AGENTS IN MARITIME TRANSPORT Marina Zanne, M.Sc.

Introduction A ship agent is employed to represent the interests of either the ship’s owner, the ship’s operator, or the cargo’s owner (consignee) while the ship is in port. captain can‘t perform all bureaucratic operations alone  the need for a specialized person, who is well familiar to local habitudes, local, regional and national markets needs and outputs and thus of cargo flows arising  this person has to be able to fit into this the shipping company‘s interest  faster and easier communication Development: counseling role  shipping company‘s representative

Types of agents in maritime transport port agent liner agent broker – mediator, negotiator shipping insurance agent general agent specialized agent

Port agent usually in ports in which shipping company doesn‘t have its own office shipping company‘s representative working in shipping company‘s name and for its account agent does all the communication with port‘s entities (private and public) in order to make ship‘s stay in port as short and as efficient as possible agent organizes cargo acceptance and delivery, fills in the documents, organizes cargo handling operations etc.

Port agent agreement allows the agent to make contracts between shipping company and any third party agent comes aboard together with national authorities Customs – crew/passenger list, cargo manifest (arrival customs manifest is prepared by the agent), stores manifest etc., Police – passports control, shore pass issuer, Maritime Administration office – draft survey, ship‘s certificates, clearance from previous port, crew list etc. agent forwards arrival report to the shipping company and to cargo sender‘s freight forwarder

Port agent His main obligations are: to prepare ship‘s documentation to prepare cargo documentation to inform port authorities on ship‘s ETA to order port‘s working facilities and man force (based on cargo manifest and cargo stowage plans) to inform cargo sender or recipients on ships arrival to make sure that the freight rate and other costs are covered to forward preliminary cargo plan and loading list to the captain

Port agent Source: The role of the ship agent from

Port agent after cargo handling operations are completed, the agent prepares the Port log in which it is clearly visible what operations have been performed Departure custom manifest is prepared upon cargo manifests Harbour clearance is given to the agent when ship‘s seaworthiness is proven (cargo is secured and the ship is ready for navigation)  agents orders the pilots and tug boats, and informs all the authorites on ship‘s departure  together they again visit the ship when agent delivers Departure custom manifest, cargo manifests, mail, harbour clearance etc. to the captain)

Liner agent port agent can be also a liner agent serving liner ships in their ordinary ports  in such case he has more responsibilities market research (port‘s capacities, hinterland activity, inland connections, cargo flows etc. to make sure that touching the particular port is reasonable, plus he has to analyse the competion) his operationals tasks remain the same as of port agent, that is: serving the needs of the ship on arrival/departure, being in cnact with cargo senders/recepients, filling in the documentation, cargo acceptance/delivery etc.

Liner agent Shipper‘s note; loading dispostion with cargo description and other info (sender, loading and unloading port, payment conditions etc Shipping order; order addressed to the captain with instructions for cargo loading Mate‘s receipt; this is a receipt proving that cargo has been loaded aboard. It is issued by the captain and addressed to the sender. Agent creates Bill of lading (B/L) which is signed by the captain or by the agent on captain‘s order Cargo is handed over to the recipient that has presented original B/L, has paid the freight rate and has fulfilled any other given condition.

Broker His main role is to connect two parties. mediator in contracts on exploitation of ships mediator in sale ship‘s process (deed of sale) mediator in ship‘s construction/maintenance agreements FONASBA - The federation of national association of shipbrokers an agents

Shipping insurance agent is an employee of insurance company insuring ships, cargo and personnel

Sources & further reading The role of the ship agent from