LaycanDeskBulk fertilizer freight: urea, DAP, MAP, potash and phosphate rock
Bulk urea, DAP, MAP, potash and phosphate rock on Handysize to Panamax tonnage from Morocco, Egypt, Jordan and Canada. Freight for fertilizers in bulk: phosphate rock, DAP, MAP and TSP from Jorf Lasfar, phosphate and potash from Aqaba, potash from Vancouver and Portland, and urea from Egypt, with IMSBC Group C and Group B ammonium nitrate based cargoes, hygroscopic caking, no handling in rain and the rain letter settled before a ship loads.
Most bulk fertilizers are IMSBC Group C cargoes: no liquefaction and no chemical hazard, but hygroscopic, so they take up moisture, cake in the holds and lose value if they get wet. Ammonium nitrate based fertilizers under UN 2067 and 2071 are Group B, with a chemical hazard, and cannot be handled during precipitation with non-working hatches closed. Urea is not loaded in rain for the same reason, and where a charterer wants work to continue in light rain the parties agree it in writing, the rain letter, which moves the risk away from the master. Loading is by shiploader at dedicated terminals: OCP exports phosphate rock and processed phosphates including DAP, MAP and TSP through Jorf Lasfar in Morocco; Aqaba's phosphate export terminal is designed for four million tonnes a year with two 2,200 tonne-an-hour shiploaders; potash from Saskatchewan ships through Neptune Terminals in Vancouver, expanded to 11.5 million tonnes, and through Portland, Oregon, which exports over two million tonnes a year; Egyptian urea ships from Abu Qir and Damietta.
Send us the product with its IMSBC group and UN number if it has one, quantity with tolerance, load port and loading rate, discharge port with draft and discharge rate, whether handling may continue in rain and on what terms, laycan, commission and the charterer's name. Potash and phosphate cargoes of Panamax and Supramax size go to owners of tonnage opening in the North Pacific, the Red Sea and the Atlantic; smaller urea and DAP parcels go to Handysize and Supramax owners. Holds must be clean and dry with weathertight hatches, and owners are asked for last cargoes. The producer and shipper of record come first, and every counterparty is screened before an owner sees the stem. Bagged fertilizer is a different cargo; see our bagged fertilizer page.
How it ships
- Shiploader at dedicated terminals
- Most fertilizers IMSBC Group C, hygroscopic
- Ammonium nitrate based (UN 2067, 2071) Group B
- No handling in precipitation; rain letter where agreed
- Clean, dry holds and weathertight hatches
Load areas
- Morocco (Jorf Lasfar)
- Jordan (Aqaba)
- Canada (Vancouver)
- US (Portland, Oregon) potash
- Egypt (Abu Qir, Damietta)
Discharge areas
- India and Bangladesh
- Brazil
- China and Southeast Asia
- Europe and Africa
Ships that carry it
The cargo itself, on Commbril
Questions charterers and owners ask
What is a rain letter?
A written agreement that handling may continue during precipitation, releasing the master from responsibility for damage the rain causes. Hygroscopic fertilizers such as urea are normally not handled in rain, so a charterer who wants to keep loading asks for one. The charter party should say how rain time counts.
Which fertilizers are Group B?
Ammonium nitrate based fertilizers classed under UN 2067 and UN 2071, which carry a chemical hazard. Non-hazardous ammonium nitrate based fertilizers are Group C, as are most urea, DAP and potash cargoes. The shipper's declaration settles which schedule applies.
Can potash and DAP load on the same ship?
They are both Group C cargoes and physically compatible, and they are often carried in separate holds on the same ship. Give us both quantities and the load ports and we price it as one voyage.
What does a bulk fertilizer enquiry need?
Product and IMSBC group, quantity with tolerance, load and discharge ports with rates and draft, rain terms, laycan, commission and the charterer's name. Holds, hatches and last cargoes are checked with the owner before a ship is offered.