This move provides the ship agency company with a further 57 offices and access to more than 400 staff, in addition to WaterFront’s proprietary network of 299 offices in the Middle East, Africa, Indian Sub-continent and Asia.
Effective 1st April, 2017, WaterFront’s ship agency service network – established by joint shareholding companies Sharaf Shipping Agency and Ben Line Agencies - now includes Alpemar Shipping Agency in Argentina, Unimar Agenciamentos Marítimos (Brazil) Naves Ship Agency Services (Colombia), Biehl & Co across the US Gulf and east coast US, as well as Casper Port Agency for the UK.
Terry Gidlow, CEO WaterFront Maritime Services, commented: “We’ve selected and rigorously vetted the very best agency companies with proven expertise in specific commodities in the dry and liquid bulk sectors around the world to create a specialist global network. This is a significant development for WaterFront, and for the ship agency sector – which has traditionally seen expansion through acquisition, rather than mutually-beneficial partnership arrangements.
“In selecting our network partners, we have stringently assessed the ability of each agency to provide real-time data from their local ports, and a commitment to compliance. I am delighted to welcome our new network partners, which perfectly complement our existing proprietary network and business ethos, and share our approach to adding value for customers by developing informed, customised solutions in individual ports and across the supply chain to meet the exact needs of each client,” he concluded.