Global ship agency company WaterFront Maritime Services (WaterFront), has expanded by adding five new network partners across North and South America as well as the United Kingdom. The 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 Subcontinent and Asia.

Effective from April 1st, 2017, the WaterFront ship agency service network – established by joint shareholding companies Sharaf Shipping Agency and Ben Line Agencies – now includes Alpemar Shipping Agency (Alpemar) in Argentina, Unimar Agenciamentos Marítimos Ltda. (Unimar) in Brazil, Naves Ship Agency Services (Naves) in Colombia, Biehl & Co across the US Gulf and east coast USA, as well as Casper Port Agency (Casper) for all of the United Kingdom.

Each company included as a WaterFront network partner is a leading ship agency services provider in its home country, has proven expertise in handling dry and wet bulk cargoes, access to real-time port and commodity data, and a demonstrable commitment to the highest levels of corporate compliance, ethics and service standards.

Terry Gidlow, Chief Executive Officer, 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.”

WaterFront operates as a wholly independent corporate and commercial entity, and focuses on port and husbandry services for vessels transporting coal, grains, iron ore, minor bulks as well as crude oil, clean and dirty products, chemicals and gas.

Duncan Ramsay, Chairman of WaterFront and Managing Director Ben Line Agencies, commented: “In each of our network partners, we have found the same commitment to service excellence, proven commodity expertise, a rich history and similar business values that enables us to benefit from the critical local expertise of each agency. For the most part, we are family businesses that have built our respective reputations on our commitment to our customers, and to providing the highest quality services. We look forward to working with other like-minded businesses to provide solutions for our clients that are sustainable long into the future.”

Waterfront acts as a global service provider by utilising its tailor-made IT system which enables its team of ship agency and commodity experts to quickly and accurately process, aggregate, then sanitise comprehensive sets of real-time port and commodity data to find specific, actionable solutions for managing specific dry or wet trade routes. As WaterFront network partners, Alpemar, Unimar, Naves, Biehl & Co and Casper will enable WaterFront to provide customers with complete end-to-end services and bespoke intelligence-led supply chain solutions globally.

Source: Waterfront