Chartering
Chartering Recruitment & Executive Search
Specialist retained search across vessel chartering, commercial shipping, freight trading and chartering leadership.
Chartering sits at the point where cargo requirements meet available vessels. Across dry bulk, tankers, gas and other shipping markets, charterers make commercial decisions around tonnage, freight, timing, routes and voyage economics.
The role can look very different depending on which side of the market somebody works. Owner-side charterers focus on vessel employment, positioning and returns across a fleet. Cargo-side charterers may secure ships against physical commodity programmes, working closely with traders, producers, refiners or industrial buyers.
Experience also becomes highly specific by vessel class. A Capesize charterer working iron ore, an MR charterer covering clean petroleum products and an LNG charterer managing long-haul gas cargoes all work within vessel chartering, but the counterparties, freight markets and commercial judgements involved are very different.
Chartering teams can sit inside shipowners, operators, commodity trading houses, oil majors, utilities, miners, agricultural merchants and other physical cargo businesses. Some roles are predominantly physical, while others combine chartering with freight derivatives, optimisation or wider commercial responsibility.
Imperium Commodity Search works internationally across ship chartering and vessel chartering markets, supporting specialist charterer appointments, desk builds and senior commercial hires.
Our searches are built around the chartering market behind the title: vessel class, cargo exposure, routes, counterparties, owner-side or cargo-side experience, geography and the level of commercial responsibility somebody has held.
Understanding the Chartering Market
Chartering decisions are shaped by cargo, vessel class, timing and which side of the market is taking the freight risk.
Chartering can sit inside a shipowner, operator, commodity trader, energy company, miner, agricultural merchant or industrial business.
The commercial objective changes with the employer. Owner-side teams are trying to employ vessels well, protect earnings and position tonnage for the next opportunity. Cargo-side charterers are securing ships against physical requirements, often alongside traders, producers or procurement teams.
That is why broad titles such as Charterer, Chartering Manager or Commercial Manager need context. Vessel class, cargo exposure, routes and counterparties usually tell us far more about the market somebody actually knows.
Owner-Side Chartering
Owner-side charterers are responsible for finding suitable employment for vessels.
They monitor cargo availability, freight levels, vessel positions and market direction before deciding which business to pursue and at what rate.
The commercial judgement is often about more than the immediate fixture. A voyage that looks attractive today may leave the ship poorly positioned for the next cargo or expose the owner to an unfavourable ballast leg.
Cargo-Side Chartering
Cargo-side charterers secure vessels against physical commodity requirements.
They may work inside oil majors, refiners, miners, grain merchants, commodity traders, utilities or other businesses controlling cargo.
The chartering decision is usually closely linked to delivery obligations, trading positions, terminal windows and the economics of the underlying commodity transaction.
Voyage & Time Chartering
Shipping companies use several charter structures depending on how much control and market exposure they want.
Voyage charters cover individual cargo movements, while time charters give the charterer use of a vessel for an agreed period. Contracts of affreightment can cover repeated cargo movements over a longer programme.
Each structure creates different responsibilities around freight, fuel, vessel employment and operational risk.
Vessel Classes & Cargo Exposure
Chartering experience becomes specialised quickly once vessel class is taken into account.
Capesize, Panamax, Supramax and Handysize dry bulk markets behave differently from VLCC, Suezmax, Aframax and MR tanker markets. LNG carriers, VLGCs and other gas vessels bring another set of technical and commercial considerations.
Cargo matters alongside the vessel. Iron ore, grains, crude oil, refined products, LNG and LPG all create different trade flows and counterparty networks.
Freight, Positioning & Voyage Economics
Freight rates are only one part of the decision.
Charterers also consider ballast distance, bunker consumption, port restrictions, laycan, expected waiting time, canal routes and where the vessel will be positioned once the voyage is complete.
Those factors can materially change the value of a fixture even when the headline freight looks competitive.
Freight Risk, FFAs & Market Exposure
Some chartering teams manage physical freight alongside financial exposure.
Forward Freight Agreements allow owners, charterers and commodity companies to hedge or take positions on future freight rates, particularly across established dry bulk and tanker routes.
That creates crossover between vessel chartering, freight trading, physical commodity desks and wider risk management.
The Best Fixture Depends on What Comes Before and After It
Chartering is rarely judged on one number in isolation.
A lower freight rate may be offset by a longer ballast, weaker vessel position, higher bunker consumption or greater demurrage exposure. On the owner side, a stronger rate may still be unattractive if the voyage leaves the ship in the wrong market afterwards.
Cargo-side teams make similar judgements around delivery commitments, arbitrage, timing and the wider value of the physical trade.
A strong charterer understands the economics of the whole voyage and the commercial position it creates next.
For recruitment, that means we need to know whether someone has worked owner-side or cargo-side, which vessels and cargoes they know, how much authority they held and how closely their role sat to freight risk, trading and wider commercial decisions.
The Global Chartering Market
Commercial conditions differ sharply across the vessel markets that make up the global fleet.
Chartering activity sits behind a very large share of international seaborne trade, but there is no single global “chartering rate”.
Freight is negotiated within individual vessel markets, each with its own fleet supply, cargo demand, routes and contract structures. The scale of those underlying fleets gives useful context for just how broad the chartering profession is.
Fleet Capacity Across Major Chartering Markets
World fleet capacity at 1 January 2025
| Vessel market | Fleet capacity | Annual growth |
|---|---|---|
| Bulk carriers | 1,036.2m dwt | +3.0% |
| Oil tankers | 669.8m dwt | +0.7% |
| Container ships | 363.8m dwt | +9.7% |
| Liquefied gas carriers | 100.5m dwt | +7.0% |
| Chemical tankers | 54.3m dwt | +3.3% |
Fleet Size Is Only the Starting Point
Dry bulk and oil tankers remain the largest vessel markets by carrying capacity, supporting substantial chartering communities across owners, operators, commodity houses and cargo interests. Together they account for most of the world fleet measured in deadweight tonnes.
The faster growth elsewhere is also commercially important. Container capacity expanded by almost 10% during 2024, while the liquefied-gas fleet grew by 7%. Those additions affect vessel availability, employment decisions and the balance between owners and charterers in very different ways.
Fleet capacity is only one side of a chartering market. Cargo volumes, voyage distances, vessel positioning and disruption can change effective demand without any change in the number of ships. Red Sea rerouting demonstrated that clearly, helping push global tonne-mile growth to around 6% in 2024 even though seaborne trade volumes grew by only 2.2%.
The contract structure matters as well. Spot voyages, period time charters, contracts of affreightment and longer-term vessel commitments create different exposures for the companies involved.
For chartering teams, the relevant market is the balance between cargo demand and suitable tonnage within the vessel segment they actually trade.
2.5 Billion DWT
Global Fleet Capacity
The world commercial fleet reached approximately 2.5 billion deadweight tonnes of carrying capacity at the start of 2026.
+85 Million DWT
Added in One Year
Global carrying capacity increased by approximately 85 million dwt between January 2025 and January 2026.
69%
Bulk & Tanker Capacity
Oil tankers and bulk carriers together accounted for approximately 69% of total world fleet carrying capacity at the start of 2026.
~116,000
Merchant Vessels Worldwide
Major Charterers & Commercial Shipping Participants
Different chartering models create very different commercial experience.
There is no single reliable ranking of the world’s largest charterers.
Some companies disclose chartered vessel numbers, voyage counts or transported tonnes; others report very little publicly. The market also mixes cargo owners, commodity traders, shipowners, operators and pool managers, so a simple fleet-size comparison would not tell us much about the scale or nature of their chartering activity.
Major participants include Rio Tinto Marine, Cargill Ocean Transportation, Trafigura, Shell Trading & Supply, Oldendorff Carriers, NORDEN, Hafnia and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, among many others active across dry bulk, tanker and gas markets.
Major Cargo-Side Charterers
Rio Tinto Marine
Rio Tinto describes itself as the world’s leading charterer. Its Marine team charters and operates more than 230 ships and transports over 300 million tonnes of product each year, with iron ore, bauxite and other minerals forming the core of the programme. The scale of those cargo flows gives its chartering teams substantial exposure to dry bulk freight, particularly across Australia-Asia routes and the larger vessel classes.
Cargill Ocean Transportation
Cargill combines physical commodity exposure with one of the largest freight-trading and chartering platforms in the market. Its 2025 chartered fleet averaged around 600 vessels per day across Capesize, Panamax, Supramax, Handysize and tanker segments, while its operations teams execute more than 3,000 voyages annually. This creates significant crossover between physical cargo, freight trading, vessel chartering and risk management.
Trafigura
Trafigura’s shipping division works directly alongside its physical oil, gas, metals and bulk commodity businesses. The company undertakes more than 5,250 shipping and chartering voyages each year and has around 400 vessels on time charter on average, giving its commercial teams exposure across both wet and dry freight markets.
Shell Trading & Supply
Shell integrates shipping with one of the world’s largest energy-trading businesses. Its commercial teams manage crude oil, refined products, LNG and other energy flows alongside a large and diverse vessel portfolio, with major shipping and trading centres in London, Houston, Dubai, Rotterdam and Singapore. Chartering therefore sits closely alongside physical trading, supply optimisation and wider maritime capability.
Major Owners & Commercial Operators
Oldendorff Carriers
Oldendorff normally operates around 780 bulk carriers across Capesize, Panamax, Supramax, Handysize and transhipment markets. Much of that capacity is time-chartered rather than owned outright, which makes chartering and vessel employment central to the company’s commercial model.
NORDEN
NORDEN operates an asset-light commercial model across dry cargo and tankers, combining owned vessels with substantial chartered capacity. Its business depends heavily on positioning ships against cargo opportunities and managing freight exposure through changing market cycles, making chartering a core part of both divisions.
Hafnia
Hafnia operates one of the largest integrated product and chemical tanker platforms in the market. More than 170 vessels currently trade through its commercial pools, with chartering, operations and pool management closely integrated across MR, LR1, Panamax and chemical tanker segments.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines
MOL operates across dry bulk, tankers, LNG, LPG and other specialist vessel markets. Its commercial activity includes both spot and long-term chartering, with recent contracts spanning LNG carriers, ammonia vessels and other energy-shipping projects alongside one of the world’s largest dry bulk fleets.
Market context: Companies are included as examples of significant participants in global chartering and commercial shipping. Chartering activity is not disclosed on a consistent basis across the industry, so inclusion should not be interpreted as a formal ranking. Inclusion does not imply commercial relationship with or endorsement of Imperium Commodity Search.
Owner-Side and Cargo-Side Experience Develop Differently
A charterer working for a shipowner spends much of their time thinking about vessel employment, positioning, earnings and where the ship should trade next.
Inside a miner, energy company or commodity house, the starting point is usually the cargo. The charterer may be working alongside physical traders, supply teams or producers to secure the right vessel against an underlying commercial requirement.
Some businesses blur that distinction. Operators and freight traders can control large chartered fleets without owning much tonnage themselves, creating roles that combine vessel employment, cargo trading and freight exposure.
For recruitment, we therefore need to understand which side of the market somebody has worked on, what vessels and cargoes they know, and how much commercial authority they actually held.
Every Voyage Begins With a Decision Made Ashore.
Chartering Talent Across Global Shipping Markets
Chartering expertise tends to follow vessel fleets, cargo flows and the commercial centres where freight is fixed.
Chartering teams are spread across the major maritime and commodity hubs rather than concentrated in one type of business.
Shipowners and operators tend to build strong teams in established shipping centres, while cargo-side charterers often sit closer to physical trading, production or refining. Commodity houses can add another layer, with freight decisions made alongside the underlying cargo position.
That means a charterer in Athens may have a very different background from one in Geneva, Houston or Singapore even when the job title is identical.
Shipowning & Operator Centres
Athens, London, Copenhagen, Oslo, Hamburg, Monaco & Singapore
These markets contain large concentrations of shipowners, operators and commercial shipping teams.
Athens is particularly strong across dry bulk and tanker ownership, while London remains important across chartering, broking and freight markets. Copenhagen and Oslo support major Nordic shipping businesses, and Singapore has developed one of the deepest commercial shipping talent pools in Asia.
Owner-side charterers in these locations are often closely involved in vessel employment, positioning and freight strategy.
Commodity & Freight Hubs
Geneva, London, Singapore, Dubai, Houston & Rotterdam
Cargo-side chartering is closely tied to the physical commodity market.
Geneva and Singapore contain major trading houses active across grains, metals, energy and freight. Houston brings chartering teams closer to crude, refined products, LNG and US export flows, while Rotterdam remains closely connected to European energy and industrial cargo markets.
These environments often produce charterers who work alongside physical traders and understand freight as part of a wider commodity transaction.
Export, Production & Destination Markets
Perth, Rio de Janeiro, Dubai, Doha, Houston, Shanghai, Tokyo & Seoul
Some chartering expertise develops close to where the cargo originates or is ultimately consumed.
Mining groups, energy producers, national oil companies and industrial businesses can operate substantial shipping programmes from these locations, particularly across iron ore, crude oil, LNG and other high-volume commodities.
The roles may be less visible than traditional shipowner chartering positions, but the scale of freight responsibility can be considerable.
The Chartering Market Behind the CV
Location helps identify where talent is concentrated, but the more important questions sit inside the role itself.
A dry bulk charterer covering Panamax grain trades will have built a different network from a tanker charterer working Suezmax crude. Move from an owner to a commodity house and the commercial perspective changes again.
When we assess chartering experience, we look closely at vessel class, cargo, routes, counterparties, contract structure and the amount of commercial authority somebody actually held.
Who We Search For Across Chartering
The strongest candidate pool depends on which vessels, cargoes and freight markets sit behind the role.
Chartering careers can become highly specialised.
Some professionals spend most of their working lives within one vessel class. Others move between shipowning, commodity trading and freight markets, building broader experience across several parts of the shipping chain.
That distinction shapes how we approach a search.
Owner-Side Chartering
Owner-side charterers are responsible for employing vessels commercially.
They assess cargo opportunities, freight rates, ballast positions and onward employment while trying to maximise returns across the fleet.
Depending on the company, the role may focus on spot fixtures, time chartering, contracts of affreightment or a combination of several employment strategies.
Typical searches include:
Charterer · Senior Charterer · Vessel Charterer · Ship Charterer · Chartering Manager · Commercial Manager · Head of Chartering
Cargo-Side Chartering & Freight Trading
Cargo-side charterers secure vessels against physical commodity requirements.
These roles often sit inside oil majors, miners, agricultural merchants, trading houses, utilities and industrial companies. Freight decisions can be closely connected to trading positions, delivery commitments and the economics of the cargo itself.
Some positions combine physical vessel chartering with freight trading or derivatives exposure.
Relevant appointments include:
Freight Charterer · Cargo Charterer · Dry Bulk Charterer · Tanker Charterer · Freight Trader · Shipping Manager · Freight Manager
Specialist Vessel & Gas Chartering
Gas and specialist vessel markets create a narrower chartering talent pool.
LNG, LPG, VLGC and chemical shipping require knowledge of vessel specification, terminal compatibility, cargo handling and trading patterns that do not always transfer easily from conventional dry bulk or tanker markets.
The candidate market can therefore become considerably smaller once vessel type and cargo capability are defined properly.
Specialist searches include:
LNG Charterer · LPG Charterer · VLGC Charterer · Chemical Tanker Charterer · Gas Charterer · Senior Gas Charterer · Commercial Manager · Head of Gas Chartering
Freight Risk & Chartering Leadership
Senior chartering roles often extend beyond individual fixtures.
Leaders may be responsible for entire vessel portfolios, freight books, regional teams or relationships with key cargo and tonnage counterparties. In some businesses, freight derivatives and risk management also sit close to the physical chartering function.
These appointments usually require a clear view of both the underlying freight market and the commercial exposure being managed.
Leadership and specialist searches include:
Chartering Director · Head of Chartering · Head of Freight · Freight Risk Manager · Freight Derivatives Trader · Commercial Director · Regional Head · Managing Director
Chartering Experience Is Defined by the Market Around It
A Chartering Manager title can cover a very wide range of responsibilities.
Some roles are heavily transactional and focused on daily fixtures. Others involve longer-term freight strategy, time-charter exposure, team management or integration with physical commodity trading.
The same applies to seniority. Two charterers with similar tenure may have handled very different levels of authority, revenue and risk depending on the organisation they worked for.
That is why we spend time understanding what somebody actually chartered, how they made freight decisions, which counterparties they dealt with and how much responsibility sat with them directly.
Specialist Search Across the Chartering Market
Retained search across vessel chartering, freight trading and senior commercial shipping appointments.
Chartering mandates usually become much clearer once the market behind the role is properly defined.
A dry bulk search may depend on Capesize, Panamax or Supramax experience. A tanker chartering role could require crude, clean products or a particular regional freight market, while an LNG or LPG mandate may narrow the candidate pool much further.
Imperium works on a retained basis and deliberately limits the number of clients we represent within a specialist market at any one time. That gives us space to map the relevant owners, operators, commodity houses and cargo interests properly, and to approach passive chartering professionals confidentially.
Our work can cover individual charterer appointments, freight traders, desk builds and commercial leadership across dry bulk, tankers, gas and other international shipping markets.
For Clients
Looking for a charterer, chartering manager, freight trader or senior commercial leader?
We build the search around vessel class, cargo exposure, owner-side or cargo-side experience, routes, counterparties, freight-risk responsibility and geography.
For Professionals
We do not operate as a high-volume vacancy business. If your background sits within vessel chartering, ship chartering, freight trading, tanker chartering, dry bulk chartering, gas shipping or commercial leadership, we are always open to a confidential conversation where your experience may be relevant to current or future retained work.
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Shipbroking · Freight Derivatives & FFAs · Shipping Operations, Claims & Demurrage · Ship Sizes & Vessel Classes · Crude Oil · Refined Products
