Extended Operational and Trade Vocabulary

Shipping Indices, FFAs and Freight Markets glossary

The freight-market and derivatives vocabulary: the Baltic Exchange route codes (the Aframax AC routes), the AFRA assessment and the size class it named, forward freight agreements and clearing, and the index-panellist and assessment terms. Grounds each term in the Baltic route or the freight benchmark it belongs to.

343 defined terms.

Showing 250 on this page (page 1 of 2).

A

AC1: Baltic Exchange Aframax route Ceyhan to Lavera, assessed in Worldscale points for an 80,000 metric ton cargo of crude oil.
AC2: Historical Baltic Aframax route for North Sea crude liftings, used as a benchmark for Atlantic Aframax trade before consolidation into the current TD basket.
Affinity Shipping: London-based shipbroker active in wet, dry, and FFA broking and a recognized panellist on several Baltic Exchange route assessments.
AFRA: Average Freight Rate Assessment, scale published by the London Tanker Brokers' Panel.
Aframax: Tanker segment of roughly 80,000 to 120,000 dwt named after the AFRA scale.
Aggregator Indices: Composite freight indices that blend several route assessments into a single benchmark number for trading and reporting purposes.
All-In Rate: A single freight figure that bundles base ocean freight, bunker adjustment factors, and applicable surcharges into one quoted number.
Allocation Notice: Document issued by a clearing house assigning matched FFA trades to clearing members for margining and settlement.
Alpha Bulkers: Greek dry bulk operator whose chartering desk participates in Capesize and Panamax spot fixing referenced in Baltic route assessments.
APM Terminals: Container terminal operator within the A.P. Moller-Maersk group whose throughput data informs container index analysis.
Arbitrage Spread: Price differential between two related freight contracts, such as Capesize versus Panamax, traded for relative value rather than outright direction.
Asian Settlement: FFA settlement convention referencing Singapore-time index publication used in container and selected dry bulk derivatives.
Asset Play: Buying a ship for resale gain rather than for trading income.
At-the-Market FFA: A Forward Freight Agreement transacted at the current cleared forward curve level for the relevant route and tenor.
Auction Settlement: Periodic price discovery mechanism used by some exchanges to fix daily settlement values for cleared freight contracts.
Average Earnings: A reported daily dollar figure summarizing the mean Time Charter Equivalent across the constituent routes of a Baltic sub-index.
Average Tariff Rate (ATR): Worldscale terminology for the published nominal flat rate against which percentage assessments are quoted for tanker voyages.

B

Backwardation: Forward curve shape in which prompt FFA prices trade above further-dated contracts, often signaling near-term tightness in freight supply.
Baltic 10TC: The weighted average of the ten Supramax time charter routes underpinning the BSI 58 headline assessment.
Baltic 4TC: The weighted average Time Charter Equivalent of the four Panamax time charter routes that constitute the BPI headline number.
Baltic 5TC: The weighted average Time Charter Equivalent of the five Capesize time charter routes, published daily by the Baltic Exchange as the headline Capesize earnings figure.
Baltic 7TC: The weighted average of the seven Handysize time charter routes that form the BHSI headline figure.
Baltic Capesize Index (BCI): Capesize segment of the Baltic indices.
Baltic Clean Tanker Index (BCTI): Baltic Exchange index for clean petroleum product tankers.
Baltic Dirty Tanker Index (BDTI): Baltic Exchange index for crude oil tankers.
Baltic Dry Index (BDI): Composite dry-bulk freight index published by the Baltic Exchange.
Baltic Exchange: London-based provider of freight market information and assessments.
Baltic Handysize Index (BHSI): Baltic Exchange index for Handysize dry bulkers.
Baltic LNG (BLNG): Baltic Exchange tanker assessments covering liquefied natural gas carrier spot rates on benchmark routes.
Baltic LPG (BLPG): Baltic Exchange assessments for very large gas carrier spot rates on principal liquefied petroleum gas routes.
Baltic Panamax Index (BPI): Panamax segment of the Baltic indices.
Baltic Sale and Purchase Assessments: Baltic Exchange valuation series for second-hand bulk carrier and tanker prices across standardized ages and types.
Baltic Supramax Index (BSI): Supramax segment of the Baltic indices.
Bareboat Charter: Demise charter under which the charterer becomes disponent owner.
Basis Risk: Residual exposure that arises when a hedged physical voyage differs in route, timing, or vessel from the FFA contract used to hedge it.
BCI 5TC Calendar: Common FFA contract structure paying the difference between traded price and arithmetic average of daily BCI 5TC prints over the calendar period.
BDTI Composite: Headline number of the Baltic Dirty Tanker Index, calculated as an equally weighted average of constituent route Worldscale assessments.
Benchmark Route: Standardized voyage definition with fixed cargo, vessel size, and ports used by the Baltic Exchange to publish a consistent daily price.
Bid-Offer Spread: Difference between cleared FFA bid and offer levels at exchanges such as SGX, EEX, LCH, and CME quoted by brokers each day.
Bilateral OTC: Pre-clearing era practice of trading FFAs directly between two counterparties without exchange or clearing house intermediation.
Block Trade: Privately negotiated FFA transaction reported to a clearing house for novation, subject to minimum size and time stamping rules.
Bolivar to Rotterdam: Atlantic coal trade benchmark forming the basis of Baltic route C7 for Capesize vessels.
Bovespa Iron Ore: Brazilian equity market reference influencing sentiment in Capesize FFA trading via Vale and other miners' production guidance.
Braemar ACM: London-listed shipbroking group active in physical and derivatives broking across tanker, dry bulk, gas, and container markets.
Brent Crack Spread: Refining margin benchmark whose movement influences product tanker demand and therefore TC route FFA sentiment.
Broker Panel: Group of Baltic Exchange member brokers who submit daily rate opinions used to compile each published route assessment.
Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF): Surcharge linked to bunker fuel prices.
Bunker hedge: Derivative used to lock in future bunker fuel costs.
Bunker Swap: Over-the-counter or cleared derivative settling against published bunker price assessments such as Platts Singapore 0.5 percent or Rotterdam 0.5 percent.

C

C10: Baltic Capesize time charter route for transpacific round voyage delivery China-Japan range redelivery China-Japan range.
C14: Baltic Capesize China to Brazil round voyage.
C16: Baltic Capesize time charter route covering a North Atlantic round voyage definition used in the BCI 5TC basket.
C17: Baltic Capesize route Saldanha Bay to Qingdao for iron ore.
C2: Historical Baltic Capesize route from Tubarao to Rotterdam, retired in favor of broader Atlantic benchmarks but referenced in legacy FFA analysis.
C3: Baltic Capesize route Tubarao to Qingdao for iron ore.
C4: Historical Capesize route from Richards Bay to Rotterdam for coal, referenced in older Baltic publications and Atlantic coal analysis.
C5: Baltic Capesize route West Australia to Qingdao for iron ore.
C7: Baltic Capesize route Bolivar to Rotterdam for coal.
C8: Baltic Capesize time charter route for transatlantic round voyage delivery Gibraltar-Hamburg range redelivery Gibraltar-Hamburg range.
C9: Baltic Capesize time charter route for delivery ARA via fronthaul redelivery China-Japan range.
Calendar Strip: FFA position composed of consecutive monthly contracts covering an entire calendar year of a given route.
Calibration Voyage: Worldscale Association reference voyage used to derive nominal flat rates each annual update.
Capesize: Bulker >150,000 DWT too large for Suez/Panama traditionally.
Capesize 180 Index: Earlier vessel size reference for the BCI before migration to the 180,000 deadweight benchmark vessel and subsequent updates.
Cargo Tonnes: Standardized cargo quantity defined for each Baltic voyage route, central to converting Worldscale percentages into dollars per ton.
Cash Settlement: FFA contract feature whereby parties exchange the price difference in dollars rather than delivering a physical voyage at expiry.
CCFI: China Containerized Freight Index published by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, tracking outbound container freight from Chinese ports across thirteen trade lanes.
Charter party: Contract for the hire of a ship or carriage of cargo.
Chartering Desk: Operational unit within an owner, operator, or charterer that fixes vessels physically and often coordinates with derivatives hedging.
China Coastal Bulk Freight Index (CCBFI): Shanghai Shipping Exchange index for domestic Chinese coastal dry bulk freight rates, distinct from international BDI series.
Clarksons Platou Futures: Derivatives broking arm of Clarkson PLC active across dry, wet, gas, container, and emissions freight derivatives.
Clarksons Securities: Investment services arm of the Clarkson group historically involved in shipping equity, debt, and derivatives broking.
Clean Tanker: Vessel carrying refined petroleum products such as gasoline, jet, naphtha, and diesel, assessed under the BCTI route family.
Clearing House: Central counterparty such as LCH, SGX, CME, or EEX that novates FFA trades and manages margin to mitigate counterparty risk.
Clearing Member: Firm authorized by a clearing house to clear FFA contracts on its own and clients' behalf.
Coal Trade Routes: Specific Baltic route definitions for thermal and coking coal flows including C7 Atlantic and the Australia-China Capesize segment.
Combination carrier: Vessel able to carry containers and other cargo such as ro-ro or break-bulk.
Composite Settlement Period: Time window over which daily index prints are averaged to derive an FFA contract's final settlement value.
Container Index: Generic term for freight indices covering containerized trades such as SCFI, CCFI, WCI, FBX, NCFI, and XSI.
Contango: Forward curve in which deferred FFA prices trade above the prompt assessment, often associated with cyclical recovery expectations.
Contract for Differences (CFD): Economic equivalent description sometimes applied to FFAs given their cash-settled, difference-paying structure.
Counterparty Credit: Financial standing of an FFA counterparty, mitigated by clearing or by bilateral collateral agreements in legacy OTC trades.
Cross-Segment Spread: FFA trade between two different sectors such as BCI versus BPI, used to express relative dry bulk segment views.
Crude oil tanker: Aframax, Suezmax, VLCC, ULCC.
CTS Container Index: Container Trade Statistics dataset frequently cited alongside index movements to interpret container FFA pricing.

D

D11: Historical Baltic Dirty Aframax cross-Mediterranean route used in earlier BDTI compositions before route consolidation.
Daily Settlement Price: Closing reference value published each day by a clearing house against which FFA margin is calculated.
Deferred Month: FFA contract for a calendar month other than the front month, traded as part of forward curve strategy.
Demolition Value: Scrap price input that influences long-dated FFA pricing through expectations of fleet supply.
Demurrage: Liquidated damages for detention of ship beyond laytime.
Derivatives Brokerage: Sell-side activity of matching FFA buyers and sellers and submitting trades to clearing houses for novation.
Differential Route: Baltic route whose assessment is published as a percentage adjustment over a reference route rather than as a standalone number.
Dirty Petroleum Product (DPP): Tanker industry classification of crude and residual fuel cargoes corresponding to BDTI assessments.
Discount Curve: Forward FFA curve shape in which deferred contracts trade below the prompt assessment, often during cyclical peaks.
Discretionary Settlement: Clearing house authority to use alternative price determination methods when an index is not published on a given day.
Dollar per Day Convention: Standard quoting unit for dry bulk FFAs corresponding to Time Charter Equivalent earnings per ship per day.
Drewry: London-based maritime research firm publishing the World Container Index used as a benchmark for container freight derivatives.
Dry bulk carrier: Vessel carrying unpackaged dry bulk cargoes.
Dry Bulk FFA: Forward Freight Agreement settling against a Baltic dry bulk route or sub-index average over a specified period.
Dry FFA Brokers Association (FFABA): Trade body whose standard documentation underpins most cleared and bilateral dry FFA trading.

E

EEX: European Energy Exchange, the Leipzig-based exchange that lists and clears freight, emissions, and energy derivatives including dry FFAs.
EEX Container Freight Futures: Cleared container freight derivatives at EEX referencing the Container Freight Index family for major trade lanes.
EEX Freight: Suite of dry bulk FFA contracts cleared at European Energy Exchange referencing Baltic 5TC, 4TC, 10TC, and 7TC averages.
Effective Date: Date MoA becomes binding once subjects lifted.
Electronic Trade Capture: Broker workflow recording FFA executions and submitting them to clearing houses through standardized interfaces.
Emissions Allowance: EU Allowance (EUA) unit representing one metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent, traded on EEX and ICE and embedded in shipping cost models.
End-User Charterer: Cargo owner such as a miner, steel mill, or oil major participating in FFA markets to hedge underlying freight exposure.
EUA Futures: Standardized futures on EU Allowances used by shipping operators to hedge EU ETS compliance cost following maritime sector inclusion.
EUA Spread: Trade between EUA December contracts of different years used to express views on policy tightening and shipping demand.
EUR Mid-Curve: Cleared FFA pricing convention referencing midpoint of daily bid-offer for European-time settlement calculations.
European Settlement: Cleared FFA settlement convention referencing London-time Baltic Exchange index publication.

F

Fairmarkit FFA: Generic phrase for arms-length cleared freight derivatives consistent with FFABA terms.
FBX: Freightos Baltic Index, a container freight index produced by Freightos and the Baltic Exchange covering twelve global container trade lanes.
Fearnleys: Norwegian shipbroking firm part of the Astrup Fearnley group, active in tanker, dry, gas, and FFA broking and Baltic panellist contributions.
Federal of National Associations of Ship Brokers and Agents (FONASBA): International body whose codes of conduct influence broker behavior across physical and derivatives markets.
FFA: Forward Freight Agreement, OTC freight derivative settled on Baltic indices.
FFA Calendar Year: Contract covering all twelve months of a calendar year on a given route, popular for owners hedging annual revenue.
FFA Clearing Member: Firm authorized to submit and guarantee FFA trades at a specific clearing house.
FFA Quarter: Standardized three-month FFA contract aligned with calendar quarters Q1, Q2, Q3, or Q4.
FFABA Terms: Standard contract template published by the Forward Freight Agreement Brokers Association used as the basis for cleared and bilateral trades.
FIS (Freight Investor Services): London-based broker active in dry FFAs, tanker FFAs, container FFAs, fuel oil, and emissions derivatives.
Fixed Leg: Pre-agreed FFA price agreed at trade inception and exchanged for the floating settlement price at expiry.
Fixing Window: Period each day during which the Baltic Exchange collects panellist data to compile route assessments.
Flat Rate: Worldscale published nominal dollars-per-ton value for a tanker voyage at which percentage assessments are anchored.
Floating Leg: Variable settlement value of an FFA contract calculated as the arithmetic average of daily index prints over the contract period.
Forward Curve: Set of cleared FFA prices for consecutive months and quarters used to infer market expectations of future freight rates.
Freight Derivative: Generic term for any financial instrument whose value depends on freight prices, including FFAs and container futures.
Freight Index: Published numerical series tracking freight rates, the basic ingredient for derivative settlement.
Freight Investor Group: Holding entity behind several freight broking and clearing-related businesses serving FFA markets.
Freightos: Digital freight marketplace whose container rate data underpins the Freightos Baltic Index in cooperation with the Baltic Exchange.
Fronthaul Route: Loaded leg from a high freight rate region to a destination, such as Atlantic to Pacific Panamax voyages forming P2A.
FuelEU Maritime: European Union regulation imposing greenhouse gas intensity limits on shipping fuels, driving development of pooling mechanisms and compliance instruments.
FuelEU Pooling: Mechanism by which operators combine compliance balances across vessels to satisfy FuelEU greenhouse gas intensity targets.
Futures Initial Margin: Initial collateral required by a clearing house to support an open FFA position, calibrated to volatility of the underlying route.

G

GAFTA Contracts: Grain and Feed Trade Association physical contracts that drive Panamax and Supramax cargo flows referenced indirectly in FFA analysis.
Gasoil Swap: Derivative on middle distillate prices used by tanker operators to hedge product-related earnings exposure.
General Conditions: Standard FFABA legal clauses governing the rights and obligations of FFA counterparties.
Geopolitical Premium: Risk-driven uplift in tanker and dry bulk FFA prices reflecting expectations of conflict, sanctions, or chokepoint disruption.
GibraltarHamburg Range: Geographical delivery range used in Baltic Panamax and Capesize time charter route definitions.
GO Futures: ICE gasoil futures contract that anchors much of the global clean product pricing relevant to TC tanker route analysis.
Grain Trade Route: Panamax voyage definitions such as ECSA to Far East that underpin BPI assessments.
Greater Bay Container Index: Regional container index occasionally referenced alongside SCFI and CCFI for China outbound freight analysis.

H

Handymax: Dry bulk segment of about 40,000 to 50,000 dwt.
Handysize: Dry bulk segment of about 10,000 to 40,000 dwt.
HARPEX: Container charter index published by Hamburg shipbroker Harper Petersen tracking time charter rates for container vessels by size class.
Hedge Accounting: Reporting treatment in which FFA gains and losses are recognized in line with the hedged physical freight exposure under IFRS or US GAAP rules.
Hedger: Market participant using FFAs primarily to offset existing physical freight exposure rather than to speculate.
High Sulphur Fuel Oil (HSFO): Residual marine fuel whose price differential to VLSFO informs scrubber-fitted vessel earnings inputs in TCE calculations.
Howe Robinson Container Index (HRCI): Container time charter index published by Howe Robinson Partners covering principal box vessel size classes.
Howe Robinson Futures: Derivatives broking arm of the Howe Robinson Partners group active in dry, wet, container, and gas FFAs.

I

Iberia Range: Geographical loading or discharge range occasionally referenced in tanker route definitions for Mediterranean and Atlantic voyages.
ICE Futures: Exchange operator whose product set includes Brent, gasoil, and EUA contracts that interact with shipping FFA strategy.
IFM Container Freight Index: Alternative container freight index periodically referenced in derivatives commentary.
IFO 380: Intermediate Fuel Oil with nominal viscosity 380 cSt at 50 C, historically the dominant residual grade.
Index Calculation Methodology: Documented procedure governing how the Baltic Exchange or other publishers compute each daily route or composite value.
Index Provider: Organization that publishes a freight index, including the Baltic Exchange, Shanghai Shipping Exchange, Drewry, Freightos, Xeneta, and Ningbo Shipping Exchange.
Index Settlement: Reference value used to determine the floating leg of an FFA contract for a specific period.
Initial Margin: Clearing house collateral requirement opened against an FFA position to absorb potential one-day price movements.
Inter-Dealer Broker: Broker connecting wholesale liquidity providers in FFA markets and reporting cleared trades to exchanges.
Intermonth Spread: FFA position long one contract month and short another to express a view on calendar shape rather than outright price level.
Iron Ore Voyage: Capesize cargo movement central to the C3, C5, and C17 route definitions in the BCI.

J

Japan-Korea Range: Discharge range referenced in many Panamax, Supramax, and Capesize time charter routes.
JFTC Container Data: Japan freight statistics occasionally cited in container index commentary, distinct from the SCFI series.

K

Kalimantan Coal: Indonesian thermal coal trade influencing Supramax route assessments in the Pacific basin.
Kamsarmax: 80,000-85,000 DWT bulker.

L

Large Range 1 (LR1): Product tanker class of approximately 55,000 to 80,000 deadweight tons whose routes include the TC5 and TC7 Baltic assessments.
Large Range 2 (LR2): Product tanker class of approximately 80,000 to 120,000 deadweight tons used for long-haul clean and dirty product voyages.
LCH: London Clearing House (LCH.Clearnet), an early clearer of dry FFAs whose role evolved alongside SGX, CME, EEX, and the discontinued NOS Clearing.
LIBOR Discounting: Legacy interest rate convention used by some clearing houses for FFA margining, since transitioned to risk-free rate alternatives.
Light Loop Trade: Operating pattern of partial loading or ballasting between voyages, important for accurate TCE calculation on FFA settled positions.
Liner Operator: Container shipping company whose business model and rate filings drive SCFI, FBX, WCI, and other container index values.
Liquidity Provider: Market maker quoting consistent two-way prices in cleared FFAs to facilitate price discovery for end users.
Lloyd's List Intelligence: Maritime intelligence service used for compliance screening.
LNG Freight Assessment: Baltic BLNG family of assessments covering steam, TFDE, and Mark III class liquefied natural gas carriers on key Atlantic and Pacific routes.
LPG Freight Assessment: Baltic BLPG family covering very large gas carrier voyages such as Houston to Chiba and Ras Tanura to Chiba.

M

Margining: Process by which clearing houses collect initial and variation margin from FFA participants to manage counterparty risk.
Maritime Strategies International (MSI): London based valuation and forecasting house.
Mark-to-Market: Daily revaluation of FFA positions against the official settlement price published by the clearing house.
Marketplace Reporting: Voluntary or mandatory submission of trade prices and volumes by brokers and exchanges to aid market transparency.
MEG-China VLCC: Middle East Gulf to China voyage defining the TD3C Baltic Dirty Tanker route on VLCC class vessels.
MEG-East Africa MR: Voyage forming the basis of Baltic TC17 for Medium Range tankers carrying clean petroleum products.
MEG-Japan LR1: Voyage forming the basis of Baltic TC5 for LR1 product tankers from the Middle East Gulf to Japan.
Mid-Range (MR): Product tanker of about 40,000 to 55,000 dwt.
Mining Major: Iron ore producer such as Vale, Rio Tinto, BHP, or Fortescue whose marketing actions drive Capesize FFA flows.
Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL): Japanese shipping group whose chartering and derivatives activity is referenced in market commentary on Capesize and tanker FFAs.
MMSCFI: Sub-regional container freight indices occasionally referenced alongside SCFI for finer trade lane granularity.
Monthly Settlement Average: Arithmetic mean of all official daily index prints in a month, used as the floating leg of monthly FFA contracts.

N

NCFI: Ningbo Containerized Freight Index published by the Ningbo Shipping Exchange covering twenty-one outbound container trade routes from Ningbo.
Net Earnings: Daily earnings figure after deducting voyage costs, equivalent in concept to Time Charter Equivalent.
Nominal Flat Rate: Worldscale Worldscale 100 value for a route, against which voyage assessments are expressed as percentages.
Non-Cleared FFA: Bilateral Forward Freight Agreement still executed under FFABA terms but settled directly between counterparties.
Norwegian Krone Hedge: Foreign exchange overlay sometimes used by Scandinavian shipping companies on FFA-driven revenue streams.
NOS Clearing: Norwegian clearing house used historically for cleared FFAs and tanker derivatives.
Novation: Legal process by which a bilateral FFA trade is replaced by two contracts each with the clearing house as central counterparty.

O

OBO Carrier: Ore-Bulk-Oil vessel design no longer built but historically referenced in cross-segment freight analysis.
Open Interest: Total number of FFA contracts outstanding at a clearing house, used as a gauge of market participation.
Operator's TCE: Reported daily earnings figure used by operators to disclose voyage performance and benchmark against Baltic averages.
Option on FFA: Derivative granting the right but not the obligation to enter into an FFA at a strike level, cleared by SGX, EEX, or CME.
OTC FFA: Over-the-counter Forward Freight Agreement transacted bilaterally outside of central clearing.

P

P1A: Baltic Panamax transatlantic round voyage.
P2A: Baltic Panamax route Skaw-Gibraltar to Far East.
P3A_82: Baltic Panamax time charter route for delivery Japan-South Korea transpacific round voyage on an 82,000 deadweight Kamsarmax-type vessel.
P4_82: Baltic Panamax time charter route for backhaul delivery Japan-South Korea redelivery Gibraltar-Hamburg range on an 82,000 deadweight vessel.
P5_82: Earlier Baltic Panamax assessment retired with the introduction of the current 4TC basket on Kamsarmax-type vessels.
Panamax: Dry bulk or container vessel sized for the original Panama Canal locks.
Panel Broker: Member of a named owner's or charterer's broker panel with privileged access to its business.
Panel Submission: Daily rate opinion provided by a panellist for each route on which they are listed, subject to compliance review.
Pareto Securities: Financial services group whose shipping desk participates in equity, debt, and derivatives broking around freight markets.
Physical Broker: Shipbroker arranging actual voyage and time charter fixtures, distinct from but related to FFA broking activity.
Platts Bunkerwire: Bunker fuel price assessment series widely used as the reference for cleared bunker swaps.
Position Limit: Maximum FFA exposure permitted by a clearing house in a given route or contract month, designed to manage systemic risk.
Post-Panamax: Vessel too large for the original Panama Canal.
Power Worldscale: Worldscale system extension covering specialist voyages and demurrage rates.
Premium Rate: FFA pricing language for contracts trading above the prevailing spot equivalent of a route.
Price Discovery: Process by which broker quotes, exchange trades, and panellist submissions converge on a market-clearing freight level.
Prompt Month: Nearest FFA contract month after the current trading day, often the most liquid contract on the curve.
Pure Tanker Operator: Owner whose fleet consists exclusively of tanker tonnage and whose hedging activity concentrates in TD and TC route FFAs.

Q

Q1 FFA: First quarter Forward Freight Agreement covering January, February, and March settlement averages for a given route.
Q2 FFA: Second quarter Forward Freight Agreement covering April, May, and June settlement averages.
Q3 FFA: Third quarter Forward Freight Agreement covering July, August, and September settlement averages.
Q4 FFA: Fourth quarter Forward Freight Agreement covering October, November, and December settlement averages.
Qingdao Discharge: Reference discharge port central to Capesize C3 and C5 iron ore route definitions.
Quarterly Strip: Combined position covering all four quarters of a calendar year, used by owners and operators for annual hedging.

R

Range to Range Voyage: Route definition using geographical ranges rather than specific ports, common in Baltic time charter route specifications.
Reference Vessel: Standard ship design with defined deadweight, speed, and consumption used to calibrate Baltic route TCE calculations.
Refined Product Trade: Clean petroleum movements such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel that underpin the BCTI and TC route family.
Regional Index: Container or dry bulk index focusing on a sub-region rather than global rates, complementing headline series.
Repositioning voyage: Ballast voyage to position the vessel for a fixture.
Round Trip Time Charter (RTTC): Time charter structure for a single round voyage, frequently used as the building block of Baltic time charter route definitions.
Round Voyage Estimation: Calculation summing voyage revenues and costs across loaded and ballast legs to derive a single round voyage TCE.
Routing Risk: Exposure that arises when physical voyages deviate from the standardized routes underlying their FFA hedges.

S

S10: Baltic Supramax time charter route for delivery South China via Indonesia redelivery South China.
S1A: Baltic Supramax time charter route for delivery Gibraltar-Hamburg range via fronthaul redelivery Singapore-Japan range.
S1B: Baltic Supramax time charter route for delivery Singapore-Japan range via fronthaul redelivery Singapore-Japan range.
S2: Principal solar semi-diurnal tidal constituent with period 12 hours.
S3: Baltic Supramax time charter route for backhaul delivery South Korea-Japan range redelivery Gibraltar-Hamburg range.
S4A: Baltic Supramax time charter route for delivery US Gulf via transatlantic redelivery Skaw-Passero range.
S4B: Baltic Supramax time charter route for delivery Skaw-Passero range via transatlantic redelivery US Gulf.
S5: Baltic Supramax time charter route for delivery West Africa via Far East redelivery Singapore-Japan range.
S6: Baltic Supramax time charter route for delivery Singapore via Indonesian round redelivery Singapore-Japan range.
S8: Baltic Supramax time charter route for delivery South China via Indonesia redelivery East Coast India.
S9: Baltic Supramax time charter route for delivery West Africa via East Coast South America redelivery Skaw-Passero range.
Saldanha Bay Loading: Iron ore loading port for South African Capesize trades anchoring the Baltic C17 route definition.
Sale and Purchase: Vessel asset trading market whose values influence long-dated FFA pricing through fleet supply expectations.
Sanctions Premium: Component of tanker FFA pricing reflecting compliance and risk costs of trading sanctioned cargoes or destinations.
SCFI: Shanghai Containerized Freight Index.
SCFI Settlement Container Freight Futures: Cleared container FFA contracts at SGX referencing SCFI sub-indices for major trade lanes.
Scrap Steel Trade: Supramax and Handysize trade flows whose volumes affect S routes assessments.
Scrubber Differential: Earnings uplift to scrubber-fitted vessels arising from the HSFO versus VLSFO price spread, an input to TCE forecasts.
Settlement Period: Defined date range over which the floating leg of an FFA is averaged to determine final value.