DIPLOMA IN MARITIME BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

TUTOR MARKED ASSIGNMENT 3 - MODULES 7-9

The expected submission date for this assignment is shown on the VLE – PLEASE CHECK

PLEASE NOTE: THIS TMA WILL BE MARKED USING THE STANDARD DIPLOMA GRADE MARKING
RUBRIC DETAILED IN THE ACADEMIC COURSE HANDBOOK. HAVE A LOOK AT THE RUBRIC
AND THE CRITERIA PLUS DESCRIPTORS TO UNDERSTAND THE MARKING CRITERIA. THIS WILL
HELP YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT IS EXPECTED OF YOUR SUBMISSION AS THE MARKER WILL
USE THIS RUBRIC TO DETERMINE YOUR GRADE.

ABC Bulkers is a privately owned company with a fleet of dry bulk carriers, consisting of
four newbuild Panamaxes as well as 8 Supramaxes that are now an average 8 years old,
and a further 10 Handy Sized bulkers that are 10 to 14 years old.

The company trades its entire fleet exclusively in the spot market - the Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) prefers the flexibility which this market presents and has traditionally
avoided long term contractual commitments. However, even if the company has been
a successful tramp trader for some time, the CEO also wants the security of cashflow
that other chartering contracts can provide. This is also with a view to attract potential
investors in the business, e.g., through an IPO or private capital investment.

As part of this shift in strategy, the company plans to approach several established
grain houses to explore and negotiate such alternative chartering commitments.

The CEO has asked you to prepare a report addressing three areas – chartering
strategy, marketing, and financial considerations. Within the report you should think
about how best to present the required information (e.g. text, tables, etc.) to ensure it
is succinct.

You have been provided the following guidance:

THE CHARTERING STRATEGY

Explore the main chartering options available to the company and for each option, list
which party (owner or charterer) is responsible for what costs, what its constituent
parts are, and any resulting risk exposure: CAPEX, OPEX, variable voyage costs but also
delays, vessel performance, reporting requirements (voyage and cargo orders but also
monitoring software, dispute resolution, etc.

You should also describe how each cost burden affects the party which bears it at each
stage of the shipping cycle.

Lloyd's and the Lloyd's crest are the registered trademarks of the Society incorporated by the Lloyd's Act 1871 by the name of ‘Lloyd's’
MARKETING
The dry bulk market is highly competitive, and it can be considered a given that other
companies will also approach these grain houses with various proposals at regular
intervals. Your report should thus contain the outline of a “pitch deck” (corporate
flyer) that lists why ABC Bulkers is not only a trusted supplier of tonnage and ocean
transport services but can add further value to their supply chain and “ease of doing
business” e.g., with regard to which Charter Party format and any additional clauses
the grain houses might incorporate.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
Your report must also include an assessment how for each chartering impacts on the
company’s financial stability, OR alternatively, you may wish to consider the
accounting treatment / policy for depreciating of the company’s vessels for the
purposes of the balance sheet - which may in future be presented to potential investors
in the business.

NOTE: The word length for this assignment is 2,000 words (+/- 10%). This excludes the
contents page, contents list, references/bibliography and any annex/appendices. If your work
is outside of this word length it may be returned to you for improvement and resubmission.

You must include a suitable introduction, main body of discussion and then conclusion to
your report, followed by a bibliography. The report must have a structure of headings and
subheading, and you need to ensure all the sources and references you use are properly
acknowledged – see the Academic Course Handbook for further information about how to
reference the sources you use in a Harvard referencing style.

It is expected that your answer will be well written, accurate and consistent in approach and
style. This means that you need to plan your approach and the structure of the content
before you start writing. Your answer should demonstrate that you have a good knowledge
and understanding of the subject matter, and your discussion and arguments should be
logical and well presented. It is expected that the marker will see evidence of your research
skills, knowledge gained, relevance, analytical ability, referencing and presentation skills. The
overall presentation is expected to be to a high professional standard.

If you have any questions about the TMA, please don’t hesitate to ask help from your
Academic Course Director.

When you submit your work, please ensure that you use the NKC Diploma Assignment
Template found on your course home page and submit via Turnitin. Guidance on how to
submit your work is available in the Course Handbook.

You are strongly recommended to re-read the Academic Course Handbook, in particular the
sections on report writing, referencing, plagiarism and the standard marking rubric, before
commencing this TMA.

Lloyd's and the Lloyd's crest are the registered trademarks of the Society incorporated by the Lloyd's Act 1871 by the name of ‘Lloyd's’
You can check your similarity score after submitting your TMA and, if you need to edit your
work, you have a limited time to request your Programme Co-ordinator at LMA withdraws
your submission before it is provided to the marker.

You are recommended to complete this TMA by the expected submission date so the marker
can return your work as quickly as possible. You will also benefit from important feedback
before you need to produce your next assessed work. If you submit your assignment later in
the course, it is likely that feedback will take longer to be received, and you may not benefit
from this prior to needing to submit other work.

Lloyd's and the Lloyd's crest are the registered trademarks of the Society incorporated by the Lloyd's Act 1871 by the name of ‘Lloyd's’