The transport broker is
every natural or legal person who, for a remuneration, puts two or more persons
in contact with each other, with the aim to mutually conclude a contract of
transport and in case he intervenes by the conclusion of the contract, he only
does so in the capacity of a representative of his principal.
In tramping, it is
customary that owners (or operators) of one or several ships are badly informed
of the goods that are available for transport and conversely, that owners or
exporters of goods are not properly informed about the available ships. In this
case a transport broker is necessary who will put both parties in contact (the
owner and the exporter) with the aim to conclude a mutual transport contract.
If the owner is the
principal of the transport broker, whereby the latter has to find an
appropriate cargo for the ship, the transport broker is called “shipbroker”.
If the opposite occurs,
where the exporter is the principal of the transport broker, whereby the latter
now has to find an appropriate ship for the goods that have to be carried, the
transport broker is called “chartering or freight broker” or “cargo broker”.
The Shipbroker
The shipbroker is an
intermediary who, in the tramping, takes care of the hiring of a ship either in
time charter or in voyage charter.
The shipbroker, who is
appointed by an owner, must ensure that the ships from his principal are
continuously employed for the highest possible freight. According to the
position of the ship, he will look for a suitable cargo, make sure that the
ship never sails without cargo and that she never or as little as possible has
to sail in ballast to get to her next cargo. To accomplish these goals, the
shipbroker has to be perfectly informed about the freight markets and must
therefore, rely mainly on his knowledge, experience and public relations, at
home as well as abroad.
Consequently, the
shipbroker is not a fixed mandatary like the shipping agent, but an
intermediary who brings together two parties or concludes a separate agreement
with both. As intermediary, the shipbroker has no responsibilities in the
concluded agreement, on condition that his signature on the contract is
followed by the reservation “as agent for the owners”.
Often the shipbroker is
also called “owner’s broker”. Sometimes he can work for a liner company when
they do not want to employ all their ships in the liner trade.
The Chartering Broker
The chartering broker
(also called freight broker or cargo broker) is the counterpart of the
shipbroker. Indeed, where the shipbroker receives one or more ships in
consignment for which he has to find cargo, the chartering broker will act the
other way round and try to find for his principal, who is the owner of the
goods, a suitable ship. This is why a chartering broker is often also called
“freight or cargo broker”.
Just like the
shipbroker, the chartering broker is not a fixed mandatary but only an
intermediary who brings together two parties or concludes a separate agreement
with both. As intermediary he also has no responsibilities in the concluded
agreement on condition that his signature is followed by the words “as agent
for the charterers”.
The Sale and Purchase Broker
The sale and purchase
broker is the middleman who mediates in the buying and selling of a ship. As
sale and purchase broker he draws up the memorandum of agreement. His signature
will be followed by “as sale and purchase broker only” or “as agents only”.
NOTES
The activities of the
shipping and chartering broker are often exercised by the same office, which
means that the transport broker can at one time be shipping broker and at
another time be chartering broker or even be both at the same time.
As broker they draw up
the charter party and sign it on behalf of their client, however with the usual
reservation.
For his intervention,
the broker receives a remuneration called “brokerage commission”, the amount
being stipulated in the charter party. Usually it is a percentage of the
freight.
In the tramping, the
shipbroker can also look after the dispatch of the ship. In this case, his
assignment is partially equal to this of a shipping agent.
From the words “as agents for …” following the signature of the broker,
we can deduce that the broker in fact acts as an agent for his client. The term
agent may therefore not be used only as referring to a dispatcher (such as a
liner agent or port agent) but has to be considered in its broadest meaning as
being a representative or intermediary who, by order and in name of another
person, acts independently. In this context, therefore, the contracts for
shipping agents “Standard Liner Agency Agreement” and other similar agreements
may be applied to the shipbroker (and also to the chartering broker).
Pierre Deseck