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Need Ship Agent in Berdyansk port? |
Regular circumstances of work usually require
certain actions to be performed on a ship entering a port (loading/unloading cargo, tugging, etc.).
Concurrently with it, calling at a port may obviate the need for a number of auxiliary services to
be rendered as well as certain formalities fulfilled and payments made. Some of the operations
require a degree of preliminary preparation before the vessel's arrival while others, reversely,
will not be complete until after its departure. The captain would find it supremely problematic,
especially in least-known ports, to have to fulfill all the procedures of calling at a port without
outside expert help. In order to optimize carrying out such tasks around the time of a ship's stay
in a port, ship-owners resort to services of ship agents.
Ship Agent
is a ship-owner's trustee acting on the ship-owner's instructions, on the ship-owner's behalf and
in the ship-owner's interest. Such standing determines relation and interaction between the master
of the ship and the agent. As the master of the ship is recognized as a representative of the
ship-owner and the agent merely as his trustee, should any disputes arise between them, the
master's decision shall have the upper hand. The master, though, should give due consideration to
the agent's opinion since the latter will be better acquainted with the local regulations and those
of the port, he will be well-experienced at settling commercial problems, etc.
It is through the mediation of the ship agent that
the ship-owner will officially contact the cargo-owner, stevedoring companies and port authorities
and bodies playing a part in servicing vessels in the port. It is an obligation of the ship agent
to fulfill the ship-owner's commands and instructions.
For his service, the agent is remunerated by the
ship-owner at the rates quoted by Ukraine's Ministry of Transport.
Agent's obligations will normally include:
- fulfilling all formalities and requirements connected with the vessel's entering the port and
departing from it, such as customs and sanitary examinations, paying established duties and dues,
obtaining various documents, etc;
- providing the ship timely with tugs and pilots;
- rendering assistance to facilitate loading/unloading procedures;
- procuring fuel, provisions, water and other needful resources for the ship;
- informing the ship-owner regularly about the vessel's arrival, the progress of loading and
auxiliary procedures and other essential circumstances of the vessel's stay in the port as
well as the ship's departure and the amount of load on board;
- paying, at the ship-owner's expense, all duties, dues and bills on the ship;
- drawing and legalizing documents;
- informing the ship-owner and master of the vessel about port's regulations, rules, etc.;
- participating in investigations to do with accidents and drawing up statements and reports
connected with accidents, check-ups and expert examinations;
- carrying out individual orders of the master and the ship-owner.
Ship agent firms will not
usually fulfill all the above actions themselves. But as those obligations are
the agents' responsibility, they will conclude agreements with stevedoring,
tugging, bunker and other companies.
The quality of the service
rendered by the agent depends to a certain degree on the correct action of the
ship master. Primarily, this concerns fulfilling a number of conditions
facilitating the agent's work. The ship master must well in advance inform the
agent about:
- the expected time of the vessel's arrival at the port;
- the need to procure with fuel, provisions, materials, etc. for the ship.
Failure to duly advise the agent of the ship's arrival and file requests for
needed supplies may lead to claims from various bodies of the port and extend
the time necessary to fulfill those requests by the agent.
In performing their activities,
the agent will be governed by Ukraine's Merchant Shipping Code.
Disbursement account.
On the ship-owner's instruction the agent in charge of the ship will have to
pay, at the expense of the ship, all established duties and dues of the port
as well as cover bills for work and services done on the master's demand. On
the basis of the bills for the services, the agent draws a consolidated bill,
which is known as disbursement account. The agent will submit this account to
the ship-owner. The disbursement account should be drawn up properly and
accompanied by documented proof for each item of expense.
When estimating the cost of a
ship's calling at the port of Berdyansk to load/unload cargo, four main items
are taken into consideration:
Most privileges, advantages
and discounts are stringently regulated by the Decree of the Cabinet of
Ministers of Ukraine #1544, 12 of October, 2000 (subsequently enlarged and amended)
and the Ministry of Transport Order #214, 27 of June, 1996. Quoting rates, tariffs and discounts other than
those established is forbidden.
Port charges are calculated on
the basis of convetional volume of the ship, which is expressed in cubic metres
and is the product of the three values (the length , the width and moulded depth of
the ship) which are shown in the vessel's International Tonnage Certificate (ITC) or a
document replacing it.
A number of factors are also
taken into account in this calculation: the flag of the ship, its technical
characteristics and capacities, the type of cargo, the time of arriving at and
departing from the port, etc.
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