Maritime glossary · S&P
Sale and Purchase
The market in which existing secondhand ships are bought and sold, distinct from chartering.
Definition
Sale and purchase, or S&P, is the market for trading secondhand ships, as opposed to chartering them or ordering newbuildings. A typical deal runs from an offer through inspection and a memorandum of agreement (usually the Norwegian Saleform) to delivery, often with a change of flag, name, owner, and manager all at once. Specialist S&P brokers handle the deals, and a change of ownership usually triggers a cascade of updates across the vessel’s records.
How Vessel Hunter uses Sale and Purchase
A sale reshuffles the owner, operator, manager, flag, and name in one move. Vessel Hunter keeps the history keyed to the IMO number, so the record survives the deal.
Related terms
- Newbuilding
A ship on order or under construction at a yard, not yet delivered into service.
- Ship RecyclingDemolition
The dismantling of an end-of-life vessel to recover steel and equipment, also called demolition or scrapping.
- Beneficial Owner
The party that ultimately owns and profits from a vessel, behind any holding or single-ship company.
- IMO NumberInternational Maritime Organization Number
The seven-digit identifier permanently assigned to a ship, never reused, never changed, even on resale or reflag.
The bigger picture
Sale and Purchase is one piece of the commercial maritime picture Vessel Hunter pulls together for shipyards, suppliers, service providers, and port agents. Every vessel record bundles AIS, ownership, inspections, dry-dock history, casualty record, classification status, and a verified contact for the operator decision-maker behind the ship, so the team that reaches out first wins the work.
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