Cargolines, tankers and shipping agents operate in ports worldwide or locally on behalf of a liner shipping company for the general benefit of their customers’ shipments and cargoes.
The main service areas of a shipping company are: Customer service, customer relationship management, sales and Marketing, Software and printed documentation, financial reporting, port operations, equipment inspection and repair for containers or roll trailers, inquiry handling.
The shipping business involves more than the inspection of activities at the quay. There must be a connection between the manufacturers of the goods being shipped and the shipping networks that transport the goods. Each shipment in the passenger service must have the proper documentation as on a large container ship.
Nowadays, a freight agent takes care of all these formalities or complicated electronic procedures, determines the ownership of the goods, records their exact description and weight, provides accurate information about its destination and ensures that all legal obligations are met. All this information must be received by the port of discharge before the goods arrive on board. The collection of payment for the carriage of the goods is also organized by the shipping company.
Kargolin forwarders can be used by the shipping company itself, but there are many independent outsourced companies that offer liner agents. Unlike port agents, ship agents typically do not rely on ports, as a port is only one of many channels for trading with shipping companies. With an integrated network from manufacturer to ship with road transport or by rail to the end user, passenger carriers can easily be kept away from ports.
Liner ships are able to transport a large number of goods with stock value, which makes a trip very efficient. In an average of one year, it is faster than a large container ship.
Shipping agents also provide tanker services. Vessels that facilitate the supply of large quantities of liquefied cargo are called tankers. This type of liquefied cargo can include rock oil extracted from underwater reservoirs as well as all other types of liquid cargo such as alcoholic beverages, hydrogen-based organic compounds, chemicals, and even juices. They also transport liquefied gaseous substances.
These tankers are equipped with modern technologies and are available in many different sizes and capacities. This variation in size ranges from small self-propelled barges to extremely large crude oil vessels. Approximately 30% of all merchant ships in the world are tankers.