1.1 INTRODUCTION

An owner wishing to sell a ship will often appoint one or more sale and purchase brokers (“S&P” brokers, as they are widely known) and provide them with full particulars covering such matters as the ship’s name, former name(s), flag, port of registry, Classification Society and rating, builder, year of build, type, registered tonnages, dead-weight, draught, speed, fuel consumption, machinery, deck layout, cargo capacity, and the ship’s classification survey status. Armed with such particulars, the owner’s brokers will draw up and circulate an invitation for offers. The content of the invitation will depend on whether the selling owner is willing to disclose its identity and intentions in the market; sometimes the brokers’ brief will be to circulate limited particulars on a “no names” basis.