How to cost a container vessel voyage
What goes into a voyage cost, in the order a planner works it out. Each step below is a part of the estimate; the Voyage Estimator does the working for you.
1. The route and the days
Start with the port rotation. The sea distance of each leg, over the passages ships sail and through the canals you allow, and the speed give the sailing days. The port stays and any waiting are added to reach the voyage days and the ETA and ETD of each call.
2. The fuel
The bunker cost follows from the days and the vessel's consumption: the main engine and the auxiliaries at sea, and the consumption in port. The burn changes with the speed, so a speed-wise consumption table matters, and each fuel grade has its own price, VLSFO, MGO or HSFO, with a margin for safety.
3. The port costs
Each call has its own tariff: port dues, pilotage, towage, mooring, berth hire, light dues and agency fees, charged on the vessel's GRT, NRT, LOA or TEU. These are often the largest cost after bunkers, so they should come from the real tariffs, not a rough figure.
4. The canals and the hire
Canal dues follow the canal's own tariff for the vessel. The charter hire covers every day of the voyage, including the days in port and any idle days, which is why a slower voyage can save fuel and still cost more.
5. The result: cost per TEU and voyage budget
Together these make the voyage budget: the total cost, the cost per TEU or slot cost, the cost per nautical mile and the cost per day. Add the freight of each leg to see the revenue and the profit or loss of the voyage, then compare it with other routings or vessels.
Popular port distances
Voyage Costing Guide, answered.
How do I calculate ship fuel cost per voyage?
You need the days at sea and in port, the vessel's consumption at its speed, and the price of each fuel grade. The Voyage Estimator takes the route and the vessel and gives the fuel burnt and its cost, leg by leg.
How do I estimate container vessel port costs?
Use the tariff of each port for your vessel's GRT, NRT, LOA and TEU, and the time in port. In Stowlines every call is priced from the port tariff, with each charge listed.
How do I calculate the vessel cost per TEU?
The cost per TEU follows from the full voyage cost and the vessel's TEU slots. The estimator shows it as soon as the vessel, the ports and the costs are in.
How do I compare two container vessel voyages?
Build each one as an option and compare them side by side: up to five routings or vessels, with their days, costs and cost per TEU.
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