Ship broking

In the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008 brokers providing valuations included additional wording in their certificates reflecting the state of the market. These generally pointed out  that the lack of comparable sales made the assessment of values uncertain.

A chartering broker described the ship’s four previous loads as being “grain”. On this basis, the charterers confirmed the fixture with the owners.

When reaching the final stages of a negotiation for the charter of a ship trading from the Black Sea to Spain, a ship broker applied laytime provisions which had recently been used in a previous fixture where NOR was tendered in China.

International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) has urged ship brokers and managers to check the terms of their charterparty agreements closely before signing, in order to avoid costly mistakes further down the line.

International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) says ship brokers and agents are among those most at risk of exposure to fraud in the shipping industry, and urges them to carry out simple checks in order to protect themselves.

International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) recently represented a shipbroker accused by an owner of breach of warranty of authority in a dispute arising under a non-performing contract of affreightment (CoA).

International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) recently helped a shipbroker reduce its level of exposure to claims from a charterer for damages and loss of profits in a rising market, following a failure to pass on fixture options correctly.

International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) recently settled a dispute between a shipowner and its Turkish agent for losses arising from the refusal of Turkish port authorities to allow a vessel to berth because of its connection to Cyprus.

The FONASBA Young Ship Agent or Broker Award 2017, co-sponsored by International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC), has been awarded to Niklas Soltow of SCA Logistics GmbH of Kiel, Germany. Katy Aldrick of Seaforth (Kenya) Ltd also received a special ‘highly commended’ award for her paper on the threats and opportunities facing small independent shipping agents in East Africa.

International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) says communication failings within shipbrokers’ organisations can result in important instructions from principals being overlooked, leading to potentially costly claims.