SHIP MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA

PORT OPERATION in Lagos in Nigeria

Ship Management

Ship Management in Nigeria is the act of managing a ship, a ship owner who does not want to personally handle their ship’s operations can hire a ship management company to maintain and operate the vessel. The management company provides the owner with support throughout the occupancy or charter of the vessel.

Ship management is an important service in the maritime industry, it is the supervision of a ship’s operations, including registration of vessels, ship maintenance management and technical ship management. Ship Management in Nigeria is usually done by independent companies, they manage ships of other companies or independent owners and pay them the yearly amount agreed between the owner and the ship management company.

The ship owner can lease the ship to a management company for a definite duration of time, they could lease the ship completely or render some of the services. When a ship owner does not want to personally handle the ship’s operations, they contact a ship management company to manage the ship and its transactions. They sign a contract for a specified amount of time, the contract details the amount to remitted by the management company yearly and other specifications agreed upon.

Ship management companies services include providing a ship owner or operator with crew, taking over a newly built ship and providing technical support ; other services include, inspection prior to purchase, supervision during building, crew management and supply and ship lay-up solutions.

Ship Manager

Ship Management in Nigeria

A ship manager is a company who takes charge of managing a ship’s operations for a ship owner or charterer, these operations include the technical management of ships, registration of vessels, technical maintenance, management of crew etc. It can also include the business and commercial management of a ship such as chartering and financial administration.

Ship manager’s activities include, repair and maintenance, arranging dry dockings, audit planning, financial accounting, crew management, ship financing, building contracting and supervision, chartering, insurance and claims handling.

A ship manager must manage ships in a cost effective manner ensuring that ships under his supervision are ready for employment at anytime.

What does a ship management company do?

Protective Agency in ship Nigeria

Ship management companies take charge of several tasks which are carried out before, during and after a ship’s operation. A ship management company can operate different types of ships or just concentrate on one type.

Ship Management Services

Ship Management in Nigeria

Ship management services include

  • Supervision of machinery maintenance on board the ship.
  • Provision of adequate crewing to man the ship
  • Arranging for loading and unloading of cargo
  • Hiring out the ship on behalf of the ship owner
  • Negotiation of contracts for bunker and lube oil
  • Paying for expenses on behalf of the owner
  • Handling various claims related to insurance, salvage etc.
  • Also, arrangement for providing victualling and stores for the ship’s crew.

Ship Maintenance

Ship Management in Nigeria

What is Technical Ship Management?

Also known as full ship management, this is a service of maintaining and operating a vessel on behalf of a ship owner or charter. This service is usually performed via a third party ship manager. It includes registration of ships, operations, service, technical maintenance, crew management and also commercial management such as chartering and financial administration.

The ship manager usually has a dedicated technical department, including a team of expert marine engineers, purchasing, information technology, safety, quality and environmental protection, insurance, as well as financial and administration personnel to carry out these services; advanced software and systems are used by the technical management team to manage all aspects of operational maintenance

What is Ship Management System?

The safety management system (SMS) is  an organized system put in place to make sure that ships comply with the safety rules and regulations, codes, guidelines and standards stipulated by the IMO, classification societies and other maritime organizations.

The safety management system is an important part of the International safety management (ISM) code, it is a detailed prescription of the important policies, procedures and practices to be followed to ensure the safety of ships at sea. Commercial vehicles are required to establish safe ship management procedures. Safety management system is used to ensure the safety of the ship and marine environment.

Every ship safety management system has some basic requirements, they include:

  • Procedure and guidelines on how to act in an emergency situation
  • Safety and environmental protection policy
  • Instructions for reporting accidents or any other form of non-conformities
  • Detailed information showing level of authority and lines of communication among ship crew members, and between shore and shipboard personnel
  • Instructions to ensure safe operations of ships and protection of marine environment in compliance with relevant international and state maritime laws
  • Procedures for internal audits and management reviews
  • Vessel details

What is port management?

Ship Management in Lagos Nigeria

Port management is the supervision and organisation of a port to keep it organised and functional. Ports are a very busy place with many activities going on simultaneously, different types of business interactions happen at an active port, and this requires a port manager to ensure that all transactions go smoothly. The duties of a port manager includes overseeing all commercial and technical components of the shipping industry: cooperating with other ports, coordinating deliveries with ships, overseeing port development, advertising and promoting the port, enforcing security etc.

Port management is not an easy job, ports usually have business activities going on for 24 hours a day, a port manager has their work cut out supervising these activities which include, loading and unloading of ships, cargo storage, organizing tug and pilot services, meeting regulations and determining berth schedules, management of employees etc.

A port manager supervises these tasks and more at a port or at a number of ports. There are no official qualifications required to be a port manager but a business or maritime related degree is usually helpful.

What is commercial management shipping?

These are the various modes of ship management on behalf of the owner, either on time charter or voyage charter basis. The three main services of commercial management are chartering, operations, calculations control and accounting.

Chartering

This is the main activity of commercial management, seeking and negotiating employment for a vessel and the conclusion of charter parties or other contracts relating to the employment of the vessel. The management company seeks to secure the best employment available in order to optimize earnings and ensure positioning of tonnage to best take advantage of the constantly changing market conditions.

Operations

This is also a crucial part of commercial management, money can be saved or lost and a voyage can be made more or less profitable based on the handling of ships and smooth execution of voyages. The operations part of commercial management is very vital because of the effect of actions taken can have in the competitive environment of shipping. Problematic situations must be dealt with promptly and efficiently.

Calculations, Controls and Accounting

This consists of tasks like voyage estimating and accounting, voyage results calculations, full load calculation, route advising, calculation of hire, freight demurrage, account control, performance analysis etc.

What is the best shipping software?

ShipMonk

Stamps.com

Shiptheoey

Yakkyofy

CargoWise

Quotiss

FenixCommerce IDP

Transcount

SmartShyp

SmartTurn Inventory Management etc.

What is a Ship Operator?

A ship operator is the person in charge of ensuring that all technical tasks in relation to the operation of a vessel are taken care of according to company procedure. A ship operator can work with a ship owning company or may be employed by a company who contracts out the role to a ship owner. A ship operator can be called upon to provide technical support in other areas like crew management, logistics, service and maintenance.

The ship operator takes charge of a ship or fleet of ships and they handle tasks like post fixture, bunker intakes, crew management and agency appointments.

They are required to prepare vessel position updates, ensuring a vessel’s voyage is performed efficiently while keeping costs to a minimum, arranging and managing advance payments from charterers and final settlements on completion of voyage, coordination of day to day operational activities, liaising with external agents to ensure efficient commercial operation; also the ship operator liaises with charterers and owners with respect to vetting inspections in relation to ports to be visited.

What is Port Handling?

The activity of moving cargo onto and off ships is called port handling. Cargo has to be handled properly and efficiently when it arrives at a port, it is usually done by logistics providers. Port handling is time sensitive, if a cargo is not handled correctly on time, companies may be fined heavy charges.

Machines and equipment used to execute port handling include, trailers, cranes, forklifts, hoppers etc.

Shipping Management

Shipping management is simply the management of ships, the process of managing a ship, fleet management, procurement services, vessel accounting, technical management etc. An independent ship owner or ship company can hand over their ship/ships to a ship management company to use, the shipping management company manages the ship for the owner and pays them and agreed amount of money after a duration of time. Usually a contract signed before the ship is leased to the shipping management company and if he is unsatisfied with the performance of the ship management company he can approach another company.

When a ship is purchased, it requires a management team to operate and maintain it, the management company provides the owner with support by taking over the management duties of the ship. They provide the owner with a crew for the ship, technical support, ship inspection prior to purchase, supervision during ship building, crew management, registration of vessels, operations, service, technical maintenance. Ship Management in Nigeria also involves maritime traffic supervision and management: registration and management of ships, chartering, procuring visa of ships entering and leaving the port.

Shipping management companies also provide Technical management services. This is a maritime service offered by third-party management companies, they maintain and operate vessels as required by a ship owner or charter.

The shipping management company provides a dedicated technical team of marine engineers, information technology, safety, quality and environmental protection personnel. They also provide financial administration personnel to take care of the business and commercial management of a vessel. They also make use of highly specialised software and systems enable the technical management department to manage all aspects of operations

LIST OF Top Ship Management Companies in the world

  • V. Group
  • Anglo-eastern
  • Schulte Group
  • Fleet Management
  • OSM Group
  • Thome Group
  • Wilhelmsen
  • Columbia ship management
  • Wallem
  • Synergy Group

Freight forwarding and clearing

Freight forwarding is the transportation of good and cargo between one destination and another through carries by different modes of transportations. Freight forwarding services are provided by freight forwarding companies or independent freight forwarders; they coordinate the whole process of shipping for the shippers (storage – shipping of merchandise). They are the middlemen between a shipper and transportation services, they liaise with carriers to negotiate prices and decide on the fastest and most economical routes

They also prepare documentation of cargo on behalf of the shipper; they take care of other things like container packing and unpacking, custom clearances and raising insurance claims. Freight forwarders are experts in managing the logistics required to ensure that good arrive on time and in good condition, they must also be conversant with customs regulations and be adept at negotiating tariff and shipping by Land, Sea, rail and air.

Freight clearing is the process of taking care of customs clearances of imported goods. this is done by clearing agents, they are similar to freight forwarders; they perform services such as: coordinating custom clearance with appropriate requirements, calculate import duties and VAT, collecting taxes and duties from shippers and making payments to customs and IRS, creating the Bill of entry for submission via electronic data interchange to customs, establishing harmonized tariff heading of goods for customs etc.

Freight forwarding services

Freight forwarding services offered by freight forwarding companies include: customs clearance, export and import documentation, insurance, packing, storage, inventory management.

At Hendiac Nigeria limited, we offer freight forwarding services and full service logistics coordination, these covers transportation and project logistics budgeting, scheduling and delivery monitoring. Our services are competitively priced and we provide comprehensive and total logistics solutions by taking advantage of our wide network.

Hendiac Nigeria Limited Is Licensed With Nigeria’s Customs & Excise To Operate As A Clearing And Forwarding Agent For Both Sea And Air Freight; we are a top Shipping agency operating in Nigeria with vast experience in handling all types of vessels and cargo. With the help of our partner worldwide, we satisfy our customers with specialized services in logistics solutions.

Our services also include specialized supply chain management service that integrates our global infrastructure and expertise in freight forwarding, warehousing, supply chain management, ship agency, ship supply and marine and offshore support. Our extensive network covers smooth offloading, warehousing and distribution operations, air freight, courier freight services, road transportation, and sea freight.

WE ARE PROVIDING SPECIALIZED SERVICES IN OFFLOADING AND

Freight forwarding documents

Freight forwarding involves a lot of paperwork, especially when it involves importing and exporting. There are many types and forms of documents required, and they vary depending on the county. These are some of the documents your freight forwarder should provide you with:

Proforma invoice

Similar to a commercial invoice, it specifies

The buyer and the seller in the transaction

Detailed description of the goods

Harmonized system classification of the goods

 Price

Payment term of the sale

Delivery details

Currency used

Commercial invoice

The commercial invoice is one of the most important documents that accompany goods, it includes almost all the details of the entire export transaction from start finish. It looks similar to the proforma invoice but it includes additional details.

Packing list

This is a list of items in a shipment, it includes the net and gross weight of the packages in metric measurements; it identifies any markings that appear on the packages and includes special instructions for safe delivery of goods. The packing list can be used to create the bills of lading for the shipments; customs officials can use the packing list to identify the location of certain items they want to examine.

Certificates of origin

The certification of origin is used to identify the country from which the good originate from. The certificate of origin might require trhe signature of an organization like the customs for it to be valid. Most companies now use electronic certificate of origin for their shipments.

Shipper’s letter of instruction

It is important to provide your freight forwarder with a shipper’s letter of instruction that contains info needed to successfully move your goods. The shipping letter of instructions may include a limited Power of Attorney giving the forwarder authority to act on your behalf regarding the shipment; the SLI may also grant the forwarder permission to file the export information electronically through the Automated Export System (AES).

Bill of Lading

The bill of lading is basically a waybill. There are three types of lading bill: inland lading bill, ocean bill of lading, air waybill.

Inland bill of lading: this is a contract of carriage between the exporter and shipper of the good, it states the destination of the good and serves as a receipt to show that the goods have been picked up. It is usually consigned to the carrier moving the goods or to the forwarder, warehouse who will later hand over the consignment to the carrier.

Ocean bill of lading: for marine shipments, an ocean bill of lading is needed, it can serve as a contract of carriage and also as a

Document title for the goods. There are two types:

  • straight bill of lading 
  • negotiable bill of lading 

Air waybill: the air waybill is a contract of carriage between shipper and carrier, it is not negotiable unlike the Ocean bill of lading.

Dangerous goods form

You need to include an appropriate dangerous goods form in your shipment if you goods are considered dangerous goods by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) or the International Air Transport Association (IATA). These form needs to be completed by someone trained in handling of dangerous goods shipping and the shipment must be properly packaged, labelled and documented.

Freight forwarding Agent

Forwarding agents coordinate safe, economical and efficient transport of goods on behalf of importers and exporters. They liaise with carrier to move shipments for individuals and help corporations get goods from the manufacturer to the market, customer or final distribution point. A forwarder does not moves the good physically but takes care of the logistics.

Their job includes:

Hiring transport

Choosing the most efficient route

Taking out insurance policies

Choosing the fright packaging

Handling goods storage and distribution

Act as an intermediary between shippers and national transport companies

Organizing shipments for importers and exporters

Process customs documentation

Clearing Agent

 A clearing agent is a person that handles getting goods officially from one country to the other.

A clearing agent handles the customs clearance aspect of the shipping business, in some countries clearing agents have to pass exams in order to be licensed.

Clearing agents perform other duties apart from customs clearances:

They arrange to pass relevant document at customs

They have deep knowledge of duties and VAT calculation

Organize payment of VAT and duty

Assist clients with DUTIES calculation

Clearing agents are usually specified to their country of base.

Freight broker

Freight brokers help shippers in moving shipment from one point to the other by hiring carrier companies; they help shippers find carriers.

They are responsible for facilitating the delivery of goods to their destination while monitoring and providing updates on the status of the shipment.

Freight brokers are the middlemen between shippers and carriers, they handle the responsibility of negotiations with the carrier, planning of routes and tracking of freight. Their services are very similar to that of freight forwarders.

What is the difference between logistics and freight forwarding?

Although freight forwarders and logistics companies are very similar because they perform very similar services, they are not the same although they are just separated by a thin line. Freight forwarders act as middlemen between shippers and logistics companies. Forwarders usually do not have the infrastructure to transport the good to their destination so the contract logistics companies with the assets required to transport goods.

Forwarders liaise with multiple logistics companies which makes for cheaper prices and more diverse price lists

Provide price quotes

Have understanding of logistics companies and their specialty (fragile goods, animals, household goods, cold storage etc.)

They also have info on special routes and route optimization to prevent delays.

They help customers take care of stressful and complicated paperwork

Logistics companies have infrastructure for transportation of goods (fleet of trucks, planes, boats) and they usually specialize in one area: long haul, fragile goods, animals etc. they manage the physical aspect of moving the goods and sometimes they take care of some documentation.

  • How to become a forwarding and clearing agent in Nigeria?

First you have to decide if you can handle the demands of the job, then you get the right knowledge, it is advised to intern with people already experienced in the field or if you like, learn on the job. Decide what part of the field you want to go into, form a niche in that aspect and become reputed for it, you could delve into other parts as time goes on.

You will also need to register your and get necessary license. In Nigeria, you will have to register your business with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and other appropriate bodies to get licensed especially the Nigerian customs service. Having a license shows your integrity, this lets customers deal with you without fear. Getting a license can be expensive so some forwarders hide under registered licensed companies to use their license for a commission. This is not a advisable and highly risky.

To apply for a license with the Nigerian Port Authority, you need:

A Letter of Application to GM (Eastern or Western Ports) with the following documents:

  • Certificate of Company Registration
  • Memorandum and Article of Association
  • Bank Reference
  • Three years Tax Clearance Certificate
  • Evidence of Registration with Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN)

The Registration fee is ₦200,000.00 payable to NPA revenue account and the Certificate is valid for One year. The Annual Renewal Fee is ₦100,000.00

Supply Chain Management

This is the management of the flow of goods and services and it includes all processes that transform raw materials into final products. It is the active streamlining of a business’s supply-side activities to maximize customer value and gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

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Freight forwarder in Nigeria

We are specialized in Complete Shipping services /Ship Management, Repairing, Ship Chandler, Ship Agency, Food Supplier, Lube oil Supplier, suppliers of Aceyelyne Gas, Oxygen, Freon Fresh Water Chartering/ broker

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