Liner Trade Management PDF

Liner Trade Management Dr./ Mostafa Abdel Hafez shipping intermediates 2 Dr. Capt.Mostafa Abdel Hafez 11/13/2024  Brokers, Agents and Freight Forwarders Apart from the industrial shipping where ship users have their tonnage, in both tramp and liner shipping, maritime demand an...

Liner Trade Management Dr./ Mostafa Abdel Hafez shipping intermediates 2 Dr. Capt.Mostafa Abdel Hafez 11/13/2024  Brokers, Agents and Freight Forwarders Apart from the industrial shipping where ship users have their tonnage, in both tramp and liner shipping, maritime demand and supply have to meet many times on shipping markets throughout the year. Generally speaking, however, world maritime demand and supply do not meet directly. They use intermediates. On the shipping markets, there are various kinds of intermediates which are normally referred as 3 Dr. Capt.Mostafa Abdel Hafez 11/13/2024  Brokers, Agents and Freight Forwarders 1. Ship brokers, 2. Shipping agents and 3. Freight forwarders. Although each of them has particular functions and works for specific clients, there are number of common characters which should be analyzed at first. 4 Dr. Capt.Mostafa Abdel Hafez 11/13/2024  Brokers, Agents and Freight Forwarders The activities of shipping intermediates have three main aspects: First it is informative, as to provide necessary information on the market to the clients; Secondly it is intermediatory as to facilitate the transport arrangement; Thirdly it is supportive as to provide logistic services required (process transport documents, such as transport contracts, insurance, customs and shipping documents and other formalities required by import/export and transport. 5 Dr. Capt.Mostafa Abdel Hafez 11/13/2024  Brokers, Agents and Freight Forwarders Ship brokers A broker is someone who acts between two parties for a definitive task. In shipping, a shipowner needs to establish relationship with its suppliers or clients at different occasions. This may include the need of buying a ship, or chartering out a ship for a voyage or for a period of time, or having bunker provisions at ports or selling a ship. Although there are many different kinds of ship brokering activities, two main types of ship brokers should be identified and examined specifically. They are sale/purchase brokers and chartering brokers. 6 Dr. Capt.Mostafa Abdel Hafez 11/13/2024  Brokers, Agents and Freight Forwarders Sale/purchase brokers A sale/purchase broker should offer lots of services especially the following: 1. To provide information on reported ship’s sales in the recent past (ship’s particularities, names of the seller and buyer, price and conditions etc.) 2. To provide information on the relevant vessels on the market for sale (technical conditions of the ship and its locations etc.) 3. To provide information and analysis on the market in which the vessel will operated. This includes the freight rates and tendencies. 4. To provide information on second hand market, its development trends and also scrap metal markets. 7 Dr. Capt.Mostafa Abdel Hafez 11/13/2024  Brokers, Agents and Freight Forwarders Chartering brokers Compared with sale/purchase brokers, the number of chartering brokers is much bigger. Chartering brokers are for the tramp shipping only and usually shipowners and charterers use their own brokers separately. Thus chartering brokers can be further divided into owner’s brokers and charterer’s brokers. An owner’s brokers and a charterer’s brokers have similar activities, except that they appointed by opposite parties. 8 Dr. Capt.Mostafa Abdel Hafez 11/13/2024  Brokers, Agents and Freight Forwarders Shipping agents There is no clear cut and absolute border between a broker and an agent and the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably. However, while a ship broker is working between two parties, a shipping agent is normally representing his principle to deal with various parties. Broker’s work terminates often with the conclusion and carry out a specific task such as a transport or sale/purchase contract, an agent’s work normally lasts for a long period of time. 9 Dr. Capt.Mostafa Abdel Hafez 11/13/2024  Brokers, Agents and Freight Forwarders Amongst various kinds of shipping agents, two major ones need to be discussed which are port agents and liner agents. Port agents A port agents is generally appointed by the shipowner to represent the owner at the port of call. The port agent is widely used in tramp shipping. 10 Dr. Capt.Mostafa Abdel Hafez 11/13/2024  Brokers, Agents and Freight Forwarders Liner agents A liner agent is working as a general agent normally for a long period of time for one or several shipping lines within a geographical area. The activities carried out by liner agents are much wider than that by port agents (transport connections, container equipment control and maintenance, freight collection, transport documents processing and signing of the Bill of Lading on shipowners behalf space booking. 11 Dr. Capt.Mostafa Abdel Hafez 11/13/2024  Brokers, Agents and Freight Forwarders Freight forwarders Like shipping agents represents shipowners, freight forwarders represent shippers. However, in the absence of an internationally accepted definition, the term of freight forwarder is sometimes confusing. Because a freight forwarder may act on behalf of his principal but he can also act for his own account. We should divide these two kinds of freight forwarders by using different names. 12 Dr. Capt.Mostafa Abdel Hafez 11/13/2024  Brokers, Agents and Freight Forwarders 1. Who acts on behalf of an exporter/importer as forwarding agents 2. Who act in their own names a Non-Vessel Operating Common Carriers (NVOCC) or in some cases Multimodal Transport Operators (MTO). forwarding agents Originally, a forwarding agent performs, on behalf of the exporter or importer, routine tasks such as loading/discharging of goods, cargo storage, land transport arrangements etc. 13 Dr. Capt.Mostafa Abdel Hafez 11/13/2024  Brokers, Agents and Freight Forwarders However, today a forwarding agent has an enlarged scope of competence which may range from basic tasks such as the booking of space or customs clearance to a comprehensive package of services covering the total transport and distribution process. A forwarding agent may study the provisions of trade documents and all government regulations and give advices to his principal on the choice of route. He may provide services in relation to packing, warehousing, customs clearance and receiving and delivery of goods, pre- and post-sea transport connection and the payment of freight etc. 14 Dr. Capt.Mostafa Abdel Hafez 11/13/2024  Brokers, Agents and Freight Forwarders NVOCCs and MTOs When a freight forwarder acts in his own name, his activities may be similar to that of a forwarder as an agent. The only major difference is that he acts as a principal not as an agent. As a principal, a NVOCC or MTO often provides services of cargo consolidation (i.e. the grouping of small parcels into larger load) which are not provided by an agent. 15 Dr. Capt.Mostafa Abdel Hafez 11/13/2024  Brokers, Agents and Freight Forwarders As a principal, a NVOCC or MTO issues his own transport document such as bill of lading. The international freight forwarders organization (FIATA) has produced a standard bill of lading for door-to-door transport. 16 Dr. Capt.Mostafa Abdel Hafez 11/13/2024  Legal status of Brokers, Agents and Freight Forwarders As far as the legal aspect is concerned, all above mentioned shipping intermediates have the same status except NVOCCs and MTOs. Although differences exist in various countries with legal system. The following principles generally apply everywhere. (a) when acting as an agent This category includes sale/purchase brokers, chartering brokers, port agents and forwarding agents. The following terms are frequently used when an agent signs a document: “……on behalf…,…in the name of ….’…. For the account of …., or…. As agent only”. 17 Dr. Capt.Mostafa Abdel Hafez 11/13/2024  Legal status of Brokers, Agents and Freight Forwarders As an agent, they accept liability for their own faults or omissions and that of their employees. The brokers or agents are also exposed to claims from third parties for any loss or damage or personal injury that they may cause to those third parties during course of their operations. 18 Dr. Capt.Mostafa Abdel Hafez 11/13/2024  Legal status of Brokers, Agents and Freight Forwarders (b) when as a principal When a forwarder acts as a principal (in the case of a NVOCC or MTO), he is an independent contractor who assumes responsibility in his own name (by means of issuing his own transport document) for providing services required by his client. He becomes liable for the acts and omissions of carriers, warehouse operators etc., whom he engages for the performance of the contract. As a principal, his liabilities to third parties remain the same as when he acts as an agent. 19 Dr. Capt.Mostafa Abdel Hafez 11/13/2024