Operations

Introduction
• Shipowner or manager would give high importance to have
knowledgeable, experienced and enthusiastic operations department.
• Upon employment of a vessel, the operations department will be the
link between the vessel & the ship owners and also between the
owning side and the vessel’s charterers and other cargo interests.
Primary tasks of operations department
• To ensure that the Master know and understand exactly what is
expected of them and their ship.
• To monitor the voyage, with a view to minimizing the expenses and
maximizing the income.
• To be on the lookout for potential problems and disputes and to ttry
to resolve them before they get out of hand.
• To act as a clearing house for information within the ship manager's
offices so that everyone knows all they need to know about what the
ship is doing, thus enabling them to do their jobs effectively.
Details to be given operations manager by owners
Once the nature of employment is decided, ship owners give:
• The cargo and its size;
• Loading and discharging ports along with restrictions, if any;
• Notices of readiness that are required to be given to the charterers
and/or the shippers, and for the consignees and the agents;
• Any special instructions and/or advice that needs to be given to the
ship’s command about cargo.
The information is to be shared with the ship’s Master.
• Operations department looks for an access of the charter party to know
the terms and conditions of the contract which are again discussed with
the Master of the ship for consensus.
• Operations department, then, speaks to the agents at loading and
unloading ports and instruct them as per the terms and conditions of the
charter party.
• Agent at the loading port need to update the operations department on
probable berthing and loading prospects. The load port agent is asked to
provide:
• A detailed proforma disbursement account;
• Confirmation of any restrictions at the port or berth which may affect the vessel,
bearing in mind that restrictions at the discharge port(s) may affect the volume of
cargo which can be loaded or the port rotation;
• Any other relevant information that they might consider useful.
• Ideally, operations department, should have access to contact the agents
when the employment of the ship is under negotiation and before it is
fixed. (Unfortunately, this does not always happen).
• Further, the operations department should liaise with the appropriate
departments within the ship management company to ensure that:
• The crew mail is dispatched to the ship by the most expeditious means,
always providing time permits;
• Any spare ordered and awaiting dispatch are sent to the ship, again, always
provided time permits;
• Any crew changes are orgainsed well in advance;
• If required, all the arrangements for classification surveys and renewal of
certificates are made and appropriate;
• Arrangements are made for stores and lubricants to be put on board, if
needed;
• The master advises how much cash the ship needs for advances to the crew. It
is customary for members of the crew to draw part of the wages due to them
in the currency of the country at which the ship is calling, or in US$, so that
they have money to spend on shore leave.
 Liaison at loading port, ensures….

Operations department liaise with agents at loading port to ensure..

• That the pilot boards and the vessel berths promptly;
• That the notice of readiness has been tendered and accepted;
• That the loading operations are proceeding as fast as practical;
• That the Master’s requirements are being properly and expeditiously met and that any
spares and so on, sent form elsewhere, have been collected and put on board the
vessel;
• That an appropriate sum has been remitted to the agents to cover the disbursements
for which the owner is responsible and the Master’s cash advance requirements, if any;
• That the agents understand and will comply with any instructions which the
shipowner/manager might have concerning bill of lading.
Once the ship sails, operations department will repeat all these at discharging port.
Procedure in Time Charter
• However, for time charter…
• The time charterers will issue voyage instructions to the vessel to ensure that the
Master is advised on the charterers are (including the details of any manager or
agent) who is/are authorized to issue instructions on their behalf.
• The master should be advised on the length of the period and the intended
trades.
• Often, the owners prohibit certain dangerous or dirty cargoes and certain
politically or geographically challenging areas.
• The Master, need to know about these interests of the owners so that he can
react to any contrary orders from the time charterers.
• Key information regarding place and time of delivery of ship, arrangements
required, along with name of agents of owners at the time of delivery are
required.
Operations or post-fixture department
• In ship-broking houses, brokers conclude the fixtures, with all
subjects lifted and pass all the paperwork to the post-fixture
department.
• Post-fixture department obtains voyage instructions and pass them to
Master via the ship owner.
• They keep a track of the vessel’s progress, spot any concerns and
inform the relevant parties.
• They would also check the freight invoice and pass it on and some
times even draw up the charter party.
• Usage of electronic storage of fixture details by third parties allow storage
of recap at central database.
• Both principals confirm that the recap is full and fair representation of the
concluded fixture following which the document is hallmarked and locked.
• Generally, South Korean, Brazilian, and Indian principals look for a full
paper copy of the charter party with all additional clauses signed by both
principals or their agents.
• Communication is important once a fixture is concluded and parties need
to ensure that it goes to the right email address so as to avoid delays and
service interruptions.
• International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) mandates all fixture
terms include a post-fixture clause that ensures that the communication
flows.
Voyage Planning – Bunkering
• Modern ships are equipped with diesel engines that burn one or
more grades of oil fuel.
• Of late, ships are equipped with duel engines that use both oil fuel
and LNG
End of the topic