Vessel Charter Manager

We are looking to hire an experienced Vessel Charter Manager for our Sharjah office to lead the sourcing, negotiation, and execution of container and multi-purpose vessel charters for our Gulf–Pakistan–India–Far East trade for the full charter lifecycle: from vessel sourcing and Charterparty negotiation through to redelivery and final settlement. The ideal candidate will independently build and manage a high-volume chartering operation, while protecting the Charterer's commercial and legal position in every fixture.About the Job Role:- Source, negotiate, and fix Container (Feeder/Feedermax), Multi-Purpose (MPP), and General Cargo vessels for the Gulf–Pakistan–India–Far East trade.- Execute Time Charters (TC), Feeder Charters, Slot Charter agreements, Vessel Sharing Agreements (VSAs), and Slot Swap/Purchase deals.- Negotiate directly with container shipowners, tonnage providers, feeder operators, Main Line Operators (MLOs), and container shipbrokers.- Develop dedicated vessel and slot solutions for 3,000+ TEUs/containers per month.- Optimize slot costs per TEU/FEU, vessel intake, slot utilization, and equipment repositioning.- Negotiate and manage Container and General Cargo Charterparties (e.g., BIMCO BOXTIME 2004, NYPE 93/2015, BALTIME) from the Charterer's side, ensuring terms are commercially balanced, legally sound, and aligned with the Company's directives.- Identify, assess, and mitigate contractual and commercial risks before fixture, including but not limited to back-to-back exposure, payment security structures, performance warranties, and dispute resolution mechanisms.- Manage laycan, off-hire claims, speed & consumption warranties, and terminal performance.- Monitor bunker prices (VLSFO/MGO), container charter indices (Harpex, ConTex, Howe Robinson), slot market rates, PDAs, and vessel availability.- Coordinate vessel berth windows, container terminal operations, bay planning (BAPLIE files), stowage approval, reefer monitoring, lashing compliance, and port agents.- Manage container payload limits, stack weight constraints, tier restrictions, hazardous cargo (IMO) stowage, and heavy-weight container allocation.- Identify backhaul container opportunities, Empty Container Repositioning (EPR) efficiency, and improve round-trip vessel utilization.- Oversee voyage profitability, container chartering claims, and final voyage reconciliation.- Conduct KYC and credit assessment on counterparties before fixture.- Maintain a risk register of all active charters and flag potential exposure to senior management.- Manage disputes arising under Charter Parties, working with external counsel and representing MCT in arbitration where required.Required Experience, Skills and Qualifications:- Must be based in Sharjah.- 15+ years of direct commercial container vessel chartering and feeder/slot management experience.- Strong UAE/GCC/Singapore container shipping and liner market experience is essential.- Proven track record of independently fixing container vessels and negotiating slot agreements.- Demonstrated experience negotiating Time Charter Parties on behalf of Charterers, with a strong understanding of contractual risk allocation, payment security, performance claims, and dispute resolution in cross-border chartering.- Familiarity with BIMCO standard clauses, Charterparty forms (BOXTIME, NYPE, BALTIME, GENCON), and arbitration frameworks relevant to UAE-based charterers.- Hands-on experience in container chartering, feeder network operations, and slot trading.- Strong existing network of container shipowners, tonnage providers, feeder operators, Main Line Operators (MLOs), container brokers, and port agencies.- Experience in UAE–Pakistan / UAE–India / GCC–South Asia container trade lanes highly preferred.- Knowledge of containerized cargo handling, including dry van, heavy-weight containerized cargo (e.g., metal scrap in containers), reefers, ISO tanks, and Out-of-Gauge (OOG) cargo.- Strong knowledge of Container Charterparties, Bills of Lading, Incoterms, P&I matters, and marine claims.- Experience with UAE Federal Law, DIAC arbitration, and DIFC exclusion clauses is a strong advantage.- Legal or maritime law qualification (LLM or equivalent) is an advantage.- ICS (Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers) qualification/membership preferred.