Business scope of shipping agency

Article 29 of the Regulations of People's Republic of China (PRC) on International Maritime Transport stipulates: "An international shipping agent may be entrusted by the shipowner, charterer or ship operator to engage in the following businesses: (1) handling the formalities for ships entering and leaving the port and arranging pilotage, berthing and loading and unloading; (2) Signing bills of lading and transportation contracts on behalf of the company, and taking over the booking business on behalf of the company; (3) Handling customs declaration procedures for ships, containers and goods; (4) contracting goods, organizing the loading of goods, and handling the consignment and transit of goods and containers; (five) collect freight and settlement of payment; (6) Organizing tourists and handling relevant maritime passenger transport business; (7) Other related businesses. The international shipping agency operator shall withhold and remit the tax of the foreign international shipping agent in accordance with the relevant provisions of the state. "

It can be seen that the international shipping agency business is a comprehensive business with a wide range, including all businesses that should be handled by the shipping company itself and a small number of freight-related businesses that should be handled by the shipper itself. Shipping agents or agencies in various countries have their own business articles of association, but the role and business scope of agents are roughly the same. For example, the articles of association of China Ocean Shipping Agency Company stipulates 20 shipping agency businesses. Generally speaking, the business scope of international shipping agency can be summarized as the following five aspects:

1. Passenger transport organization: handling passenger tickets, getting on and off passengers, etc.

Freight organization: collecting goods and booking shipping space on behalf of others; Draw the stowage map of export goods and prepare all kinds of freight documents; Issue bills of lading and bills of lading; Handling the transshipment business of sea combined transport goods, etc.

2. Cargo handling related to cargo handling, including contacting and arranging loading and unloading; Handling tally and cargo supervision, unloading, measurement and inspection applications; Apply for cabin inspection, fumigation, cabin washing and cabin cleaning; Handling cargo claims, etc.

3. Container management related to container management, including handling import and export customs declaration procedures for containers, and arranging container loading and unloading, stockpiling, cleaning, fumigation, quarantine, repair and inspection; Handle container handover and issue container handover documents.

4. Services for ships and crew include the declaration procedures for the import and export ports of ships, mainly including the customs procedures for the entry and exit of ships, the frontier inspection procedures for entry and exit, the inspection and quarantine procedures for entry and exit, and the declaration procedures for maritime agents; Apply for pilotage and arrange berths; Negotiate the purchase of marine fuel, materials, accessories, tools, fillers, fresh water and food; Arrange for the extraction of duty-free spare parts, and handle ship repair, inspection, shovel and painting; Handle the procedures of crew landing, visa, exchange and repatriation, forward crew mail, contact and apply for crew certificate, and arrange medical treatment and sightseeing for crew.

5. Other work includes handling maritime affairs and contacting maritime rescue; Collect freight and other related funds, and provide business consulting and information services; Handling the payment of ship dispatching fee and demurrage fee; Handling ship leasing, trading and handover, signing ship leasing and trading contracts, and operating and undertaking other businesses.