V/C - Voyage Charter - Contract of carriage in which the charterer pays for the use of a ship's cargo space for one, or sometimes more than one, voyage. Under this type of charter, the shipowner pays all the operating costs of the ship while payment for port and cargo handling charges are the subject of agreement between the parties. Freight is generally paid per unit of cargo, such as ton, based on are agreed quantity, or as lump sum irrespective of the quantity loaded, the terms and conditions of the contract are set down in a document known as Charter-Party. A ship chartered in this way is said to be on voyage charter.
Voyage Charter-Party - Document containing the terms and conditions of a contract between a charter and a shipowner for the use of a ship's cargo space for one, or more than one voyage.
Voyage Estimate - Calculation of the profitability of a prospective voyage of a ship using estimated figures. In the case of a tramp shipowner, the estimate is used to compare two or more possible voyage in order to determine which is the most profitable. Similarly, a time charterer would compare two or more ships so as to charter the one that is least costly overall. The content of an estimate vanes according to the type and terms of the charter and whether a shipowner or charterer is making the calculation. For an owner, the principal costs are running cost of the ship (or hire money for a time charterer), bunker costs, port charges and canal dues together with ship's agency fee and any cargo handling costs; the revenue is the daily hire, in the ease of a time charter, or the freight, less any commission in the case of a voyage charter.