Ship planner

The core of the job is the stowage plan. Working in stowage programmes, the planner assigns every container a position on board, evens out the load, keeps hazardous cargo separated as the regulations require, and orders the boxes so that the ones leaving at the next port can be reached from above. The plan has to fill the ship to its optimal capacity while holding down handling costs and time alongside the quay. Around that, the planner matches available ships to available cargo to keep a voyage profitable, supervises loading, handles shipment risks, and applies the cargo transport regulations that govern what may be carried and how. Planners also keep voyage logs and schedule the ship's maintenance, repair and crewing.

The work sits between shipping lines, port terminals and the ship's officers, and runs on constant contact by phone, email and terminal systems: a berthing window that slips or a late cargo changes the whole plan.

A vessel planner job description asks for spatial reasoning, confidence with stowage programmes and safe stowage devices, knowledge of cargo regulations, and clear communication under time pressure. Because these decisions affect the safety of the ship and its cargo, the role is held to the ethical code of conduct for transport services.