Broker platform wars spark debate

The creation by five major broking houses this month of Ocean Recap has got the industry talking about how the business of fixing is changing, discussion of which forms the lead in the February issue of Splash Extra. 

Five of the world’s leading shipbroking firms—Arrow, Gibson Shipbrokers, Howe Robinson, IFCHOR Galbraiths and SSY—have united to introduce Ocean Recap – a purpose-built recap and charter party management platform.

“The past decade has seen a rush to digitalisation in the chartering space, with a wave of new platforms offering pre- and post-fixture services. Inevitably there has been consolidation and the risk is that one platform dominates,” Manu Ravano co-CEO of IFCHOR Galbraiths told Splash Extra, adding: “Price of the service rendered, control of data and choice plurality are critical issues for any platform user in any market, and this is why we have acted.”

Tim Huxley, CEO of Hong Kong shipowner, Mandarin Shipping, said he hoped that the use of all these new tools to manage fixtures does not lead to the disappearance of some of the fundamental skills of the shipbroker, of which the ability to draft a recap and charterparty and then interpret it in order to avoid later disputes are fundamental.

Huxley, a former broker with Clarksons, will be chairing the Chartering Spotlight session on April 28 at Geneva Dry, the world’s premier commodities shipping conference, a panel discussion that will debate how brokers will evolve, and where the many platforms sit in terms of requirements with speakers from SEA, Arrow, Vale and Western Bulk all on stage.