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Shipbroker

Shipbrokers match cargoes with ships, negotiating the charters and vessel sales that keep goods moving by sea.

Illustration of a person working as a shipbroker
Median salary*
$145,600

4.5%vs last year, before tax

People employed*
250

25.0%vs last year

Projected growth*
+1%

to 2035

AI exposure*
Moderate
6 out of 10
Average hours*
42/wk

+2h vs all jobs

Shortage status*
Not in shortage

national

  • Most shipbrokers work for broking houses in port cities, sitting on a desk that covers one vessel type or trade route, such as dry bulk, tankers or containers.
  • About 250 people work as shipbrokers in Australia, and the job is often confused with freight forwarding, which arranges the physical movement and paperwork for one shipper rather than negotiating the vessel itself.
  • The work runs on the phone and on screen, with owners, charterers and other brokers spread across time zones.

How much do shipbrokers earn?

The median full-time salary for a shipbroker is $145,600 per annum, before tax, up $30,900 since 2018.

Pay usually combines a base salary with commission or a share of the brokerage on each fixture, so a quiet freight market shows up in what you take home. The desk matters too: chartering for a large broking house is steadier than sale and purchase work, where fees arrive in lumps when a deal settles. Most roles sit in a few port and trading cities, even though the markets themselves are global.

Median annual salary, 2018–2028
The median salary rose by $30,900 between 2018 and 2024; the dashed line shows a projection to 2028 based on the real ABS Wage Price Index growth rate, not a role-specific forecast.
Full shipbroker salary breakdown →

What does a shipbroker do day to day?

The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.

  • Negotiating charter rates, laytime and demurrage terms with shipowners and charterers
  • Matching available vessels to cargoes and preparing voyage estimates that show whether a fixture stacks up
  • Tracking freight rates, bunker prices and vessel availability across the markets they cover
  • Drawing up fixture notes and checking the charterparty against the terms both sides agreed
  • Valuing second-hand vessels and handling the paperwork on sale and purchase deals

What skills do shipbrokers need?

Employers look for selling and negotiation, financial analysis and modelling, economic modelling, backed by Veson IMOS fluency and strong client relationships and advisory.

Specialist skills

  • Selling and negotiation
  • Financial analysis and modelling
  • Economic modelling

Software and tools

  • Veson IMOS
  • Clarksons
  • Bloomberg Terminal
  • Microsoft Excel

General skills

  • Client relationships and advisory
  • Stakeholder management
  • Written communication

Is the job growing?

About 250 people work as shipbrokers in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 1% over the decade to 2035. That's modest growth: demand is steady rather than booming.

Employment, 2015–2024, projected to 2035
Employment rose by 50 between 2015 and 2024; the dashed line shows the official projection to 2035.

How do you become a shipbroker?

Here's the path most shipbrokers take, step by step.

  1. 1
    Take a degree in commerce, economics or maritime business

    A bachelor degree is the usual entry point, in fields such as commerce, economics, logistics or maritime business, and 52% of shipbrokers hold one. Postgraduate study in shipping, trade or finance follows for many, particularly people moving across from another industry.

  2. 2
    Start on a desk in a supporting role

    Most people begin as a chartering assistant, operations coordinator or post-fixture clerk, where they learn laytime, demurrage, charterparty forms and Incoterms under a senior broker. This stage is paid and normally runs for a few years before you handle your own fixtures.

  3. 3
    Study a shipping qualification while you work

    The Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers runs professional exams that many brokers sit, and maritime institutes offer graduate certificates in chartering or shipping business. Employers tend to value these alongside desk experience rather than instead of it.

  4. 4
    Specialise and build a client book

    Brokers usually settle into a vessel type or trade route, since knowing one market well is what makes you useful to owners and charterers. Long-standing relationships carry between employers, and some brokers eventually set up on their own.

Study that can help

No set qualification is needed for this role in our data. These qualifications are not required, but the study can help.

Prefer something shorter?

A short course can build some of these skills without a full qualification. These aren't accredited, and we don't rank or recommend providers: compare a few before you commit.

These are ordinary links to each provider's own site. We don't currently earn anything from them.

Ready to apply as a shipbroker?

Whether you're working toward becoming a shipbroker or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.

Resume templateExample bullet points grounded in this role's real tasks.View & download →Cover letter templateA structured letter with role-specific example content.View & download →Interview questionsWhat people are actually asked, and why.View & download →

What jobs can a shipbroker move to?

None of the roles shipbrokers typically move into pay more than the role itself. Insurance Broker is the closest match. If a bigger salary is the goal, moving up into a senior or principal position within the role is usually the faster route than moving sideways.

Recorded in tax dataSuggested from skill overlap

Thick lines are moves people were recorded making in Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility (income tax records, 2011-12 to 2020-21). Thin lines are moves we suggest from skill overlap and entry requirements.

Move toTypical pay changeOverlapRetraining
Insurance Broker

A shipbroker's negotiation and risk placement experience transfer to insurance broking, though reskilling in insurance products and regulations is needed.

−$11,600
53%reskill
Importer and Exporter

A shipbroker's shipping market knowledge and cargo negotiation carry into importing and exporting, with reskilling in trade compliance and sourcing.

−$55,600
21%reskill
Business Broker

A shipbroker's negotiation and asset valuation skills carry into buying and selling businesses, needing only a short course in business brokerage.

−$57,200
56%short course

Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.

Who works as a shipbroker?

The typical shipbroker is 45 years old; 80% are men, 95% work full-time, and full-timers average 42 hours a week.

A shipbroker at work
45
Median age
20%
Female share
95%
Full-time
+2h
vs all-jobs avg

What's it like being a shipbroker?

The week runs on the phone and the screen, with early calls to Asia and late ones to Europe, and an average full-time week of about 42 hours. A broker works a market as much as a set of clients, because rates move with weather, fuel prices and world events, so the reading changes most days. It suits people who enjoy negotiation and can hold a view on a price when the other side is pushing back.

What people like

  • A deal closes and the cargo moves. Once a fixture is agreed, you can follow the vessel through loading and discharge and see the trade you arranged. The feedback is quick compared with roles where results take months to show.
  • There is always something new to read in the market. Freight rates respond to port congestion, fuel prices and events on the other side of the world, so your view of the next month shifts often. The work rewards attention more than routine.
  • You deal with people rather than queues of forms. Most of the day goes on calls and messages with owners, charterers and other brokers, and relationships built over years are a large part of getting a deal across the line.
  • The client relationships are yours. Once you have your own book of owners and charterers, it travels with you, and your earnings grow with the brokerage you write rather than with time served.

What people find hard

  • Deals collapse at the last minute. A charterer can take another vessel the day after you have done all the work, and the commission goes with it. Experienced brokers learn not to count a fixture until it is signed.
  • Earnings follow the freight market. Commission makes up a large part of the package, so a slow market means a lean year on the same desk with the same effort.
  • The clock does not run on Australian time. Charterers in Asia want answers early and European owners call late, so the working day stretches at both ends.
  • It is a small field to break into. A handful of broking houses and shipping companies employ most shipbrokers here, and entry often comes through a contact or through an operations role taken first.

Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.

Which industries employ shipbrokers?

Water Transport employs the largest share of shipbrokers, followed by Transport Support Services.

Top employing industries

  1. 1Water Transport
  2. 2Transport Support Services
  3. 3Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
  4. 4Wholesale Trade
  5. 5Financial and Insurance Services

Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.

Highest qualification held
Bachelor degree
52%
Postgraduate
26%
Diploma / Advanced Diploma
13%
Other
9%

Will AI replace shipbrokers?

6out of 10

Moderate exposure. Not replaced, but changed. AI is taking on some tasks and the rest of the job shifts around them.

Shipbroking carries moderate exposure: the research, rate tracking and paperwork around a deal are increasingly automated, while the negotiation itself is not. Platforms such as Veson IMOS and Clarksons data services already pull market information together, and AI tools are adding freight-rate forecasts and candidate vessel matches. That speeds up preparation but does not settle the fixture, which stays a conversation about price, terms and trust.

How a typical week splits

50%
AI already does a lot of this
of a typical working week
  • Tracking freight rates and matching cargoes to tonnage
    25% of the week

    Baltic Exchange indices, platform feeds and matching tools now surface candidate vessels in seconds, so the broker's time goes on judging which are genuinely open at the right laycan.

  • Drafting fixture notes, charterparties and post-fixture claims
    25% of the week

    Clause libraries and standard forms produce a first draft quickly, though demurrage and laytime disputes still turn on what the two sides actually agreed.

20%
AI helps, you still do it
of a typical working week
  • Building voyage estimates and hire models
    20% of the week

    The arithmetic is handled by spreadsheets and platform calculators, but choosing the assumptions, from bunker prices to expected port delays, remains the broker's call.

30%
Stays with people
of a typical working week
  • Negotiating charter terms with owners and charterers
    30% of the week

    Rate, laytime and demurrage are argued out by phone and message, and reading how far the other side will move is the part no tool does for you.

How we work this out

We break each job into its main tasks, estimate the share of a typical week each one takes, and judge how far current AI and automation tools reach into it. The score out of 10 starts from the job's overall rating (low is 1 to 3, moderate 4 to 6, high 7 to 10) and the task split places it within that range. Source: Career Tips analysis of each role's main tasks.

Common questions about becoming a shipbroker

Straight answers to the questions people ask most.

How much do shipbrokers earn?

Shipbrokers earn a median of $145,600 per year before tax, and individual earnings vary widely around that because of commission. A broker on a strong desk in a busy market can earn well above the median, while a quiet year pulls the other way.

How do you become a shipbroker?

Most shipbrokers start with a degree in commerce, economics or maritime business, then take a supporting role on a chartering or post-fixture desk and learn the trade under a senior broker. Professional exams through the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers are common once you are working.

Are shipbrokers in demand?

Shipbrokers are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 1% over the decade to 2035. Because the occupation is small, vacancies tend to appear one at a time when someone leaves a desk or a broking house expands, so contacts in shipping count for a lot.

Will AI replace shipbrokers?

AI is changing the research and paperwork around a fixture rather than the negotiation. Rate tracking, voyage estimates and first drafts of charterparty clauses are increasingly automated, but the deal still turns on two people agreeing a price and terms they trust.

What can shipbrokers move into?

Negotiation and asset valuation carry into business broking, where median pay is $57,200 less, or into insurance broking at $11,600 less, which uses the same placement and risk skills. Some move into importing and exporting, drawing on their cargo and trade knowledge, where median pay is $55,600 less. Experienced brokers also leave to set up their own broking house, which is often where earnings grow.

Do shipbrokers work long hours?

Full-time shipbrokers average around 42 hours a week, and the spread of those hours matters as much as the total. Early calls to Asian charterers and late calls to European owners are normal, though most desks are quiet by the evening once a fixture is agreed.

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