Shipping and maritime
Shipbrokers and chartering: records AI developers may want to license
Shipbrokers act as intermediaries between shipowners and cargo interests. Bids, offers and counters move mostly by email, and brokers draft recaps and charter parties, so an established firm's archive can hold years of negotiations and fixtures. The shipbroking industry's code of conduct expects clear records and email kept for a reasonable period, because disputes can arise long after a fixture.
Records a shipbroker may hold
Usually yours to decide on
These can still contain other parties' details: see Held for others.
- Market reportsYour own reports and commentary on the markets you cover.
- Fixture recaps you draftedIf you trade on ITIC's shipbroking terms, you hold the intellectual property in your services. Recaps still carry principals' terms and rates, which may have to come out.
Held for others
These may need the other party's consent, or may have to come out before anything is shared.
- Chartering emailsMuch of what they contain can be principals' and counterparties' terms, rates and positions, shared in confidence.
- Exchange dataFixture lists and indices from the shipbroking industry's exchange are its proprietary information.
What a shipbroker should check before saying yes
What your contracts say
Check each charter party and your terms of business for confidentiality terms. Under ITIC's shipbroking terms, a principal's confidential information can't be disclosed without permission until three years after the fixture is performed.
The industry's code
The shipbroking industry's code of conduct asks brokers to protect counterparties' confidential information.
How personal details come out
Ask the firm how names and contact details are removed before anything is shared. De-identification explained sets out what to ask.
The terms of any offer
Read what you would be agreeing to, and get your own legal advice before you sign. Once data is used to train a model, it can't practically be pulled back out.
How it works
Fill in a short form and we reply by email within two business days. If it looks like a fit, we introduce you to a firm that represents owners in these deals and email you its name. The firm pays us a referral fee if you sign. See all three steps.
Check if your data qualifies
One short form. If it looks like a fit, we introduce you to a firm that represents owners in these deals. No cost, and nothing is shared without your OK.
Check if my data qualifies →Questions owners ask
Can market data from the exchange be included?
No. Fixture lists and indices from the shipbroking industry's exchange are its proprietary information and may not be passed on.
Do I need to sort out my records first?
No. Start by filling in our short form with your team size and years in business. Rough numbers are fine. If you are about to cancel or switch software, export your records first: see Before you cancel or switch logistics software.
Do I have to pay anything?
No. If you sign with the firm we introduce you to, it pays us a referral fee out of its own share, so it doesn't reduce what your company is paid. You never pay Insightlanes.com anything.
Sources
- ITIC shipbroking terms and conditions: the broker's intellectual property; three years of confidentiality