Charter party where the shipowner places the vessel at the charterer's disposal for one specified voyage at an agreed freight rate.
In practice
Master receives the voyage instructions on fixture; the deck and engine teams plan against the laycan, demurrage rate, and bunker terms. Master communicates ETA and any deviation to the agent and charterer continuously.
Regulatory detail & full definition
Charter party in which the shipowner places the vessel at the charterer's disposal for one specified voyage between named load and discharge ports at an agreed freight rate per ton or lump sum. The owner provides crew, insurance, fuel, port charges, and operates the vessel; the charterer's risk is in laytime, demurrage, and (in some forms) cargo handling. BIMCO GENCON 2022 is the most widely used dry-cargo voyage form, and tanker trades use Shellvoy, BPVoy, Asbatankvoy and similar. Voyage charters are the standard form for spot-market employment in dry bulk and tanker shipping.