Maritime Business Management Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Shipping and Port Managers, Chartering and Commercial Executives and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-MP-011

Before you join: Participants should have basic familiarity with shipping, ports, logistics, international trade or a related commercial function.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Maritime businesses operate through interconnected commercial, operational, legal and financial relationships. A vessel delay can affect berth windows, cargo commitments, charter-party performance, demurrage exposure, working capital and customer confidence. Managers need to understand how freight markets, port operations, contracts, regulatory duties and asset economics combine to determine profit, risk and service reliability. This course addresses the business decisions behind shipping lines, shipowners, charterers, port operators, terminals, freight forwarders and maritime service providers.

Participants examine the commercial structure of international shipping and ports, including liner, tramp and industrial shipping models; cargo flows; freight pricing; chartering; agency; terminal economics; and ship finance. They assess voyage and time-charter profitability, interpret key contractual clauses, build shipping cost models, evaluate port performance, and manage commercial and operational risk. The course also addresses maritime regulation, sanctions, insurance, decarbonisation requirements, digitalisation and the strategic choices facing shipping and port businesses.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with shipping-market cases, commercial calculations, contract interpretation, group analysis and operational simulations. Cases reflect realistic decisions such as selecting a chartering strategy, responding to a berth disruption, pricing a container service, evaluating a port investment and managing a claim. Participants leave with a maritime business decision toolkit containing reusable commercial models, checklists and planning templates for their own role.

The course is suited to professionals who work with shipping, ports, cargo, logistics, trade finance or maritime infrastructure and need stronger commercial judgement. It is particularly valuable for managers moving from operational, technical or logistics roles into positions with customer, contract, revenue, investment or cross-functional responsibility.

What you will be able to do

  • Analyse shipping and port business models using value-chain and market-structure analysis
  • Calculate voyage, time-charter and terminal profitability using cost and revenue models
  • Interpret charter-party, bill of lading and port-service clauses affecting commercial exposure
  • Assess freight-market conditions using supply-demand indicators and market intelligence
  • Evaluate port and terminal performance using throughput, berth productivity and turnaround metrics
  • Prepare a maritime commercial risk register covering operational, contractual and regulatory exposures
  • Compare ship-finance and port-investment options using cash flow and return measures
  • Produce a role-specific maritime business action plan with measurable priorities

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Discuss chartering, freight and port economics confidently with maritime counterparties
  • Identify commercial consequences of vessel delays, congestion and cargo disruption
  • Evaluate shipping and terminal opportunities using structured financial and operational evidence
  • Contribute more effectively to contract, rate and service negotiations
  • Build a credible pathway from operational responsibility to maritime commercial management

For your organisation

  • Improved pricing, voyage selection and chartering decisions through clearer profitability analysis
  • Reduced exposure to demurrage, detention, claims and poorly understood contractual obligations
  • Stronger coordination between commercial teams, vessel operations, terminals and cargo customers
  • Better business cases for fleet, terminal, equipment and port-development investments
  • More disciplined response to regulatory, sanctions, insurance and decarbonisation risks

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can map maritime value chains and explain the commercial roles of principal market participants.

  • Shipping market structure: owners, operators, charterers, brokers, ports and cargo interests
  • Tramp, liner and industrial shipping business models compared
  • Value-chain mapping from cargo booking through discharge and final delivery
  • UNCTAD maritime transport indicators interpreted for commercial planning decisions
  • Stakeholder power assessed using a maritime ecosystem map
  • Revenue pools and cost drivers across ship, terminal and agency operations

Participants can assess freight-market conditions and explain their implications for commercial decisions.

  • Supply-demand cycles driving freight rates across major shipping segments
  • Baltic Dry Index and container indices used with appropriate limitations
  • Cargo trade lanes analysed by commodity, seasonality, origin and destination
  • Fleet supply measured through orderbooks, scrapping, deliveries and lay-ups
  • Scenario planning for rate volatility, congestion and demand shocks
  • Market intelligence sources tested for timeliness, independence and commercial relevance

Participants can distinguish core shipping contracts and identify their commercial allocation of risk.

  • Voyage, time and bareboat charter structures compared commercially
  • Charter-party clauses allocating hire, bunkers, ports, delays and liabilities
  • Laytime calculations using NOR, reversible laytime and despatch provisions
  • Demurrage exposure estimated from loading, discharge and notice records
  • Bills of lading examined as receipts, evidence and documents of title
  • Incoterms 2020 matched to transport responsibility, cost and risk transfer

Participants can build and test voyage and time-charter profitability calculations.

  • Voyage estimate built from freight, bunker, port and canal assumptions
  • Time-charter equivalent calculated for alternative employment opportunities
  • Operating expenses separated into crew, stores, maintenance, insurance and management
  • Bunker consumption modelled by speed, weather, ballast and laden legs
  • Port disbursements reviewed through pro forma and final disbursement accounts
  • Sensitivity analysis applied to rate, fuel price, delay and utilisation

Participants can evaluate how port and terminal performance affects commercial results.

  • Port revenue models: tariffs, concessions, leases and ancillary services
  • Terminal throughput analysed by cargo type, call size and dwell time
  • Berth productivity measured through moves, crane rates and vessel turnaround
  • Capacity planning links yard utilisation, gate flows and berth windows
  • Hinterland connectivity assessed through rail, road, barge and dry ports
  • Concession agreements reviewed for investment duties, performance and tariff controls

Participants can identify regulatory and contractual risks requiring commercial controls.

  • ISM Code responsibilities connected to operational control and management accountability
  • SOLAS cargo declarations assessed for safety, liability and acceptance risks
  • Sanctions screening applied to counterparties, cargoes, vessels and payment routes
  • P&I cover distinguished from hull insurance and cargo insurance
  • Risk registers structured by likelihood, impact, owner and treatment action
  • Claims evidence preserved through notices, logs, statements and survey records

Participants can develop commercially credible customer propositions for maritime services.

  • Customer segmentation by cargo profile, service needs and buying influence
  • Service propositions built around transit time, reliability, capacity and visibility
  • Freight quotations structured with base rate, surcharges and validity terms
  • Key-account plans connect volume commitments, service failures and recovery actions
  • Tender evaluation weighs rate, equipment availability, network and contractual conditions
  • Customer profitability measured after handling costs, claims and credit exposure

Participants can compare maritime asset options using financial and strategic criteria.

  • Ship acquisition options: purchase, lease, charter and sale-leaseback compared
  • Project cash flows built from utilisation, rates, operating costs and residual value
  • Net present value and internal rate of return calculated
  • Asset valuation considers age, specification, class status and market liquidity
  • Port investment cases assess demand, capacity, tariffs and concession duration
  • Debt covenants and lender requirements reviewed for maritime financing proposals

Participants can assess strategic responses to environmental and technology-driven business change.

  • IMO carbon-intensity measures linked to fleet deployment and commercial choices
  • EU ETS cost exposure estimated for relevant voyage and port calls
  • Alternative fuels compared by availability, vessel suitability, cost and emissions
  • Port community systems assessed for data exchange and operational coordination
  • Digital freight platforms evaluated for pricing, customer access and disintermediation
  • Strategic options prioritised using impact, feasibility, risk and investment criteria

Participants can assemble a structured response to a multi-party maritime business decision.

  • Commercial decision briefs define objectives, assumptions, options and approval requirements
  • Cross-functional trade-offs tested between operations, finance, legal and customer commitments
  • KPIs selected for profitability, reliability, asset utilisation and risk control
  • Management dashboards combine leading indicators with financial and operational results
  • Escalation thresholds set for delays, claims, credit exposure and compliance issues
  • Personal application plans convert course findings into workplace priorities and actions

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Maritime value-chain mapping template
  2. Voyage and time-charter profitability model
  3. Charter-party and cargo-documentation review checklist
  4. Port and terminal KPI dashboard
  5. Maritime commercial risk register
  6. Maritime business action plan

Who should attend

  • Shipping and Port Managers — need integrated commercial and operational decision-making skills
  • Chartering and Commercial Executives — require stronger freight, contract and voyage economics analysis
  • Terminal Operations Managers — need to connect operational performance with customer and financial outcomes
  • Freight Forwarding Managers — need informed insight into carrier, port and cargo-interface decisions
  • Maritime Finance Professionals — need practical context for vessel, terminal and shipping-company economics
  • Government and Port Authority Officials — need to assess maritime business drivers and private-sector incentives

Skills and tools covered

Maritime commercial analysisChartering economicsPort performance managementContract risk assessmentShipping market analysisMaritime investment appraisal

Tools and standards

Incoterms 2020, ISM Code, SOLAS, Net Present Value

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short briefings to establish commercial concepts, followed by realistic cases from shipping lines, dry bulk trades, container terminals and port authorities. Participants work through freight calculations, voyage results, berth-planning decisions, contractual scenarios and investment choices in small groups. Instructor-led discussions compare alternative commercial responses and identify trade-offs between revenue, service, risk and asset utilisation. A closing application-planning session helps participants adapt the course tools to current decisions in their own maritime business.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have basic familiarity with shipping, ports, logistics, international trade or a related commercial function. Experience working with cargo movements, vessel calls, customer contracts, procurement, terminal operations or freight documentation is useful. Participants should be comfortable interpreting tables, making percentage calculations and discussing business cases. Prior chartering experience, maritime legal training, naval architecture knowledge or advanced financial modelling skills are not required. The course explains specialist shipping terminology before applying it to commercial decisions.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should understand basic shipping, ports, logistics or trade activity and be comfortable with business calculations. Specialist legal, technical or ship-finance knowledge is not required.

Bring a laptop or tablet if possible, along with examples of the commercial or operational issues you face. Participants may use current rate sheets, KPI reports or contract questions during application discussions where confidentiality permits.

It suits professionals working for shipowners, operators, ports, terminals, cargo interests, freight forwarders, maritime authorities and service providers. It is designed for people with some industry exposure who need broader commercial responsibility.

Operations courses focus primarily on executing vessel calls, cargo handling and transport activities. This course focuses on the commercial logic behind those activities, including contracts, pricing, profitability, investment, customer value and risk.

Participants can use the voyage model, risk register, contract checklist and KPI dashboard for current commercial decisions. The tools are designed for adaptation to vessel operations, terminal performance, customer accounts or investment proposals.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided among instructor briefings, case analysis, calculations, group work, simulations and application planning across the ten modules.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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