Chartering · Black Foot Logistics

What we ask before we fix, and why.

Ten questions. Each one exists because leaving it unasked has cost somebody a laycan, a berth, or a claim. If you already know the answers, we'll move quickly. If you don't, that's what we're for.

We're a broker. We don't own the vessels and we don't own the cargo, which means the only thing we're selling is a fixture that holds together. A fixture falls apart in a small number of predictable ways, and almost all of them trace back to a question nobody asked at the enquiry stage.

So this is the list. It's the same list behind our charter detail sheet — published openly, because a charterer who reads it and decides to fix elsewhere has still had a useful afternoon.

Question 01

What happens if this cargo doesn't move on schedule?

Not "when do you need it" — what breaks. Storage overrun, refinery feedstock gap, contract penalty, demurrage exposure on shore tanks.

Why: it's the only question that tells us what we're actually protecting. A cargo with a $40,000-a-day consequence behind it should be worked differently from one with a flexible window, and we'd rather know that before we start quoting than after we've optimised for the wrong thing.

Question 02

Which terminal — not which port?

Houston is not a berth. We need the specific load and discharge terminal.

Why: restrictions live at the berth, not the port. Draft, LOA, manifold height, hose size and berth availability are terminal-level facts, and tonnage that suits the port can be refused at the jetty.

Question 03

Does the terminal restrict vessel size — max DWT or draft?

If there's a limit, we need the number. If you don't know it, say so and we'll find out.

Why: this is the constraint most likely to invalidate an otherwise perfect nomination, and it is far cheaper to establish at enquiry than after a vessel has been offered and accepted.

Question 04

Laycan — earliest and latest, and how firm are they?

Both dates, plus an honest answer about which one has give in it.

Why: a narrow laycan is priced differently from a wide one, and owners quote accordingly. Charterers who overstate firmness pay for flexibility they never needed; charterers who understate it lose the ship.

Question 05

Are there prior cargo restrictions — and how many back?

Last one, last two, last three. And which cargoes are unacceptable.

Why: on clean products this eliminates tonnage faster than any other single criterion. Screening for it first avoids offering you a vessel your own quality department will reject.

Question 06

Coated tanks, heating, segregation, inert gas — what does the cargo require?

And if heating: to what temperature, and maintained over what period.

Why: these are physical attributes of a ship, not negotiable terms. Establishing them up front narrows the tonnage list to vessels that can actually lift the cargo, rather than vessels that are simply available.

Question 07

Whose vetting applies — and which approvals do you need current?

SIRE/OCIMF inspection currency, named major oil company approvals, or your own vetting regime.

Why: a vessel approved by one major is not automatically approved by another, and approval status changes. Asking which specific approvals matter to you prevents us presenting tonnage that clears our screen and fails yours.

Question 08

Quantity and tolerance — and whose option?

Min/max, owner's option or charterer's option, and the percentage.

Why: tolerance is a commercial term with a real price attached. Who holds the option changes what an owner will quote, and leaving it undefined at enquiry means renegotiating it at the worst possible moment.

Question 09

Have you moved this cargo before — direct, through a broker, or not at all?

First time on the route, previously fixed direct, previously fixed via broker, or an existing programme seeking alternative coverage.

Why: it tells us what you already know and what you don't. Someone running an established programme needs a competitive alternative and a fast answer. Someone moving a route for the first time needs the constraints explained before anything is quoted. Treating those two the same serves neither.

Question 10

Freight basis, laytime and demurrage — what are you working to?

Worldscale, lumpsum or $/MT; laytime allowed; demurrage rate and terms.

Why: a rate is meaningless without the terms attached to it. A keen freight number with tight laytime and a low demurrage rate can cost more than a higher number with realistic terms — and comparing offers on freight alone is how that mistake gets made.

What we deliberately don't ask at enquiry

War risk premiums, bunker adjustment and detailed sanctions jurisdictions don't appear on our enquiry sheet. Not because they don't matter — they matter a great deal — but because they're first-meeting conversations, not form fields. Asking a charterer to specify war risk exposure before we've spoken is asking them to do our job.

Take it with you

The same ten questions as a one-page PDF, formatted to sit next to an enquiry. Useful whether or not you ever send us a cargo.

We'll send the one-pager and add you to The Black Foot Brief — a bi-weekly read on freight and energy data. Unsubscribe in a click. We don't share your information.

On its way. Meanwhile, the PDF is here: download it directly.

Have a cargo now? Skip the reading and send us the detail sheet.