What is Worldscale?
Simply put – it is a standardized rate mechanism that allows you to compare apples to oranges. The concept goes back to World War II, when the US and British governments requisitioned merchant ships and needed a simplified rate scale. The details have changed since then, but the concept is the same. You may have one ship that will transport cargo from Point “A” to Point “B”. Another ship may carry a slightly different amount of cargo from Points “A” and “C” to Point “B”. The Worldscale mechanism allows you to evaluate the profitability of the two voyages even though they are different, as it provides a simple comparison for net daily revenue for the ship. It can be more complicated than that – but it doesn’t have to be for sake of this conversation. The Worldscale website has a very good explanation (www.worldscale.co.uk).
