Voyage charter-ship’s position When advertising a ship, the shipowner or his broker may describe her as being open on or about a certain date, that is, the date when she becomes free to take on new employment. She may be spot, available almost immediately, or even spot prompt, immediately. She may be fixed to perform an interim voyage, undertaken between the time when she is to perform the voyage for which she is being advertised and the time she actually performs it. Alternatively, she may ballast directly to the loading port, that is, proceed there without a cargo.