In this section, we will briefly introduce the positions and duties at sea. These are some of the different types of shipping and shipping services companies in which you can make a career:

 

Shipowner – a person or a company that owns ships.

 

Ship Manager – a person or a company that manages the daily maintenance and operation of ships on behalf of a shipowner.

 

Charterer – a person or company that hires a ship from a shipowner for a period of time.

 

Ship Broker – a person or company that acts as an intermediary between a ship owner and a company that controls cargoes. A shipbroker may also act as an intermediary between a company that wants to buy a ship and a company that wants to sell a ship.

 

Ship Chandler – a person or company dealing in supplies for ships.

 

Agent – commonly, a company appointed by a ship owner that looks after all formalities for ships entering and leaving ports. Some agents also look for cargoes on behalf of shipowners.

 

Maritime Law Firm – a law firm that specializes in shipping matters. These could include commercial disputes as well as those arising from shipping accidents.

 

P&I Club – a Mutual society that provides third party insurance to shipowner members.

 

Ship Finance Bank – a bank that specializes in lending money to people or companies that want to buy ships.

 

Ship Repair Company – a company that provides the service of repairing ships when breakdowns occur. They also provide routine maintenance services.

 

Shipyard – a company that typically builds new ships.

 

Marine Department – a government department that looks after all statutory matters in relation to ships registered under the Hong Kong flag.

 

Classification Society – a company that sets standards for ship construction, supervises standards during construction and inspects the hull and machinery of a ship at regular intervals.