaction and then factor in that shipbrokers handle multiple transactions every day, in multiple time zones.
The fixture stage of a contract involves gathering the critical data a charterer and shipper need to come to an agreement. A bulk shipbroker gathers such information as the size and type of the cargo, the loading and discharge ports, the laycan—that is, the window of time during which the cargo can arrive at its destination—and the commission structure associated with the shipment. Fixing a vessel can take days or even weeks. The end product of the shipbroker’s work during the pre-fixture stage is called a Clean Fixture Recap, which sets out the terms that must be met for a contract to be properly executed.
In the post-fixture stage of a contract, a shipbroker communicates the details contained in the shipper’s Notice of Readiness (NOR) and Statement of Facts (SOF), which is a chronology of all the activities that precede the shipping vessel’s departure. He or she nominates agents at both loading and discharge ports, who in turn oversee the transfer of cargo from the charterer to the shipper and back again. He or she also tracks and reports back to the charterer on the cargo’s daily movement to ensure the laycan will be met. Other details, including loading speed, weather that may affect shipping time, and confirming loading berth dimensions also fall under the shipbroker’s purview during the post-fixture stage.
Follow-up: The Art of Shipbroking
When you’re a shipbroker, countless details come with the territory daily. Mad follow-up skills are the mark of a pro and a harbinger of success in this industry. In the final analysis, shipbroking is a relationship business. With so much on the line, charterers and ship owners put a premium on trust. If you can deliver on that, you can expect smooth sailing.
