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Operations and Chartering

The heart of the management company lies in the operations department. This is the starting point of all actions taken when running the ships. Essentially, the operations department is the main coordinator between the owners of the vessels (the “Owners”), the company’s departments, the vessels under management, the charterers, and all third parties involved with the ships (Ship agents, ship-chandlers, bunkering suppliers, shippers, receivers, stevedores, etc.). Among other things, it is the duty of the operations department to provide post-fixture support to the vessels, to issue voyage instructions, to make sure that the ships perform as per the charterparty agreements, and to ensure the safe and efficient carriage and delivery of cargoes. In addition, the department has to supervise the disbursement of all funds necessary to run the ships, it has to arrange for freight / hire / demurrage collection from charterers, and finally it has to arrange for the provision of the vessels with bunkers.

Cargo handling, port activities, pilotage, towage, wharfage, dockage, canal transits, conveying of cargoes, cargo handling arrangements, loading and discharging of vessels, are some of the actions supervised by the operations department. It is exactly this operational involvement that keeps us so closely abreast and in touch with current market conditions - vitally important in maintaining a competitive edge.

While instructions are provided by the Owners, chartering negotiations is an on-going process; among other things daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly reports are obtained and reviewed by the Chartering Department in order to assess market conditions and identify opportunities. The Chartering Department is responsible for screening various employment opportunities for their respective vessels, and receives instructions from the Owners to choose which ones to pursue, negotiate terms and conditions of the contracts under which the vessels are going to be chartered and eventually enter, on behalf of the Owners, into a chartering agreement. The Chartering Department is responsible for establishing and maintaining relationships with reputable chartering brokers and various Charterers.

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