Voyage Cost Calculator
Calculate total voyage cost including fuel, port, canal, crew, and insurance expenses.
About this calculator
This calculator simply adds up six independent cost categories to produce Total Voyage Cost: a lump-sum Total Fuel Cost and Total Port Costs entered directly, Canal / Transit Fees, and three daily rates (Crew Cost, Insurance Cost, and Miscellaneous) each multiplied by Voyage Duration. Because Total Fuel Cost is entered as a single already-computed figure rather than built up from a fuel price and consumption rate, this calculator does not itself model how fuel price or vessel speed changes voyage economics -- that calculation has to happen before you enter a number here. Voyage Duration has an outsized effect on the total because it multiplies THREE separate cost categories at once (crew, insurance, and miscellaneous), so a longer voyage compounds those daily costs together, while the lump-sum costs (fuel, port, canal) stay fixed regardless of how many days the voyage takes.
Cost per Day divides the grand total by Voyage Duration, which is why a longer voyage that adds mostly fixed lump-sum costs relative to its length can actually show a LOWER cost per day than a shorter one, since the same fixed fuel and port costs get spread across more days. The percentage breakdowns (Fuel %, Crew %, Port %) show each category's share of the total, useful for spotting which cost category dominates a specific voyage's economics.
Inputs
Results
Total Voyage Cost
$311,000.00
≈ 7 Teslas
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter total fuel cost, port costs, and canal/transit fees in dollars.
- Input crew cost per day, voyage duration in days, and insurance cost per day.
- Add any miscellaneous daily costs (provisions, communications, etc.).
- Review the total voyage cost and cost per day to assess profitability.
- Compare total voyage cost against freight revenue to calculate voyage profit or loss.
How the result changes with Total Fuel Cost
| Total Fuel Cost | Total Voyage Cost |
|---|---|
| $75,000.00 | $236,000.00 |
| $112,500.00 | $273,500.00 |
| $225,000.00 | $386,000.00 |
| $375,000.00 | $536,000.00 |
What each input means
- Total Fuel Cost
- Total bunker fuel cost for the voyage.
- Total Port Costs
- Combined port charges for all ports of call.
- Canal / Transit Fees
- Canal transit fees (e.g. Suez, Panama).
- Crew Cost
- Daily crew wages, victualling, and stores.
- Voyage Duration
- Total voyage days including sea and port time.
- Insurance Cost
- Daily insurance cost allocation (H&M + P&I).
- Miscellaneous
- Lubricants, maintenance, communications, etc.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters7 parametersTotal Fuel Cost = 150000, Total Port Costs = 50000, Canal / Transit Fees = 0, Crew Cost = 3000, Voyage Duration = 30, Insurance Cost = 500, Miscellaneous = 200 = 7 input(s) provided
- Calculate Total Voyage CostTotal Voyage Cost311000 = $311,000
- Calculate Cost per DayCost per Day10366.67 = $10,366.67
- Calculate Fuel TotalFuel Total150000 = $150,000
Engine last updated . Checked against 1 independently-derived test — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does this calculator ask for a total fuel cost instead of a fuel price and consumption rate?
Because bunker fuel cost depends on vessel-specific consumption rates, speed, weather routing, and fuel grade in ways that vary too much between vessels and voyages for a single formula to capture -- this calculator instead treats Total Fuel Cost as an already-computed input you bring in from your vessel's own consumption estimate, and simply adds it into the overall voyage total alongside the other cost categories.
Why does voyage duration affect the total so much?
Because Voyage Duration multiplies into THREE separate daily cost categories at once -- Crew Cost, Insurance Cost, and Miscellaneous -- so a longer voyage compounds all three together, while the lump-sum costs (fuel, port charges, and canal fees) stay fixed regardless of how many days the voyage takes. A voyage that takes twice as long does not cost twice as much overall, but its daily-rate costs specifically do double.
Can a longer voyage actually have a lower cost per day?
Yes -- Cost per Day divides the grand total (fixed lump-sum costs plus daily-rate costs) by Voyage Duration, so if the fixed costs like fuel and port charges are large relative to the daily rates, spreading them across more days can lower the average cost per day even though the total dollar amount for the voyage is higher.
Do canal fees affect the crew or insurance cost calculations?
No -- Canal / Transit Fees is added directly into Total Voyage Cost as its own lump-sum line item and does not interact with any other cost category. Crew Cost and Insurance Cost are each computed independently from their own daily rate times Voyage Duration, with no cross-terms between any of the six cost categories.
What do the percentage breakdowns (Fuel %, Crew %, Port %) tell me?
They show each category's share of Total Voyage Cost, which helps identify where a specific voyage's money actually goes -- a long, slow voyage on a cheaply-chartered vessel might show crew and insurance dominating the percentage breakdown, while a fast voyage burning expensive bunker fuel might show fuel dominating instead, even if the total dollar costs are similar.
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