Ship Agency

A shipping agency, shipping agent, or ship agency is the term used to refer to the appointed companies that handle operational and procedural (legal) requirements for a commercial vessel’s call at a port for the purposes of cargo handling (loading/discharging), emergency calls, repairs, crew changes, or ship demolition …

There are several categories of shipping agencies such as: port agents, liner agents, and own agencies, each rendering specific services depending on the shipping company they represent. This separation between different types of ship agencies depends on the main segments of the cargo transport systems which are bulk shipping, specialized shipping and liner shipping.

Today’s shipping market has evolved into three separate but closely connected segments: bulk shipping, specialized shipping, and liner shipping. Although these segments belong to the same industry, each carries out different tasks and has a very different character. Therefore, under each segment, there are different functions, areas of responsibility, and operational tasks given to the ship agencies.