Admiralty Matters

WHAT IS SHIP CHANDLING ALL ABOUT?

Ship Chandlers are those saddled with the responsibility of providing supplies and services to Vessels in Nigerian Ports. Supplies could range from provisions (foodstuff), crude oil, engine oil, water, engine spare parts, materials and whatever other supplies the Captain of the Ship may require. Ship chandling activities date back to the inception of building a boat that became hollow and needed to sail; somebody had to supply them. When men started to navigate the globe in the middle ages, the business of chandling now became a highly technical and specialized industry. The ship chandling profession was established through an Act of parliament in 1958, before independence in Nigeria. It is one of the oldest maritime professions in the Country. There is an international body that is responsible for regulating ship chandling all over the world. The International Ship Suppliers Association, (ISSA) which was formed in 1955. What kind of people can be involved in ship chandling? All categories of people can be involved; as far as the individual has a license from the customs. Though most are either retired seamen or have been involved in one maritime business or the other. To become involved in ship chandling activities, you apply to the customs, get a license to practice and the license is renewable every year. Qualifications for a ship chandler There are no special qualifications; but there is the need for a ship chandler to be educated. This is because of communication. You have to communicate with the Captains, calculations have to be made, parts have to be decoded when requisitions are sent. Decoding enables you know what they want before you begin to make quotations; but generally, a graduate or HND holder in any profession, is satisfactory. Profitability of the business The Chandling business is an important aspect of the maritime sector that the government is underrating; but about the richest. The ship chandler is the strength of the Vessel. At the point when the ship owner wants to purchase a Vessel, the ship chandler must come into the picture. He handles the logistics as regards oil, provisions, the service of the life raft, the radar, the engines, everything to make the ship sail smoothly. However, the ship chandling profession is one that has not really been harnessed yet in Nigeria. Anything can get damaged on a ship It could be the engines or oil and the only person to supply is the ship chandler. Any service the Captain requires? The ship chandler is the person licensed by the government through the Board of Customs, to deliver such services and make supplies to the ship on our territorial waters. It is a very lucrative profession. What does it take to start a ship chandling business? The first step is to apply to the Customs, fill the forms, and if the requirements are met after filling the forms, the forms will be taken to their headquarters in Abuja. The Company seeking to start the business must be a limited liability Company and must be incorporated. Initially, it used to be an enterprise but now for the applicants own good, it is advisable to

have a limited liability Company. The Challenges of Ship Chandling. The ship chandler is faced with the challenge of getting the jobs. This is because the business is mostly transacted via the internet unlike when you had to go from one ship to another scouting for a job. It is an added advantage if you are a member of the International Ship Suppliers Association (ISSA). This is because ISSA would advertise your companys name on the internet and make contact or job offers would be made and accepted via the internet. Another challenge here is that business is done with someone you dont know and the only means of communication is by e-mail. There is also lack of accessibility to funds. Some requisitions can be as large as two million naira. The banking industry in Nigeria has not really looked into ship chandling activities and how lucrative it is. They can give support to the ship chandler by lowering their interest rates which are too high unlike their counter parts abroad where the rates are very low. However, some Nigerian banks have started up ship chandlers desks in their various branches. The Ship Chandler is also faced with a challenge of getting his money after supply. This is because business is done without physical contact. The ship owner usually holds on to the money for 30 to 60 days. That is why the government should come in and act as security, to back up ship chandlers. ISSA has regulations as regards how long a ship owner can hold on to your money; and if such ship should come to the Country, it could be arrested. But for any international law to be effective with regards to this, it must first be domesticated here. Happily, help seems to be on the way, as the Federal Government has asked the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping to look into the small and medium enterprises group. They have allocated certain funds to support this and hopefully, the ship chandler will be confident enough to take up any job because the finance will be there and payment will come at the required time. Also the ability to perform on the part of the ship chandler is also another major challenge. A ship can be at the Port and an order comes from the owners to go and effect repairs on the radar system, or on the cold room system and the ship is going to move in 4 or 5 hours time. The ability to meet up with such demands could be very tedious, especially where the vessels movement is not straight forward. For instance, a ship could be leaving Nigeria to Ghana and suddenly an order comes from the ship owner that the ship should go to Spain! It is then the chief officer will work out the logistics, check if there is enough water to take them that far considering the distance is longer, confirm if they have enough food on board, oil etc. The next person to call is the ship chandler! to make all these things available within a specified time before the ship leaves. The ability to meet these time-based requirements effectively, is a key challenge. The main regulatory requirements which a ship chandler needs are the license and becoming a member of the chandlers Association. To be a member of the Association, a chandler must be licensed by the Customs. After joining the Association, the chandler submits a copy of the license which the secretary takes back to the Customs to verify its genuiness. Thereafter, he pays certain association fees and becomes a member before he starts practicing as such. Legal frame work for ship chandling. The profession has been in existence in Nigeria before the Second World War but the law establishing the ship chandling profession in Nigeria was enacted in 1958 and was reviewed in 1968. In 1990, the Customs and Excise Management Act (C.E.M.A) Cap 84 laws of the Federation, was enacted, with provisions on ship chandling. By the provisions of Section 74 of the Act, the Minister may delegate the Board of Nigerian Customs to make regulations for the licensing and practice of the profession. However, the

Nigerian practitioners have an Association known as the Nigerian Ship Chandlers Association (NCLSA), which was registered in 1985 with the Corporate Affairs Commission (C.A.C) and it has over 50 registered members. The Inherent Benefits of Inland Container Depots (ICDs) and Container Freight Stations (CFS). ICDs assist in decongesting the seaports and made them more efficient. An ICD is an equivalent of a seaport located in the hinterland and receives cargoes by road or rail from the seaport, for Customs examination and clearance. ICDs bring shipping services to the doorsteps of shippers across the nation, contributing to the revival and modernization of the railways as a pre-eminent mode for long distance haulage of huge volume of consignments. ICDs grant access to international shipping facilities in the hinterlands. ICDs boost turnaround time of ships, reducing cargo demurrage and pilferage. Some of the challenges facing the ICD: Poor funding: Lack of enthusiasm by the government of the ICDs host states and geo-political zones; Inconsistent government policies, particularly as it affect railways; Lack of effective intermodalism; Lack of synergy between the various agencies and institution; and Inadequate publicity of the project. Actualization of the ICD: The investors must become more serious with the ICD site concessioned to them; Policy makers and administrators in the port system must understand that the proliferation of bonded terminals in Lagos is not the answer to port congestion and not an alternative to ICDs; The ICDs should not continue to suffer neglect or delay on account of inadequate rail facility, noting that the project could take-off promptly using the roads to feed the ICDs near the seaports with consignments, while rail facilities are being improved; The governments of the ICDs host-states and geo-political Zones should support the project with their resources and political will; Economic imperatives rather than political sentiments should determine the development of the ICDs; The Nigerian Shippers Council should undertake adequate publicity and sensitization of the public on the ICD project; Nigerian Shippers Council (N.P.A.) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) should do an analysis of the cargo flow, to determine where the cargoes that arrive at the Ports go, in order to know the ICD that deserves more attention. One of the six such projects approved by the Federal Government to be located in the nations six geo-political Zones, the Erunmu ICD, is reputed to be one of the largest with about 50,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) capacity and meant to serve shippers in the hinterland, South-Western States of Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo, helping to ease cargo congestion at the Lagos Ports. The vows by Oyo State Government, if matched by the necessary actions, is expected to provide immense relief for the shippers in these states that are far removed from the Lagos Ports, as well as provide great Job opportunities.

There are similar expectations for the other ICD and CFS sites, which since the respective concessionaries officially took over, not much progress has been recorded by the private investors who were given till December 2008 to commence operations. The six ICDs and CFS so far approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) are: Erunmu ICD, Oyo State; Zawaciki ICD, Kano State; Isiala Ngwa ICD, Abia State; heipang ICD, Plateau State; Maiduguri CFS, Borno State; and Funtua CFS, Kastina State. GENERAL AVERAGE PRINCIPLE AND PRACTICE General Average is basically a very simple concept, strongly anchored in equity and justice. This accounts for its universal appeal and acceptance in virtually every maritime nation. By definition, there is a General average act when an extra ordinary sacrifice or expenditure is deliberately and reasonably incurred in time of peril for the safety preservation of the interest of parties involved in the common adventure. The essential ingredients are an extra ordinary sacrifice or expenditure reasonably incurred. This implies that the sacrifice or expenditure must be extra ordinary and not something which the claimant is required normally to do or something arising out of the terms of contract. The sacrifice or expenditure must be intentional and must also be for the benefit of the entire adventure. Usually there are three parties involved in an adventure; namely: cargo, freight (charterers) and Hull (ship owner). The common safety of all three parties must be threatened by a peril. Steps taken to protect all parties to the adventure is referred to as the General Average act. With the development of modern shipping and the increasing use of containerization, the container leasing company is now recognized as an important fourth party. Salvage occurs when a salvor comes to the assistance of maritime property in time of peril, independent of contract. The owner of the property sacrificed or the party who incurred the expenditure on behalf of the others in a General Average, is entitled to receive contribution from other parties, in proportion to the value of their properties saved. General Average is believed to have originated from the practice of Phoenician traders of old. Available documents show that there was evidence of records of the practice of General Average as far back as 60 A. D. In the early days, much of General Average was probably concerned with throwing some goods over board to lighten the Vessel. As an example, let us imagine a sail ship on the Mediterranean filled sixty bales of produce consigned to two merchants; thirty bales a piece. During the voyage, the Vessel encounters very heavy weather, which threatens to sink the ship. The master decides to make the ship lighter and throws out thirty bales of produce. As a result of this sacrifice, the ship became easier to handle and manages to successfully complete the voyage. The two merchants go to the Port to collect their produce. Merchant A is delighted to receive his cargo in reasonable good condition whilst merchant B is told that his goods had been thrown over board to avoid the Vessel and its contents being sunk by the waves. Naturally merchant B would be angry and point out that as a result of the sacrifice of his goods, the other merchant hand received his cargo and also the ship owner had managed to save his ship. The ship owner being convinced of the soundness of this, would find it necessary to arrange some monetary compensation for his goods, which were sacrificed to save the ship. He would also convince the other merchant whose goods were saved, to share his goods with the less fortunate merchant.

Jean Chiazor Anishere ofianyichambers@yahoo.com

A ship chandler is a wholesale dealer who specialises in supplies or equipment for ships, known as ship's stores. For traditional sailing ships, items that could be found in a chandlery might include: rosin, turpentine, tar, pitch (resin), linseed oil, whale oil, tallow, lard, varnish, twine, rope and cordage, hemp, oakum, tools (hatchet, axe, hammer, chisel, planes, lantern, nail, spike, boat hook, caulking iron, hand pump, marlinspike), brooms, mops, galley supplies, leather goods, and paper. The ship chandlery business was central to the existence and the social and political dynamics of ports and their waterfront areas.[1] Today's chandlers deal more in goods typical for fuel-powered commercial ships, such as oil tankers, container ships, bulk carriers. They supply the crew's food, ship's maintenance supplies, cleaning compounds, rope, et cetera. The advantage of a ship's crew using a chandler is that they do not have to find stores in the town they have landed in, nor hold that local currency - assuming they are let out of the dock compound by the immigration authorities. Typically, the ship owner has a line of credit with the chandler and is billed for anything delivered to the crew of his ship. The chandler is supplied by merchants local to his location. Their distinguishing feature is the high level of service demanded and the short time required to fill and deliver their special orders. Because commercial ships discharge and turn around quickly, delay is expensive and the services of a dependable ship chandler are urgent. Because these contracts are so lucrative, the practice developed among ship chandlers to rebate to ships' officers approximately 5% of the invoice price of the ships' stores billed to the vessel, to encourage repeat business

How Do I Become a Ship Chandler?

To become a ship chandler, it is important to have a number of key skills. Ship chandlers need to have an understanding of accounting, operating a computer, problem solving, and customer service. A person in this job sells supplies and negotiates transactions directly with ship owners. Ropes and other shipping supplies can be sold, as well as food, chemicals, and cleaning supplies. Highly specialized ship chandler careers can focus on engine maintenance, for example, so the degree of education needed for the job can vary depending on what the individual intends to do. Becoming a ship chandler requires familiarity with both local and international regulations. Ship chandlers may need to be licensed by local institutions, depending on where they live or begin their career. They also need to be familiar with the regulations of the International Ship Suppliers Association (ISSA), which regulates the profession and business practices. A code of ethics has been established by the association to ensure that ship chandlers follow proper behavior when it comes to advertising, pricing, and selling products.

Education is also needed to become a ship chandler. To be employed by a company or start a business, at least some college work may be necessary, and technical or vocational training is often required depending on the job. At the very least, computer and customer service skills are requirements that can launch a potentially lucrative career. Since duties can vary with the specialty, such as supplying mechanical components, handling hazardous materials, or performing radar or engine maintenance, the educational requirements can vary. For someone looking to become a ship chandler, it is wise to check job listings online to see what each individual position requires. In the past, it was possible to visit boats in port to become a ship chandler, to see who needed the services. Today, jobs can often be found and applied for online as well. The Internet is also the preferred medium for conducting business, and ship supply companies routinely perform transactions via computer. The ability to communicate well is desirable in order to become a ship chandler. It is the nature of the job to discuss with the ship owners, captains, and crew the supplies and services that are needed. A ship chandler career can be based anywhere in the world there is shipping, and include any number of specialties because of the diverse needs of shipping interests.

What Are Yacht Chandlers? Yacht chandlers are people who sell goods to yacht owners or operators. These people may run businesses that operate at ports or other areas close to docks so they can cater to boats that are in port for a quick turnaround. The primary business practices of yacht chandlers has changed over the years, but they generally involve stocking yachts, or recreational boats, with equipment, food, fuel, and other items that prepare the ship for a trip of any duration. Some chandlers may even be responsible for garbage disposal from ships in port. Yachts are recreational vessels that can vary in size, shape, and function. Some yachts, for example, are sail-powered, while others are motorized. Very large yachts can be permanent living dwellings, and they may be large enough to accommodate several deckhands, a chef, a captain, and so on. Other yachts may be so small that only one or two people can be present on board at one time. Yacht chandlers will cater to all types of yachters, and the supplies he or she will carry will often be varied enough to accommodate these yachters on short order. Some yachters will make arrangements ahead of time with chandlers to ensure the necessary items are present when the yacht pulls into port. Sailing yachts may require repairs to sails or to the equipment that controls the sails. Yacht chandlers will carry repair supplies, and in many cases, the chandlers will even carry replacement sails and rigging. Accommodating boats of various sizes can be difficult, so the yacht chandlers will often have a significant amount of stock on hand; special order items can take some time to procure, which means a boat may be stuck in port for a longer duration. Most chandlers pride themselves on a quick turnaround, however, so they can get repeat business from regular yachters.

In many cases, yacht chandlers will stock food as well. This is convenient for yachters who are in port for a short period of time and need to stock a kitchen on board. Sometimes the yachts may have full-time chefs on board, and these chefs can call in orders ahead of time if possible. Refueling services may be handled by the chandlers as well, especially if a particular port or marina hires an on-site chandler to handle all orders. This is convenient for boaters because they can get all their equipment and fuel in one stop.

What Is a Yacht Marina?

A yacht marina is a type of dock or series of docks at which a yacht or yachts can be moored or otherwise secured when not in use. These docks are small and cannot accommodate large passenger ships; many yachts can be stored at the marina, and boat owners often pay storage fees to be allowed to keep the boat in the yacht marina. This dock system is usually equipped with all the equipment necessary to safely dock and store the boat, and many marinas even employ security staff to prevent damage, theft, and other threats to the boats. The location of the yacht marina can vary. Some of these areas are located along the banks of large rivers, while others are situated along the sea. The yacht marina may instead be built inland from tidal waters to prevent damage to boats, though locating the marina inland can limit its size considerably. Many marinas feature dry-dock services as well, and such services can be located inland from the docks themselves. Dry-dock storage involves removing the yachts from the water and storing them on racks; this prolongs the life of the boat, since the hull will be removed from water, and it maximizes storage space within the boat yard by stacking boats on top of one another Services and amenities can also vary significantly from yacht marina to marina. Visiting boaters may have access to restaurants, bathrooms and showers, lounges, and other facilities, while at other marinas, boaters may only have access to a dock and basic services such as refueling stations. Ship chandlers are often on hand to sell boating equipment to visiting yachters, and repair services may also be a part of the yacht marina. In other cases, the marina may only act as little more than a parking space for the boat. Long-term dock spots can be booked for a local yachter, though space is often limited and a yacht owner may have to wait several years until a spot opens up. Some dock spots are reserved specifically for visiting yachters so they will have access to the marina whenever they show up. Fees for staying in the yacht marina can vary as well, and the fees often depend upon what services the yachter will use during his or her stay. A basic fee may be compounded, for example, if the boater uses shower facilities, repair services, or refueling stations

What Does a Ship Chandler Do?

A ship chandler is a merchant who deals in supplies for ships, including everything from cruise ships to oil tankers. For sailors, a chandlery provides a one-stop shop to meet basic needs in port, allowing people to quickly supply a ship so they can turn it around and go back

out to sea. These retailers usually operate very near to a port to make them as accessible as possible to the people responsible for securing supplies on board the ship. The ship chandler stocks a wide variety of goods, including food, cleaning supplies, marine electronics, and other sundries people may need to smoothly run a ship. The merchant relies on a variety of local sources to keep goods in stock and often accepts credit or foreign currency to make it easier for ships to quickly meet their supply needs. A shipping company may have a contract with a ship chandler, agreeing to meet all needs in port with that firm in exchange for benefits like breaks on costs and other services. Ships can place an order with a ship chandler before arriving in port so the chandler can get ready for the ship's arrival. This will cut down on loading and turnaround time by allowing representatives of the chandler to immediately start stocking the ship once it docks. Chandlers also tend to keep track of the movements of ships and their estimated arrival in port so they can plan ahead with orders, making sure they have goods in stock in case a ship has emergency needs. This work requires a knowledge of the shipping industry and familiarity with the needs of various kinds of ships. Ship chandlers also need to establish and maintain good relationships with wholesalers in their region to access the supplies and services they need. Awareness of the competition is also part of the job; chandlers need to know what competitors stock and how much they charge to keep abreast with changing market forces. Like other support personnel in port, the ship chandler is part of a well-oiled machine that can resupply a ship and offer port-side maintenance very efficiently, to limit the amount of time boats need to spend in port. For many ships, time is of the essence during stops, because they need to get goods from one point to another in the shortest time possible. Especially if a stop is made in emergency conditions, the ability to act quickly to get the ship ready to sail again is critical