Internet ship-brokerage Levelseas went live this week, saying it would add functionality to allow cargo-owners and shipowners to trade with each other directly before October. "This initial release of LSX is LevelSeas' first step towards building a global, web enabled freight exchange and voyage management system," said CEO Richard Hext. Hext said that cargo owners and ship owners already did "a hell of a lot" of business directly without the use of a broker, and it was too early to know whether this would increase. "They will make the decision as to whether they'll do more direct, or do more through brokers, or whether they'll work with the smarter brokers who are on the system," he said.