Maritime businesses operate in one of the most currency-exposed industries in the global economy. A single vessel's operating costs can span six or more currencies in a single month: USD-denominated fuel, EUR-denominated port fees, GBP-denominated insurance, NOK or SGD crew wages, JPY equipment parts, and CNY shipyard maintenance.
This multi-currency exposure creates a problem that most generic FX platforms are not designed to solve. The maritime industry doesn't process neat, predictable monthly payments like a SaaS company paying overseas contractors. Costs are irregular, corridor-dependent, and often time-critical — a vessel waiting for port clearance cannot wait for a 3-day bank transfer to clear.
The unique FX challenges in maritime
USD dominance with multi-currency costs. Revenue in maritime is overwhelmingly denominated in USD (charter rates, freight rates, commodity settlements). But costs are spread across local currencies at every port of call. This creates a permanent GBP/USD, EUR/USD, or SGD/USD conversion requirement that compounds with fleet size.
Irregular, high-value payments. Dry-docking costs, vessel acquisitions, and equipment overhauls generate large, irregular FX needs. A single dry-dock in a Chinese or Korean shipyard can require a £500K-£2M CNY or KRW conversion on short notice.
Speed-sensitive settlement. Port charges, bunkering costs, and crew wages often require same-day or next-day payment. A vessel's operational schedule does not accommodate T+3 bank settlement. The working capital impact of slow settlement is amplified in maritime — see our analysis of how T+2 settlement drains working capital.
Demurrage and detention exposure. Slow payments create documentation delays that lead directly to demurrage charges. Maritime businesses face the exact payment-speed-to-demurrage pipeline we've analysed in our demurrage calculator.
Multi-jurisdictional compliance. Vessels operate across dozens of jurisdictions. Payments to ports, agents, and suppliers in different countries require a provider whose compliance infrastructure can handle the geographic spread without triggering holds on every transaction.
What financial controllers should look for in a maritime FX provider
Generic platforms serve generic needs. Maritime businesses benefit from FX providers who understand the operational cadence of the industry:
- The ability to execute rapidly on unusual corridors — not just GBP/USD and EUR/USD, but GBP/SGD for Singapore-based operations, GBP/NOK for Norwegian crew costs, and GBP/CNY for Chinese shipyard payments.
- The capacity to handle large irregular transactions alongside regular crew payments, without the large one-off payment triggering a compliance review that delays the routine payments.
- Compliance infrastructure that covers the jurisdictions where vessels actually operate, so payments to ports and agents in multiple countries don't create bottlenecks.
- Forward contracts and rate management tools that allow financial controllers to budget for future dry-docking and refit costs in foreign currencies, reducing exposure to rate movements between budgeting and payment.
The banks most maritime businesses use for FX charge 2-4% above mid-market rates on these corridors. For a business processing £2M annually in multi-currency costs, that's £40,000-£80,000 in invisible FX margin. Learn how to calculate your actual bank costs with our audit bank FX markup guide.
How Unicorn Currencies serves the maritime industry
Unicorn Currencies serves marine equipment UK importers, marine equipment US importers, vessel operators, and maritime services companies across our UK, Canadian, and UAE operations. Our multi-jurisdictional regulatory structure — FINTRAC MSB in Canada, with UK and UAE entities — allows us to process maritime payments across the corridors where vessels actually operate.
We understand that maritime payment requirements don't fit neatly into the standard business FX model. Same-day execution, multi-currency settlement, and compliance that doesn't slow down operations are baseline requirements, not premium features.
Frequently asked questions
Why is maritime the most currency-exposed industry?
A single vessel's operating costs can span six or more currencies in a month — USD for fuel, EUR for port fees, GBP for insurance, NOK or SGD for crew wages, JPY for equipment, and CNY for shipyard maintenance. Few other industries have this breadth of simultaneous currency exposure on recurring operational costs.
How does slow FX settlement cause demurrage charges?
When a supplier or port authority withholds release documents until payment clears, every day of settlement delay pushes container collection further past the free time allowance. A 3-day bank transfer instead of same-day settlement can burn through the entire free period, triggering demurrage at $75-$300 per container per day.
Can I use forward contracts for dry-docking costs?
Yes. Dry-docking typically requires £500K-£2M in a foreign currency, often CNY or KRW. Forward contracts allow you to lock in a rate when the dry-dock is scheduled, removing FX risk between budgeting and payment — which can be 6-12 months apart.
What FX corridors do maritime businesses typically need?
The most common are GBP/USD, GBP/EUR, GBP/SGD, GBP/NOK, GBP/CNY, and USD/JPY. However, vessel operations generate payments across dozens of corridors depending on routes, crew nationalities, and port locations. A specialist provider needs depth across all of these, not just the major pairs.
Unicorn Currencies Limited is a FINTRAC registered Money Services Business (MSB C100000159) and Bank of Canada RPAA registered payment service provider.