The agent

1. a representative, emissary, or official of a government *crown agent* *federal agent*;
2. one engaged in undercover activities (as espionage) : SPY *secret agent*
3. a business representative (as of an athlete or entertainer) *a theatrical agent ».

In the shipping industry the term "agent" or "shipping agent" could be defined as follows:

"the shipping agent is a permanent representative, who in a foreign port of call, looks after the owner's interests, in the latter's name and at his expense".

The shipping agent or for brevity's sake the agent, is thus in a way the trusted representative of the owner in a certain harbour. He is allowed to act in the owner's name with regard to the rights and duties of the owner towards third parties.

The competencies as well as the remuneration of the agent may be explicitly entered into a contract which has been concluded between himself and the owner; this practice is very current in the liner trade. In the tramping, the agent usually has a tacit competency to act in the owner's name. In the tramping there is thus almost never a written contract between the agent and the owner. In any case, the owner remains legally liable for the acts taken by the agent in the frame of the agency.

The duties of a shipping agent are very variable and depend mainly on the sort of service he has to render; liner traffic or tamp trade. Some duties will be the same for both services such as the duties with regard to the agency or dispatch of the vessel ; other duties will be typical to the liner trade such ensuring there is enough cargo in the port of call (this is called acquisition).

Because of the great diversity of his duties, the shipping agent, within the frame of his competence, often fulfils the tasks of other intermediaries such as chartering brokers (or cargo brokers), booking agents, etc.

From the foregoing we can deduce that there are several categories of shipping agents such as the "port agent", the "liner agent" and the "own agency".

For more details see click on Shipping Agent