This article explains how each line item is derived. This calculator is an exclusive feature for chartering tanker and kpler tanker users.
Freight revenue
How gross freight is derived depends on your freight basis:
Worldscale: Gross freight = (Worldscale % ÷ 100) × Flat rate × Cargo quantity.
$/t: Gross freight = $/t rate × Cargo quantity.
Lumpsum: Gross freight = the lumpsum figure you enter, independent of cargo quantity.
Cargo quantity defaults to your vessel's maximum load, or the quantity you've entered. Commission is calculated on gross freight for every basis, and defaults to 3.75% for liquids. Net freight = gross freight − commission.
Target TCE: Works backward from the other three: you specify the daily TCE you want to achieve, and Voyage Calculator solves for the Required Freight, given your voyage cost and duration: Required Freight = (Target TCE × Total voyage days + Voyage cost) ÷ (1 − Commission %).
Cost per ton and cost per barrel (see "TCE & P&L" below) show this Required Freight divided by your cargo quantity, so you can see the rate you'd need to charge to hit your target.
Baltic Benchmark Rates are accessible from the Market Rates button for reference, and are refreshed daily.
Fuel (bunker) costs
For each leg, fuel cost = (distance outside SECA × consumption × non-SECA fuel price) + (distance inside SECA × consumption × SECA fuel price). Main engine consumption is assumed the same across all three fuel types; only the price differs by zone.
Bunker prices at ports are provided in Voyage Calculator, and refreshed half hourly.
Port charges
Port charges cover items like berth dues, pilotage, towage, and other standard port dues; they exclude things like agency fees, surveys, and taxes.
Port charges auto-populate based on the port and vessel you've selected: average loading charges at your origin, average discharging charges at your destination, and combined (all-activity) average charges at other stops, each based on that port's data for your vessel's deadweight and cargo type. If no charge is available for the above combination, Voyage Calculator falls back to a combined average for that port before leaving the field empty. You can always override the figure, and use ↗ to see the range behind it.
Port charges data is refreshed quarterly.
Canal costs
Voyage Calculator detects when your route crosses the Suez or Panama Canal and estimates the charge for each crossing based on the canal authorities' own tariff structure:
Estimated Suez costs combine a pilotage charge, a mooring charge, a tonnage-based disbursement charge, and, for larger vessels, a tug charge.
Estimated Panama costs combine a fixed tariff based on your vessel's size category with a capacity-based charge for your cargo type. A discount applies when transiting in ballast.
A round trip that crosses a canal twice is charged for both crossings. The calculated figure can always be overridden.
EU ETS (emissions) cost
EU ETS cost = EUA unit price × EU allowances required.
Allowances required are calculated automatically from your vessel's fuel consumption and each leg's EU ETS coverage: a leg between two EU ports counts in full (100%), while a leg between an EU port and a non-EU port counts at 50%, per EU ETS shipping regulation. The EUA price defaults to a live market rate and can be overridden. The allowance figure itself is calculated automatically and can't be edited directly.
Vessel hire and Expected P&L
If you're chartering the vessel itself on a time charter basis, enter a Vessel Hire rate ($/day) and Hire Commission (%) next to the vessel field. Once entered, Voyage Calculator also shows an Expected P&L figure alongside your other headline numbers.
Expected P&L = Net Freight − Voyage Cost − Net Hire Cost, where Net Hire Cost = Vessel Hire Rate × Total Voyage Days × (1 − Hire Commission %).
Voyage Cost is the summation of fuel cost, port charges, canal costs, EU ETS cost, and miscellaneous costs (including any costs you've added).
Miscellaneous costs
Add any other cost as a flat figure: additional dues, additional fuel, demurrage, position/reposition, or others.
Voyage Calculator does not calculate demurrage automatically. It calculates the total port days but if actual time in port exceeds that, demurrage needs to be estimated and entered manually.
Port days & port terms
Working days for a load or discharge stop = (cargo quantity ÷ load/discharge rate), adjusted by the port term you select. Default load/discharge rates and turn times are pre-filled based on your vessel's size class, and can be overridden.
Voyage Calculator supports over twenty named port terms (for example SHINC, SHEX, SSHEX), each scaling working time by a fixed factor reflecting which hours of the week count as working time for that term.
Total port days for a stop = working days + turn time + extra time.
Voyage duration
Total voyage days = the sum of sailing time for every leg, plus the sum of port days for every port call.
Sea margin & speed
Sea margin is a percentage buffer added to account for weather and currents.
Set your loaded and ballast speed, and a sea margin percentage, in the Bunkers section. Sea margin applies equally whether the vessel is loaded or in ballast. These speeds determine your voyage duration and, in turn, your fuel cost.
Turn on Adjust per leg if you want to set a different loaded speed, ballast speed, or sea margin for one specific leg, instead of using the same values for your whole voyage.
TCE & P&L
Net TCE = (Net freight − Voyage cost) ÷ Total voyage days. It appears for every freight basis except Target TCE.
Under Target TCE, Voyage Calculator shows cost per ton (and cost per barrel, if your cargo is denominated in barrels) instead of Net TCE. See "Freight revenue" above for how the Required Freight behind these figures is derived.
Expected P&L = Net freight − Voyage cost − Net hire cost (see "Vessel hire and Expected P&L" above). Whenever you've entered a Vessel Hire rate, it's appended to the header alongside whichever of the above is shown.
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