Tramp shipping

Tramp shipping carries bulk cargoes wherever the next fixture takes the ship, on charter rather than to a fixed schedule, the opposite of liner service. A tramp owner fixes the vessel voyage by voyage or on period charters and follows the cargo, so earnings track the spot and time-charter markets rather than a published tariff. Dry bulk and tanker trades are predominantly tramp; container and ro-ro liner trades run to timetable.