Time Charter Equivalent (TCE)
A voyage’s daily earnings net of voyage costs: the single number that makes a voyage charter comparable with a time charter rate.
- Category
- Chartering
- Abbreviation
- TCE
- Last reviewed
How it works
Time Charter Equivalent (TCE) expresses what a voyage earns the owner per day after the costs the owner pays on a voyage charter (bunkers, port and canal dues) are stripped out. It is the standard way to compare a one-off voyage fixture against the daily hire of a time charter, because it puts both on a $/day basis.
The calculation is: voyage gross freight (or hire) minus voyage costs, divided by the round-voyage duration in days. A higher TCE means the owner keeps more per operating day; brokers quote TCE to rank competing employment options for the same ship.
TCE is sensitive to bunker price and speed assumptions, so two desks can produce different TCEs for the same cargo. Always check the assumed speed, consumption and port time behind a quoted number.
Where it shows up on The Maritime
Also known as: TCE, time charter equivalent, TCE rate, TCE earnings.
Related terms
Voyage Charter
A contract to carry a specific cargo between named ports for a freight rate, with the owner paying the voyage costs.
Time Charter (T/C)
A contract to hire a fully crewed ship for a period at a daily rate, with the charterer directing employment and paying voyage costs.
Bunkers
The fuel a ship burns and, by extension, the act of taking on that fuel (bunkering). Usually the single largest voyage cost.
Demurrage
A daily penalty the charterer pays the owner for using more than the agreed laytime to load or discharge.
Worldscale (WS)
A unified index of nominal tanker freight rates that lets the market quote any tanker voyage as a single percentage.
More chartering terms
A plain-English reference definition: our own explanation of a standard shipping concept, not a licensed source or legal advice. See the full glossary or the broader maritime dictionary.
Last reviewed: .