In a recent webinar, Group Product Manager at Veson Nautical, Josh Luby, was joined by Chief Product Officer at RightShip, Chris Saunders, for a discussion about rising maritime contract complexity in the maritime shipping industry and how to cut through the noise.

Today’s blog will provide a summary of this enriching conversation, which you can watch in full by downloading the Keeping Up with Contract Complexity On-Demand Webinar. Let’s get into it!

Why is chartering so complex?

There has been an industry-wide rise in the complexity of the chartering workflow. But why?

This complexity is being driven by a rise in index-linked contract terms, counterparty and vessel compliance (KYC), elements of sustainable decision making, intricate deal chains, a complex geopolitical landscape, and more.

Further, Maritime stakeholders have cited regulatory complexity and geopolitical tensions as likely to be the most impactful issues over the next 10 years. So not only do we see these changes impacting workflows today and over the recent history, but we also see these complexities continuing to impact the industry into the future.

The old way, the way of back of the napkin calculations, tacit knowledge, and siloed spreadsheets are becoming unreliable methods for charterers to accurately get a pulse on all these moving parts to make an informed decision.

We polled our audience to understand how these changes are impacting their organization:

Poll #1: The number of different systems that I need to use on a daily basis to complete my daily chartering tasks has grown.

Webinar attendees responded, saying:

  1. 67.75% said ‘Agree’
  2. 32.25% said ‘Neutral’
  3. None said ‘Disagree’

What do charterers need to cut through the complexity?

Charterers must consider a wide range of factors to arrive at a timely, best-fit option. Here are five key steps for success that we’ve seen consistently across chartering workflows:

  • Understanding market conditions against need
  • Working within vetting and compliance constraints
  • Ability to quickly calculate and quote a market equivalent rate
  • Generating short-lists for negotiation and confirmation
  • Capture of the contract details

These tenets have always been at the core of chartering, but it seems it’s never been harder for charterers to get their arms around them than it is today. Cutting through the complexity and enhancing chartering decision making requires a few foundational elements, namely:

  • Data aggregation and accuracy
  • Efficiency and process automation
  • Contextual decision support

Poll #2: What of these three core elements do you feel you are lacking the most today in your day-to-day workflow?

Webinar attendees responded, saying:

  1. 26.66% said ‘Data Aggregation and Accuracy’
  2. 36.66% said ‘Efficiency and Process Automation’
  3. 36.66% said ‘Contextual Decision Support’

Enhance and streamline chartering with VIP

The Veson IMOS Platform (VIP) has always delivered capabilities that unlock operational benefits at every stage of the chartering workflow, but today, we’re enhancing our focus on data integrations and partnerships to help our clients navigate complexity like never before.

This includes the addition of Market Insights, which is the Searchable AIS Positions – powered by Oceanbolt – within the core chartering workflow. It also includes the addition of webhooks in the Voyage Estimator, which provide the ability to directly update an estimate with external data. Through the Veson Partner Network, the Veson IMOS Platform’s capabilities are extended even further with the ability to natively integrate with other technology solutions. This brings disparate data together into one comprehensive workspace to cut down on complexity by removing barriers and manual processes and increasing visibility and contextual insights.

Enhance and streamline chartering with RightShip

RightShip provides the maritime industry with expertise in global safety, sustainability, and social responsibility best practices, which are only becoming more crucial elements to consider during pre-fixture evaluations. As a member of the Veson Partner Network, elements of RightShip’s core functionality can be leveraged directly within the Veson IMOS Platform to streamline chartering workflows. These include:

  • RightShip safety scores – Safety Score evaluates a vessel using 6 principle areas with high, medium and low weightage, providing a complete picture of safety practices and performance to enable well-informed operational and safety decisions.
  • GHG ratings – This provides a transparent and dynamic means of comparing the relative efficiency of the world’s shipping fleet based on vessel design, rated from A–G. RightShip GHG ratings support ESG and CSR reporting requirements and targets.
  • Inspections – Inspections are the physical evaluation of a ship’s condition, quality and the effectiveness of the implementation of the Safety Management System (SMS), adoption of industry recommendations and best practices, and the health and well-being of seafarers onboard.
  • So what makes a vessel RightShip Approved? A 5/5 Safety Score? An “A” rated GHG? Acceptable RightShip Inspection? The answer is none of the above! Vessels are recommended to a particular customer for a single voyage if they satisfy Rightship & Customer Criteria at the time of review.

We invite you to tune in to our Keeping Up with Contract Complexity On-Demand Webinar for the full discussion on chartering complexity in the industry, how digital solutions can help, and demos of both the Veson IMOS Platform and RightShip.

To see the Veson IMOS Platform’s robust chartering capabilities for yourself, request a demo to speak with one of our experts. For more on the Veson IMOS Platform – RightShip integration, visit here or reach out to your Veson account manager!