Maritime glossary
Worldscale
The standardised freight-rate index used to price tanker voyage charters as a percentage of a published reference.
Definition
Worldscale is the global pricing reference for tanker spot voyages. A central schedule publishes a nominal flat rate in dollars per tonne for thousands of port-to-port routes, recalculated yearly. A fixture is then agreed as a percentage of that flat rate, for example WS 75 or WS 120, where 100 is the published flat. The system lets owners and charterers quote a single number across very different routes and ship sizes.
How Vessel Hunter uses Worldscale
Worldscale prices the tanker voyages that Vessel Hunter helps you anticipate by tracking which tankers are heading where, and who runs them.
Related terms
- Freight
The money paid to carry cargo by sea, usually quoted per tonne or as a lumpsum in a voyage charter.
- Voyage Charter
A charter for one or more specific voyages, priced per tonne of cargo or as a lumpsum freight.
- Oil Tanker
A tanker built to carry crude oil or refined petroleum products in bulk liquid form.
- Aframax
A crude tanker of roughly 80,000 to 120,000 DWT, named after an old freight-rate scale.
The bigger picture
Worldscale 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.
Continue reading: full maritime glossary · every Vessel Hunter feature.