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.
- Category
- Chartering
- Abbreviation
- T/C
- Dictionary entry
- Time Charter
- Last reviewed
How it works
Under a time charter the owner provides a crewed, maintained vessel for an agreed period, months or years, and the charterer pays daily hire and directs where the ship trades. The charterer pays the voyage-variable costs (bunkers, port and canal dues); the owner keeps the fixed costs of crewing, insurance and maintenance.
Time charters give the charterer flexibility and the owner predictable cash flow. Hire is quoted per day, which is why owners convert spot voyage earnings to a TCE to compare the two markets.
Where it shows up on The Maritime
Also known as: T/C, period charter, T/C hire.
The short dictionary definition is at Dictionary entry: Time Charter. This page is the explainer.
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.
Bareboat Charter (BBC)
A lease of the bare ship with no crew or management, where the charterer becomes the de-facto operator for the period.
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.
Charter Party (C/P)
The contract between shipowner and charterer setting out the terms of hiring a vessel or carrying a cargo.
Off-Hire
A period during a time charter when the charterer stops paying hire because the ship cannot perform: breakdown, drydock or detention.
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: .