A shipping agency or shipping agent is the designation for a person or agency responsible for handling shipments and cargo at ports and harbours worldwide on behalf of shipping companies. In some parts of the world, these agents are referred to as port agents or cargo brokers. There are several categories of shipping agents such as: port agents, liner agents and own agencies, each rendering specific services depending on the shipping company they represent.
Shipping agents will quietly and efficiently take care of all the regular routine tasks of a shipping company. They ensure that essential supplies, crew transfers, customs documentation and waste declarations are all arranged with the port authorities without delay. Quite often, they also provide the shipping company with updates and reports on activities at the destination port so that shipping companies have up-to-the minute information available to them at all times while goods are in transit.
Succinctly, the term shipping agent refers to the relationship between the principal (in this case the shipping company conveying the goods) and its representative, whereby the principal, expressly or impliedly, authorizes the agent to work under his control and on his behalf.
The responsibilities/competencies as well as the remuneration of the agent may be explicitly entered into a contract which has been concluded between himself and the ship owner. This practice is very common in the cargo trade.
The duties of a shipping agent are very variable and depend mainly on the type of services rendered. Some duties will be the same for both cargo and liner services such as the duties with regard to the agency or dispatch of the vessel, but other duties will be typical to the liner or cargo trade, for example by ensuring that there is enough cargo in the port of call (this is called acquisition). Because of the great diversity of his duties, the shipping agent, within the framework of his responsibilities/competencies, often performs the tasks and duties of other intermediaries such as chartering brokers (or cargo brokers), booking agents, etc.
The duties of a cargo broker are similar to those of a shipping agent, but may also vary. For example, a cargo broker will also book outward cargo and inform the shippers on which quay and when the goods are to be presented and when loading and unloading is due to start. He will draw up booking lists according to the incoming bookings and esnure that the manifest department collects the shipping documents (shipping permits, bills of lading) which are necessary to commence the loading and unloading operations. The collected documents are also compared with the booking lists.
Responsibilities of shipping agents include:
In the case of damage to cargo or the ship, the shipping agent also makes the necessary arrangements (at the request of the ship's master or owner) with the insurance company, and for nautical inspections and the services of experts or surveyors, etc.
The specific tasks of a cargo broker or port agent include:
For his services/intervention, the shipping agent or port agent receives a fee called an agency fee.