Vessel cost questions, answered
The questions commercial and operations teams ask most about what a container vessel costs, with plain answers and where to see the figure for your own voyage.
Voyage cost and operating cost
A vessel's operating cost is what it takes to keep the ship running, whatever it sails: crew, maintenance, insurance, stores and management. Voyage cost is what one voyage adds: mainly bunkers, port costs and canal dues. A company that charters the ship pays the hire on top, in place of the operating cost.
The Voyage Estimator works on the voyage side: bunkers, ports, canals and hire. Any other cost can be added to the voyage as an additional charge.
Nominal and effective capacity
Nominal capacity is the ship's declared slot count. Effective capacity is what it can really carry on a service once container weights, stability, visibility and reefers are allowed for, and it is lower. Which of the two a cost per TEU is based on makes a real difference, so it is worth saying which one you use.
Reducing vessel operating costs
On a liner voyage the largest levers are usually speed, fuel, ports and time. Sail a leg slower, buy fuel in a cheaper port, cut a call that does not pay, shorten the port stay or the waiting, or fill the ship better. None of these is free, so try each on the real figures of the voyage and compare the results before you change the schedule.
Popular port distances
Vessel Cost Questions, answered.
How much does it cost to operate a container vessel per day?
There is no single figure: it depends on the ship, its speed, its fuel and the ports it calls. Build the voyage in the estimator and it shows the cost per voyage day for your own vessel.
How do you calculate the cost per TEU of a container vessel?
Start from the full voyage cost and the vessel's TEU capacity. Enter the vessel, the rotation and the costs in the estimator and it shows the cost per TEU.
What is the average bunker consumption of a feeder vessel?
It varies too much for one average: a feeder's burn depends on its size, its engine and above all its speed. Enter the vessel's own speed-wise consumption and the estimator gives the burn for your voyage.
How do you calculate vessel voyage expenses?
List them: bunkers, port costs, canal dues, hire and anything else. The estimator shows each as its own line, with the total, the cost per TEU, per nautical mile and per voyage day.
How do you calculate ship fuel consumption?
It follows from the days at sea and in port and the vessel's consumption at its speed, for the main engine and the auxiliaries. The estimator gives it in metric tons, for the voyage and leg by leg.
How much bunker does a 2,500 TEU container vessel consume?
It depends on the speed, the engine and the weather more than on the size alone, so take it from the ship's own consumption table. Enter a 2,500 TEU vessel's figures and the estimator shows its burn for the voyage, at sea and in port.
How do you calculate port charges based on GRT?
Each port's tariff sets its own rates and slabs on GRT. Keep the tariff in Stowlines, enter the vessel's GRT, and each charge is priced for the call.
How do you calculate vessel hire cost per voyage?
Enter the charter hire per day. The estimator counts the sea, port and idle days of the voyage and shows the hire as its own line.
What is the difference between nominal and effective vessel capacity?
Nominal capacity is the declared slot count. Effective capacity, often called the intake, is what the ship can really carry on a service, once weights, stability, visibility and reefers are allowed for.
How do you calculate vessel profitability?
Set what the voyage earns against what it costs. Enter the TEU loaded and the freight of each leg and the estimator shows the revenue, the profit or loss, the margin and the profit per TEU.
How do you calculate sailing days between two ports?
You need the sea distance and the speed. The free transit time calculator gives both the distance and the days at sea.
How do weather conditions affect ship fuel consumption?
Wind, waves and swell slow a ship and add to its burn. The estimator's Weather / Current setting allows for this on the sailing, and the route weather check shows the forecast.
How do you calculate container vessel slot cost?
Start from the full voyage cost and the vessel's slots. The estimator shows it as the cost per TEU.
How do you prepare a vessel voyage budget?
Build the voyage in the estimator, check each cost line, and save it as an estimate or a template. It can then go to Excel, PDF or PowerPoint.
How do you calculate ship voyage break-even freight?
Enter the voyage, the TEU loaded and the freight of each leg. The Voyage Performance panel shows the break-even freight per TEU and the break-even utilization.
How do you compare two container vessel operating costs?
Build the same trade with each vessel and compare them side by side: the fuel, the costs, the cost per TEU and the result.
How do you calculate fuel cost per nautical mile?
The estimate shows the voyage's bunker cost and its sea distance together, and the cost per nautical mile of the whole voyage beside them.
How do you calculate vessel port stay expenses?
They follow the port's tariff and the days in port. Enter the port days of the call, and any waiting as idle days, which add their hire and fuel to the voyage.
What is the difference between voyage cost and operating cost?
Operating cost keeps the ship running whatever it sails: crew, maintenance, insurance and stores. Voyage cost is what a particular voyage adds: mainly bunkers, port costs and canal dues.
How can shipping companies reduce vessel operating costs?
Start where the money goes. Compare speeds, rotations and vessels on real figures, cut waiting time and port stays, and buy fuel well. The estimator shows what each change saves before you make it.
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