What is a trip charter?
A trip charter, also called trip time charter or TCT, is a time-charter fixture limited to a single laden voyage between defined delivery and redelivery ranges. The charterer pays a daily hire and runs the voyage; the owner provides the vessel and crew.
The fixture is written on the same standard forms as period time charters, most commonly BIMCO’s NYPE 2015 in its trip-form configuration. The Baltic Exchange publishes daily trip-charter assessments on the major Supramax, Panamax, and Capesize routes (the 5TC, 6TC and 10TC indices), and those routes are the reference points the desk uses when fixing trip business. The instrument is structurally a time charter and is governed by the same clauses; what makes it a “trip” is the agreed delivery-to-redelivery scope rather than a different contract architecture.
A trip charter sits between a single voyage charter, where the owner sells the cargo movement for a freight rate, and a period time charter, where the charterer commits to several months of daily hire. It is the right instrument when the charterer wants the cost discipline of paying per day but only for the duration of one laden movement, and when the owner wants visibility on where the vessel ends up at redelivery.
How a trip charter works in practice
The charterer inquires for a vessel of a stated size band, with delivery in a defined area, intended cargo type, and a redelivery range that matches their cargo program. The owner responds with a candidate vessel’s position and the trip-rate level. Negotiation closes on the hire rate, delivery and redelivery places and dates, bunker quantities at both ends, the cargo to be carried, trading and cargo exclusions, and the standard NYPE clause set.
On lifting subjects, the fixture recap confirms the terms and the charterer takes delivery in the agreed range. The vessel is then on-hire: the charterer pays daily hire, pays for bunkers at the agreed price and quantities, pays all port costs, canal dues, and disbursements, and runs the voyage commercially. The owner pays crew, maintenance, insurance, and stores throughout. Performance is monitored under the same speed and bunker warranties as period time charters, prorated to the trip length.
The fixture closes at redelivery in the agreed range, with bunkers on board valued, off-hire deducted, and hire reconciled. Because the period is short (typically 30 to 70 days), trip-charter performance disputes are usually settled at redelivery rather than carried into post-fixture arbitration.
| Cost or risk axis | Owner exposure | Charterer exposure |
|---|---|---|
| Bunker | Owner stems delivery quantities, charterer reimburses at agreed price | Charterer pays all voyage bunkers and redelivers similar quantities |
| Port costs and disbursements | None | Charterer pays load and discharge port costs and agency |
| Canal dues and towage | None | Charterer pays canal transit and towage |
| Off-hire | Owner loses hire under NYPE clause 17 events | Charterer suspends hire for any off-hire event |
| Laytime | Not applicable: time-based instrument | Charterer carries any sub-voyage laytime risk on cargo contracts |
| Weather and routing | Owner under good-weather performance warranty | Charterer plans routing, weather days on-hire |
| Cargo claims | Owner liable for unseaworthiness and crew negligence | Charterer liable for cargo and stowage instructions |
| Crew | Owner pays manning and wages | None |
| Maintenance and class | Owner maintains class and insurance | None |
Trip charter vs time charter
A trip charter is a duration-limited form of time charter. Both run on daily hire, both make the charterer responsible for voyage costs, both use NYPE 2015 or equivalent. The difference is scope: a trip is fixed for a single laden voyage, a period time charter is fixed for months. Owners price trip business with a sharper view on where the vessel ends up at redelivery, because the next employment depends on it.
| Dimension | Trip charter | Period time charter | Voyage charter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who runs the voyage | Charterer | Charterer | Owner |
| Who pays bunker | Charterer | Charterer | Owner |
| Who pays port costs | Charterer | Charterer | Owner |
| Hire or freight basis | USD per day, single trip | USD per day, period | USD per tonne |
| Cargo risk | Charterer chooses one cargo | Charterer chooses program | Owner accepts one cargo |
| Time risk | Charterer for the trip | Charterer for the period | Owner |
| Typical duration | 30 to 70 days | 3 to 36 months | Single laden voyage |
| Best for | Single lift, charterer wants cost discipline | Programme of lifts | Single discrete movement |
A charterer prefers a trip charter over a single voyage charter when they want to run the voyage and capture the upside of fast turnaround or efficient routing, but they do not have a program big enough to justify a multi-month time charter. The classic case is a trader who has one prompt cargo, an underlying view that the vessel will perform faster than the freight market is pricing in, and the operational capacity to run the voyage themselves. A trip charter also suits a charterer who wants exposure to bunker pricing rather than locking it inside a freight quote, and an owner who wants the vessel positioned at the redelivery end rather than the load end.
Risk allocation between owner and charterer
The risk profile of a trip charter mirrors a period time charter on a compressed timeline. The charterer takes time risk for the duration of the trip: waiting time at load and discharge, weather days, and routing inefficiencies all run on hire. The owner takes the same crew, maintenance, insurance, and class exposures, but only for the trip duration rather than a multi-month commitment.
The clause that materially shifts risk on trip business is the redelivery range. Owners price the trip with a view on the next fixture from the redelivery position: a Continent-to-Far-East trip with redelivery China gives the owner Pacific positioning for the next round, while a Continent-to-Continent trip with redelivery North Continent keeps the Atlantic market open. A loose or undefined redelivery range exposes the owner to a weak forward market without compensation. The NYPE 2015 clause 17 off-hire mechanics apply unchanged: any clause 17 event suspends hire during the trip, and bunker quality disputes do not stop hire unless the BIMCO bunker quality clause is added.
The performance warranty operates on a shorter sample. On a 45-day trip a persistent half-knot underperformance can erode several days of charterer’s economics, but the dispute is usually settled at redelivery rather than escalated to arbitration. Independent weather-routing data is still the prerequisite for any enforceable claim.
Worked fixture example
Supramax trip, North Continent to East Mediterranean
- Cargo
- Grain in bulk, full cargo lift
- Lane
- North Continent load, East Mediterranean discharge
- Vessel size band
- Supramax, 56,000 DWT
- Duration
- About 35 days, single laden trip
- Delivery laycan
- March 2026, dop North Continent
- Hire rate
- USD 16,200 per day
- Key clauses
- NYPE 2015 trip-form, BIMCO bunker quality clause, Conwartime 2013, redelivery East Mediterranean intention
The trip rate was fixed against the Baltic Supramax Atlantic round for the prior week, adjusted down for the shorter East Mediterranean discharge versus a full transatlantic round. The redelivery range was negotiated narrowly to East Mediterranean only, which supported the owner’s next-fixture optionality and pulled the headline rate down from a worldwide-redelivery indication.
Delivery bunkers were taken on the BIMCO bunker quality clause to protect the charterer against a residue dispute from the previous fixture. Quantities were sized to support the planned voyage plus a small reserve for weather days, with redelivery quantities matched to support the owner’s onward repositioning.
The performance warranty was preserved unchanged. With a 35-day trip the charterer accepted weather-day exposure rather than negotiate a tightened curve, on the basis that the routing through Gibraltar was forecast benign and the upside on a faster transit went to the charterer.
Common mistakes and misuse
- Leaving the redelivery range too wide. “Worldwide redelivery” on a trip will pull the rate up sharply because the owner cannot price the next fixture: define the redelivery range in writing or pay for the optionality.
- Treating bunker delivery quantities as a hedge. The delivery and redelivery valuations on a trip are short-dated and rarely cover enough tonnage to matter as a price hedge. Use a bunker swap or a paper hedge if you want bunker-price protection.
- Carrying the cargo nomination through to subjects without confirming load-port draft and air-draft. A Supramax with a tropical fresh-water draft that the load berth cannot accommodate forces a part cargo and a freight loss.
- Missing the trip-form amendments to standard NYPE clauses. The trip-form recap should explicitly state which clauses are amended (often the trading limits, the cargo exclusions, and the redelivery range) and which carry over unchanged from the base form.
- Ignoring the redelivery NOR window. A trip recap should state a redelivery date range, not a single date, so that minor weather delays at the discharge port do not put the charterer in technical breach.
When a trip charter is the right choice
A trip charter is the right instrument when the charterer wants time-charter cost discipline for a single voyage, has the operational capability to run the voyage themselves, and does not want to commit to a multi-month period. Compared to a voyage charter, it shifts time risk to the charterer in exchange for cost transparency on bunkers, ports, and canal dues. Compared to a period time charter, it limits the commitment to one laden trip and gives the owner redelivery-position control.
For brokers structuring a single lift where the charterer has a market view on the lane and the cargo program does not justify period cover, a trip charter often clears at a rate that beats both voyage and period alternatives. The negotiation and post-fixture support sit within the broader chartering process; our ship-brokering desk handles trip-charter inquiries across Supramax, Panamax, and Capesize sectors.
Scope and what this page does not cover
This page describes the commercial mechanics of a trip charter and how the trip-form NYPE 2015 fixture differs from a period time charter. It does not provide clause-by-clause legal drafting, jurisdiction-specific case-law analysis, or forecasts of trip-charter rates on any specific lane. For current rate context, the Baltic Exchange trip-charter assessments and a broker’s market report are the working references.