Ship Chandelling is a very unique and important industry of all the ports and shipping companies around the globe. It caters to specify only one line of business. A ship chandler bestows all the necessary and requisite commodities to a ship when at the port.
The ship chandelling industries also help the new buyer in buying ship by providing the buyer with exclusive details of the exact condition of the ship. Thus, save a buyer from experiencing a great loss in buying a damaged ship.
It saves a lot of money by avoiding middlemen when it comes to business transactions. The ship’s crew can directly approach them. In totality, the ship chandelling deals in supplying all the required commodities for respective vessels and its crew.
Concept and Significance of Ship Chandelling
It’s an old concept, yet on the phase of being revised. Long back when the boats had a dire urgency of certain commodities when going for long sailing for months. These requirements were necessary to keep the boat sailing in safely for long tenures. Earlier they used to provide only certain commodities, like ropes, sail clothes and other such details to the crew of that vessel.
When viewing the present era a ship chandlers’ role is very significant, dignified. The requirements of maintenance tools, food supplies, chemical compounds, cleaning equipment and many other items other than just the ropes and sailing clothes. The government and the shipping companies provide the license to the eligible chandlers to give their services. The ship chandler’s role has become highly esteemed and multipurpose in the sector.
To mention a few important areas of the ship chandelling:
- Providing the detailed and exact conditions of the ships to be bought to the buyers.
- Commodities like food, oil, lubricants, spare parts to the ship prior to their usage.
- Catering to the minute nuances of the requirements of the crew members.
- Providing services like repair and maintenance, cleaning arrangements.
Be it the ship at the port or on its voyage a ship chandler provides all the necessary services. It works with various precautionary measures. Especially when the ship is on the voyage, supplying food, fuel or gasoline, spare parts or repair parts needs to be taken extra care of.
Though the ship chandlers have certain limitations as they are not in contact with the ship’s captain and its crew directly. There is a middleman in between the whole process who abridges the gap between the chandler and the client. The fixation of the cost of the commodities and costs of the services get raised as being channelled via a middleman. The middleman to look for the sources of their remunerations. Eventually, the client has to be bear the extra burden of a few more pennies.
When there is an absence of these ship chandlers’, lead to the delay in the transit process and other required services and commodities.
By approaching the ship chandlers, the buyers can get maximum discount or best deals for essential commodities. Directly approaching them reduces the problem of unwarranted delays in supply, thus saving a lot of time and huge efforts from being wasted, reduces overall cost, saves time, reduces the chances of mess and confusion and is the best approach to get the requirements meet.
The shipping industry has globalized over the centuries, so the job responsibilities of a ship chandler have also become significant. The competition level is high in the industry, breaking the boundaries of the nation and taking it to the global level.
Ship Chandelling Industry Scenario
As the Ship chandlers have to serve an exclusive purpose on board they become an essential part of the shipping industry. The requirements of ship chandlers have peaked to higher levels from the very beginning of the shipping industry. The job of ship chandler is of high esteem and reverence.
But with the technological advances in the development of shipping vessels, the requirements of a ship has grown substantially. Thus the responsibility of ship chandlers has also witnessed substantial growth. Like all other businesses the business of ship chandelling services also have intense competition. But this competition has improved the quality of services provided by ship chandlers in the last two decades. Today all the ship chandlers are trying international flavors and improved their services. Most of the ship chandlers are flexible regarding payment options; they accept payments usually in any form of currency.
This high level of competition also ensures that a well-learned and experienced ship chandler earns a high rate of clients and thereby a huge remuneration even after providing with the necessary discount and rebate.
Necessities for being a Good Ship Chandlers
For beginning the business of ship chandelling services one must have clearance from the Government and Shipping Corporation of that particular country. The essential features for being a good chandler are as follows:
- Extensive knowledge about the nuances of all the requirements of the ship and its crew members.
- Serving the ship as well as its crew, without fail. Supplying necessary commodities in minimum time to quench the requirements.
- Acquaintance with long voyage requirements and should facilitate the prior supply of items such as fuel and lubricants, repairing and servicing of the vessel, food items, etc.
- The ship suppliers/chandler’s or marine contractors are the most familiar with shipping requirements, so they can serve as good ship chandlers.
Conclusion
Though the role has digressed and transformed, a ship chandler still is one of the most important necessities when one thinks about shipping and naval vessels. Without the services of a ship chandler, a ship and its crew cannot be assured of quality commodities required in a ship. In a world of changing thoughts, actions and priorities, a ship chandler’s responsibility and duty, however, has managed to remain very constant and absolutely relevant.
In nutshell, we can say that the Ship Chandlers are an integral part of the Shipping Industry and are single entities which serve all the requirement of a shipowner, captain, and crew.
