Vessel Agent

Port Everglades Names New Chief Harbormaster

Conrad Strong, an 18-year veteran at Broward County’s Port Everglades, has been named Chief Harbormaster beginning May 23, said Port Director Ken Krauter. The Harbormaster Office includes approximately 40 professional and technical staff that oversees all vessel movements and berth assignments at the South Florida seaport. At Port Everglades, the Harbormaster Office serves as a one-stop shop that coordinates vessel agents, harbor pilots, towing companies, security and governmental agencies to ensure proper and timely vessel arrivals and departures. “We are fortunate to have someone with Conrad’s breadth of knowledge and experience available to make a seamless transition into this critical management position,” Krauter said. “It is also encouraging to see someone rise through the ranks within the Broward County and Port Everglades family.” Starting his Port Everglades career in 1986 as a Linehandler, Strong became a Duty Harbormaster in 1996 and was promoted to Assistant Harbormaster in 2001. Strong is a certified professional firefighter and has earned an Associates Degree in Computer Science from Prospect Hall College in Hollywood, Fla.

ITIC Alerts Ship Agents to Latest Smuggling Scam

Smugglers are using more inventive methods to move illegal immigrants around the world, warns the International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC). Ship agents are particularly at risk and may face heavy fines if they fall victim to the smugglers' scams. Earlier this year, ITIC warned ship agents about migrant smugglers who send illegal immigrants as 'crew' for ships that don't exist. While this remains ongoing problem

Multiport Extends Network with New Members

Seven new members have joined Multiport, extending its network of independent ship agents. This latest expansion means the network now has representatives in over 110 countries. The seven new members are: ScanWeco AS of Norway, TeRo Ltd of Georgia, Thocomar Gambia of Gambia, Presersa of Guatamala, Somarig of French Guiana, Ets Fauzi J Ghandour of Lebanon, Reginald Villard of Haiti. "The level of interest being shown by agents to become members of Multiport

MACSEA, Electric Boat Sign Development Agreement

MACSEA Ltd, a provider of software agent technology for prognostic machinery health monitoring, has signed a Co-Operative Research and Development Agreement with Electric Boat Corporation (A General Dynamics Company) of Groton, Conn. The goal is to further develop and demonstrate advanced technology for real-time maintenance decision-making in support of a minimum manned, highly automated and networked information infrastructure on future Navy ships

ITIC Warns Agents to Beware Crew Smugglers

Fraudsters are continuing to involve ship agents in the smuggling of illegal immigrants by pretending they are joining crew. In the past twelve months, over twenty approaches to ship agents have been reported to the International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC), the specialist mutual insurer of transportation professionals. In the latest issue of ITIC's annual publication, Intermediary, the club notes that the majority of attempts by crew smugglers over the past twelve

American Cruise Lines – Online Travel Agent Training & Certification Program

  American Cruise Lines web site to offer travel agent training, certification & marketing tools American Cruise Lines announce plans for an upcoming travel agent portal, the first of many new features to be added to the company’s new website. In an effort to maximize travel agent potential with American Cruise Lines, as well as accessibility to product information, the new agent portal, which will be available this summer, will feature the following:

Vopak To Sell Dry Goods Line

Vopak NV plans to sell its dry goods line agent business to unlisted Dutch freight transport and logistics company Royal Burger Groep. No financial details of the transaction were released. "The line agent usually transports dry goods, and Vopak is more an oil and chemicals shipper," a Vopak spokeswoman said. The planned sale includes the line agent activities in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany and Switzerland, Vopak said

Intelligent Software Agents for Machinery Diagnostics

Machinery plant maintenance represents a major expense for ship operators. In addition to normal maintenance expenditures, unexpected breakdowns have a significant cost impact. Recognizing the importance of preventing equipment failures, companies continue to adopt automation for machinery monitoring at a rapid pace. Continual improvements in the price/performance ratio of automation systems have also fueled their increased use in shipboard machinery plant monitoring.

Six Shipyards Appoint Del Mar as Agents

Del Mar Marine Corp. based in Miami, Florida, was appointed in May as shipyard agents by the following yards: Dalian Daeyang Shipyard Co., Ltd. (China),  Guangzhou CSSC-Oceanline-Gws Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (China), Ilyichevsk Shiprepair Yard (Ukraine), Industria Naval del Pacifico S.A. de C.V. (Mexico) and Southern African Shipyards (PTY) Ltd. (South Africa), also their affiliated company Del Mar Panama S.A

FONASBA Highlights Complexity of Ship Agents’ Role

Shipowners, port users and regulators have been provided with a comprehensive and detailed overview of the many activities undertaken by port agents by The Federation of National Associations of Shipbrokers and Agents (FONASBA).   The international association today (Monday 3 December) publishes the Port Procedures Survey (www.fonasba.com/fonasba-initiatives/fonasba-port-procedure-survey), an ambitious project which has codified the numerous separate functions required to get a ship