Ship Owners

Managers &
Operators
 Ship Owners, Managers and Operators
• Registered Owner - A shipowner is the owner of a merchant vessel
 (commercial ship) In the commercial
sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and exploits a ship,
usually for delivering cargo at a certain freight rate, either as a per freight rate
(given price for the transport of a certain cargo between two given ports) or
based on hire (a rate per day). Shipowners typically hire a licensed crew and
captain rather than take charge of the vessel in person. Usually the shipowner
is organized through a company, but also people and investment funds can be
ship owners. If owned by a ship company. the shipowner usually
performs technical management of the vessel through the company, though
this can also be outsourced or relayed onto the shipper through bareboat
charter.
•  The legal title of ownership of the vessel that appears on the ship's
registration documents. It may be an Owner/Manager or a wholly-owned
subsidiary in a larger shipping group; or a bank or one-ship company vehicle
set up by the bank; or of course, it may be a “brass-plate” company created on
paper to legally own a ship and possibly to limit liability for the "real" owners
and/or benefit from off-shore tax laws. It may anyway be a legal-requirement
of the flag-state with whom the ship is registered for the legal owner to be a
company registered in that country. 

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 Shipmanager/Commercial Manager - The company designated by the ship
owner or charterer to be responsible for the day to day commercial running of
the ship and the best contact for the ship regarding commercial matters.
Including post fixture responsibilities, such as laytime, demurrage, insurance
and charter clauses. This company may be an owner related company, or a
third-party manager, whose purpose is primarily the management of ships for
their ship-owning clients. 

N.B.  Many ships today are owned by banks or finance/leasing companies who

have no operational involvement whatever. In practice the lessee companies,
referred to as ‘Disponent Owners’ or one of their subsidiary companies, may
appear as the Manager of the ship.

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 Technical Manager - The company designated by the ship owner or operator
or ship manager to be specifically responsible for the technical operation and
technical superintendancy of a ship. This company may also be responsible for
purchases regarding the fleet, such as repairs, spares, re-engining, surveys,
dry-docking, etc. In the majority of cases the DOC Company will also be
responsible for the Technical Management of the ship.

Operator -  The company responsible for the commercial decisions

concerning the employment of a ship and therefore who decides how and
where that asset is employed. The direct beneficiary of the profits from the
operations of the ship, this company may also be responsible for purchasing
decisions on bunkers and port services.  A medium to long-term time or
bareboat charterer is considered to be the operator of the ship.  Companies
heading operator pools are Operators of the ships in the pool. 
Many ships today are owned by banks or finance/leasing companies who have
no operational involvement whatever. In practice the lessee companies,
referred to as ‘Disponent Owners’ may appear as the Operator of the
ship

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 Alphaliner - Top 10 : Operated fleets as per 19 August 2016

  Total Owned Chartered Orderbook

Rnk Operator
TEU Ships TEU Ships TEU Ships % Chart TEU Ships % existing

1 APM-Maersk 31,95,963 623 17,61,256 263 14,34,707 360 44.9% 3,87,150 29 12.1%

2 Mediterranean Shg Co 27,82,861 492 10,61,824 193 17,21,037 299 61.8% 4,01,063 30 14.4%

3 CMA CGM Group 22,77,322 516 10,11,166 140 12,66,156 376 55.6% 2,35,624 24 10.3%

4 COSCO Container Lines 15,52,894 284 4,73,517 84 10,79,377 200 69.5% 5,60,888 35 36.1%

5 Evergreen Line 9,53,841 186 5,57,365 107 3,96,476 79 41.6% 3,67,272 39 38.5%

6 Hapag-Lloyd 9,16,174 163 5,06,011 70 4,10,163 93 44.8% 52,500 5 5.7%

7 Hanjin Shipping 6,13,150 99 2,74,078 37 3,39,072 62 55.3%      

8 Hamburg Süd Group 6,11,154 120 2,92,311 44 3,18,843 76 52.2% 30,400 8 5.0%

Yang Ming Marine Transport

9 Corp. 5,88,611 106 2,03,810 43 3,84,801 63 65.4% 98,396 7 16.7%

10 OOCL 5,74,738 102 3,97,531 53 1,77,207 49 30.8% 1,26,600 6 22.0%

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 Ship Owner – Orgo Chart

Legal Advisor

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 Various Departments & Functions
• Head office, offices abroad, the ships and a network of business connections
such as shipbrokers, agents, stevedores, etc.
• Legal Department - Board matters, contracts for new buildings, company
law, national/international taxes, purchase/sale of ships.
• Technical and Marine Departments- fleet management, ship operations,
manning, spares and stores, repair, maintenance, dockings, classification and
statutory compliance requirements of Class, Flag state and port state.
Monitoring of vessels performance etc.
• Marine Insurance and Claims Department - ship insurance, claims
relating to damage of the cargo are handled in this department.
• Liner Department – coordinating with partners, slot share arrangements,
scheduling, vessel operations, marketing.
• Tanker and Dry Cargo Department - employment for the vessels
,responsible for their operation. Referred to as Chartering Departments.
Tanker Departments in some organisations also arrange bunkers.
• Miscellaneous – Depending on the size of the ship owning company they
could have their own fleet personnel/crewing, travelling department, agency
department etc

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 Ship Managers Orgo Chart

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 Ships Orgo Chart

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 Captain/Master
Ship's highest responsible officer - acts on behalf of the ship's owner. Legally
responsible for the day-to-day affairs of the ship as he/she is in command. It is
his responsibility to ensure that all the departments under him perform legally
to the requirements of the ship's owner. Represents the owner and called the
Master.
Deck department
Chief Officer/Chief mate -
The Chief Officer/First mate - head of the deck department on a merchant
vessel - second-in-command after the ship's Master.
Primary responsibilities - vessel's cargo operations, its stability, and
supervising the deck crew. The mate is responsible for the safety and security
of the ship, as well as the welfare of the crew on board. The chief officer
assumes command of the whole ship in the absence or incapacitation of the
master.
Second officer/Second mate
The Second officer/Second mate is a qualified OICNW watch stander, directing
the bridge team and navigating the ship.- duty is navigational, includes
updating charts and publications, keeping them current, making passage
plans, and all aspects of ship navigation.

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 Third officer/Third mate
Navigational Watch keeping officer, the Third mate directs the bridge
team, maneuvering the vessel, keeping it safe and on track.
Incharge of Life saving and Fire fighting equipment onboard.
Deck cadet/Officer cadet – Trainee deck officer who gets an hands
on experience and after serving his sea time and passing the various
Competency exams rises up the hierarchy of deck officers.
Deck ratings
Boatswain – Incharge of deck crew, works under the instructions of
the Chief mate and supervises the work of the deck crew.
Able seaman/AB -
An Able seaman works under the Boatswain, completing tasks such
as working mooring lines, operating deck gear, standing anchor
details, and working cargo. The AB also stands a navigational watch,
generally as a lookout or helmsman.
Ordinary seaman/OS – Carries out the general deck maintainance.

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 • Engineering department - The engineers are also called technical
officers. They are responsible for keeping the ship and the machinery
running, including engines, generators, boilers, pumps and the
electrical equipment
• Chief engineer
• The chief engineer on a merchant vessel is the official title of someone
qualified to oversee the engine department.
• Responsible for all operations and maintenance that have to do with all
machinery and equipment throughout the ship. He may be paid on par
with the captain, although he is never responsible for the action of ship.
• Second engineer- The second engineer or first assistant engineer is
the officer responsible for supervising the daily maintenance and
operation of the engine department. He or she reports directly to the
chief engineer.
• Third engineer -The Second Assistant is usually in charge of boilers,
fuel, auxiliary engines, condensate and feed systems.

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 Fourth engineer -The fourth engineer - Responsible for electrical,
sewage treatment, lube oil, bilge, and oily water separation systems.
Depending on usage, this person is called "The Third", or "The
Fourth", and usually stands a watch.
Motorman -The Motorman is an unlicensed member of the engine
department, with more experience than an Oiler.
Oiler - The Oiler is an unlicensed member of the engine department,
with more experience than a Wiper.
Wiper-The Wiper is an unlicensed member of the engine
department, usually with the least experience.
The electro-technical officer- is in charge of all the electrical
systems on the ship. The electrical engineer is one of the most vital
positions in the technical hierarchy of a ship and engineer is
responsible for their assigned work under the chief engineer’s
instructions.
Catering Department – Headed by the chief Steward with a team
of Cooks and Stewards, who is responsible for procurement of
provisions, food, menus and the general house keeping of the ships
accomodation.

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 SHIP/Port Agent
• Definition of an Agent - Party that has express (oral or
written) or implied authority to act for another (the principal)
so as to bring the principal into contractual relationships with
other parties. An agent is under the control (is obligated to)
the principal, and (when acting within the scope of authority
delegated by the principal) binds the principal with his or her
acts. Additional powers are assigned to agent under the legal
concept of 'apparent authority.' The agent, however, does not
have title to the principal's goods in his or her possession,
except where agent's lien is applicable.
•  Role of a ship agent – A ship agent is any person or company
that carries out the functions of an agent (see the following
slide), irrespective of whether they are in business as a ship
agent, or they perform such functions as an adjunct to, or in
conjunction with, other activities such as shipowning or
operating, providing cargo handling or similar
• To represent the interests of the shipowner or charterer while
the ship is in port by providing assistance or advice required.  

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PORT AGENT FUNCTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES
As prescribed by FONASBA ( Federation of National Association of Ship Brokers & Agents).
• Booking the vessel in and out of the port, and arranging the pilot and tug
boat services
• Providing information on the crew and any passengers to the local
immigration authorities
• Ensuring the ship’s documentation complies with international regulations
prior to Customs inspection
• Preparing quarantine pre-arrival report (QPAR) which provides details on
the crew, the ship’s previous route and any deaths or illnesses which may
have occurred during the voyage
• Advising Customs of the ship’s arrival and reporting the cargo on board
• Logistics involved with provisions and fuel
• Providing the stevedore’s ship planner with the manifest which gives
detailed information on the cargo to be handled
• Liaising with stevedores and terminal operators regarding the safe handling
of containers, break-bulk and bulk liquids, and ensuring that the ship’s
master is aware of shore requirements
• Organising crew changes, any associated immigration documentation and
arrangements such as booking flights
• Paying the crew
• Handling ship services including repairs and maintenance
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 PORT AGENCY COMPANIES - Types

• Branch office of an international port agency

organization – GAC, Inchcape etc – Global
Headquarters/ Branches in various ports
• Member of a port agency network –
Multiport/ S5 – Individual Agency houses
forming a network and coming together -
• An independent port agency company – The
oldest form of agency, predominantly family
owned - J M Baxi, Parekh Marine – could
have a national profile or stand alone office
in one or a few ports.

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 MAIN CATEGORIES OF SHIP AGENT:
PORT AGENT: organises and coordinates the port
call, acting on behalf of the owner or operator of the
vessel.
CARGO AGENT: solicits cargo on behalf of the
owner, or operator, usually within a defined
geographical area
OWNERS/CHARTERERS AGENT: acts for another
party that has an interest in the port call. The
specific duties undertaken vary depending on the
relationshipbetween the parties
OTHERS: as the principal may decide or require.

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 END of unit 1

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 Word of Caution:
•THE AGENT IS INDEMNIFIED BY THE PRINCIPAL
FOR ACTIONS UNDERTAKEN BY HIM FOR AND ON
BEHALF OF THE PRINCIPAL, ANY NEGLIGENCE,
ERRORS, MISCONDUCT OR ILLEGAL ACTION WOULD
NOT INDEMINFY THE AGENT FROM THE LIABILITIES
ARISING THEREOF.

•Word of caution, when an agent acts on behalf of a Principal

it is not adequate if he indicates his nomination as an agent
alone. He has to ensure that the name of the principal on
whose behalf of he is acting is always indicated in all
communications with third parties with whom he contracts.
This would ensure that the contracting third party is aware of
the actual Principal on whose behalf the agent is acting.

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