How to Prepare a Maritime RFQ That Gets Useful Responses

A good maritime RFQ tells the recipient exactly what you need, where you need it, when you need it, and what you want quoted. The goal is simple: give the other party enough useful information to respond with a meaningful and comparable offer without starting a long exchange of basic clarification questions.

1. State exactly what you need

Start with one clear sentence describing the requirement. For a vessel charter, include the vessel type or size, cargo, quantity, and intended trade. For a marine service, supplier, or shipyard requirement, state the service, equipment, repair, or work required. A clear opening lets the recipient decide immediately whether the requirement is relevant.

2. Give the cargo and quantity

For cargo-related requirements, specify the exact commodity, quantity, unit, and any important tolerance. If relevant, include cargo specifications, dimensions, weight per unit, packaging, or special handling requirements. For example: "30,000 MT wheat, 5% more or less at owner's option" is much more useful than simply saying "grain cargo."

3. Specify the ports and locations

Give the exact load and discharge ports whenever possible. If the requirement concerns a marine service, supplier, or shipyard, state the vessel's location or the required delivery or service location. Include the terminal or berth when known, and mention acceptable alternative ports if flexibility exists.

4. Give specific dates or a laycan

Avoid relying only on words such as "prompt," "soon," or "ASAP." For a voyage charter, provide the laycan — the agreed loading window. For other requirements, give the required service, delivery, docking, or vessel-availability dates. If there is flexibility, state the earliest and latest acceptable dates.

5. Include the technical requirements that matter

List only requirements that could genuinely affect whether a vessel, supplier, or service provider can perform the job. Depending on the requirement, this may include DWT, draft, vessel age, gear or crane capacity, cargo-handling equipment, hold or tank requirements, ice class, flag or class requirements, dimensions, certifications, or other operational restrictions.

6. State the commercial basis

Make clear what you are asking the recipient to quote. For vessel chartering, specify whether you are seeking a voyage charter, time charter, period employment, or another basis. Where relevant, state whether you expect freight, hire, lump-sum pricing, or a rate per tonne. If known, also identify important commercial terms such as laytime or demurrage requirements.

7. Tell respondents what to include in their offer

Ask for the information you need to compare responses. Depending on the requirement, this could include vessel name and particulars, current or expected position, availability, proposed rate, validity of the offer, delivery or completion date, exclusions, assumptions, and any conditions. This avoids receiving several offers in completely different formats.

8. Set a clear response deadline

Give respondents a specific date and time for replies, preferably including the time zone. For example: "Please submit your indication by 16:00 UTC on 20 September." If the requirement is urgent, say so, but use a real deadline rather than relying only on "ASAP."

Simple Maritime RFQ Template

Requirement:

Vessel / service / equipment:

Cargo / scope of work:
Quantity:

Load port / location:
Discharge port / service location:

Laycan / required date:
Earliest acceptable date:
Latest acceptable date:

Technical requirements:
Draft / dimensions:
Vessel age / class / flag:
Cargo-handling or equipment requirements:

Charter / commercial basis:
Freight / hire / quotation basis:

Please include:

Proposed rate
Availability / ETA
Vessel or supplier details
Offer validity
Relevant exclusions or conditions
Any information required before confirmation

Response deadline:
Contact / company:

Not every field is required for every RFQ. Include the information that is relevant to the particular vessel, cargo, service, supplier, or shipyard requirement.

Ready to post your requirement?

Post an RFQ on ShipDataX →