Middle East and Asian port agencies Sharaf[ds_preview] Shipping Agency and Ben Line Agencies will launch a new global agency company for the wet and dry bulk shipping and commodity markets. Waterfront Maritime Services will go live on 1 April 2017
The agency is based on 299 propriety offices across 49 countries, supported with a network of vetted third-party agents worldwide. The move allowed Sharaf and Ben Line to offer the same high level of service around the world to clients trading globally, the founders explained.
The company will focus its services on ship owners and operators, charterers, managers and traders involved in the movement of coal, grains, iron ore, minor bulks and project cargo as well as crude oil, clean and dirty products, chemicals and gas.
By specialising in particular commodity trades and offering solutions tailored for each individual customer, WaterFront will provide end-to-end control over the shipping supply chain through a single point of contact. WaterFront‘s regional and global agency hubs work concurrently to monitor all activities and performance in real-time to ensure that every task is accounted for, every procedure followed, paperwork provided a nd accounts disbursed.
Waterfront Maritime Services Chief Executive Officer Terry Gidlow said:»This is a bold move by two of the industry‘s most respected regional port agencies and will s et a new standard in port agency. Built on solid financial, technical and historical foundations, we are offering a tailored, holistic approach to global supply chains that will set us apart from the competition.«
He added: »Clients have been calling out for a port agency that can provide the best of both worlds: an agency that has real in-depth regional expertise but a single global approach. Waterfront is a 21st century solution that gives the best local expertise possible through a single hub.«
WaterFront Maritime Services is equally owned by Sharaf Shipping Agency and Ben Line Agencies, but will operate as a wholly independent corporate and commercial entity. The WaterFront Board of Directors includes Duncan Ramsay and Kristian Vandermeer, Managing Director and Regional Director, respectively, of Ben Line Agencies and Kapil Celly and Salah Sharaf, both Executive Directors of Sharaf Group. WaterFront is led by Terry Gidlow, who has previously held senior positions with Inchcape Shipping Services, LBH Group and Chemoil Energy.
The company will be headquartered in Dubai with commercial offices in Singapore and Miami as well as operational hubs in Jakarta and the United Arab Emirates.
