SOUTHAMPTON (Bloomberg) — Banks and commodity traders are seeking to expand their freight teams, a UK-based recruitment company that specialises in the shipping industry said.

"We are currently seeing a premium price being paid for experienced ship operators," Mark Charman, chairman of Southampton, England-based Faststream Recruitment Ltd., said in an e-mailed statement.

Financial institutions, commodity and energy companies are increasingly seeking people who can hire ships as well as traders of forward freight agreements that allow for speculation, or hedging, of future shipping costs, he said.