Introduction to Maritime Shipping

Advantages and Disadvantages of Maritime Shipping

Advantages

• Low Sinister Rate: High international security.
• Flexibility: Adapts to varied demands.
• Capacity: Allows transport of heavy or voluminous loads.
• Traceability: Facilitates tracking vessels and loads.
• Long Distance: Connects all continents.
• Cost: Prices are very competitive.

Disadvantages

• Requires Other Means of Transport: It is not possible to make 'door to door' service.
• Slow: It is less competitive in this sense.
• High Requirement of Infrastructures: Depends on port development and connections with other means.
• Complexity: It is difficult to determine the legal framework of application.

The Port

The port encompasses all land spaces, maritime waters, and facilities located at the coast that meet the conditions for port traffic operations. It is crucial for the economic growth of the area and job creation. The current trend of building bigger vessels has led to a concentration of maritime transit between hub ports, which handle a high volume of containers.

Factors Influencing a Hub Port

• Geographic situation and routes
• Hinterland (infrastructure, connections, and services)
• Service quality and logistics

Roles in Maritime Shipping

Shipowner (Propietario del buque)

The company that owns the ship. This can be a shipping line or large companies that own vessels and assign their use to other companies.

Disponent Owner (Naviero/armador registrado/porteador)

May or may not be the shipowner. This person or company has commercial control over a ship's operation. For example, MSC is a shipowner of part of its fleet and the disponent owner of the entire fleet it operates.

Shipper (Cargador o embarcador)

The party who contracts the transport and delivers the merchandise to the shipping line or transport company.

Master (Capitán)

The highest authority on the ship.

Ship's Agent (Consignatario de buques)

Represents the Disponent Owner in the port and is responsible for procedures the ship must comply with at that port.

Forwarder (Transitaria)

An intermediary in international multimodal transport operations, managing transport, insurance, documents, etc.

Consignee (Consignatario de la carga, receptor)

Receives the goods at the destination.

Charterer (Fletador)

Contracts the use of the ship for a specific trip or period (Tramp shipping).

Shipbroker or Cargobroker (Corredores de buques y/o cargas)

An intermediary between the Disponent Owner and Charterer who receives a commission for their service. Shipbrokers act on behalf of the shipowner, while cargobrokers act on behalf of the charterer. Both functions may be performed by the same broker (Tramp shipping).