Seaside story
Usha Albuquerque

Shipping is the means by which goods, sometimes passengers, are transported by sea from one place to another. It is an aspect of international trade, and forms the pivot of a country's commercial activities. Today, with countries importing and exporting commodities in bulk, such as oil, food grains, tea, machinery items, and even cars and other large items, much of this is transported by sea.

Shipping professionals are therefore primarily involved in the country's export and import transactions.

Professionals in the area of shipping are mainly concerned with the efficient and economical movement of goods. Their work, therefore, involves all the commercial activities that ensure that goods reach their destinations.

Ports and Docks form the hubs of activity, as far as shipping is concerned. Almost all shipping companies of the country have their head offices at port/cities — as most of the work involves loading on board ships and dispatching of cargo, as well as receiving and unloading the cargo. The head offices are linked to branch offices in the hinterland which receive the cargoes and containers sent either by road or rail transport, and conduct the requisite customs clearances, as also surveying, insuring and marketing operations.

Inland trading centres which do not have access to the seas, are also vital centres for shipping, since they often form a link between the offices in the ports and the customers. Officials in these areas are involved not just in chartering and broking of ships but also in the intricacies of handling and storage and the different arrangements at various ports. It is their responsibility to ensure the safe transportation of goods from the clients to the ships and back to the clients.

Ship brokers are privately employed with shipping agencies. They match up empty ships with the cargoes and negotiate terms on behalf of their clients. They may use either a regular cargo run or they may charter full ships for a voyage or a series of voyages, or even a part of the ship's freight space according to requirements, as well as according to the clients' specifications. Very often, they also buy and sell ships, as well as bulk carriers and oil tankers for their clients.

They also act as agents and deal with customs formalities, loading documentation, arrangement for the crew and other such activities. Ship brokers can also set up their own shipping agencies.

Freight Forwarders arrange the safe transportation of freight from one destination to the other, either from one port to the other, through ships, or by road or railways, from a particular destination to the ports from where the containers are loaded on to ships. They serve as an important link between the clients and the shipping companies. Freight Forwarders have therefore to maintain good relations with cargo and customs authorities. They are also responsible for documentations such as bills of landings, import and export licences, specialised packaging and warehousing, and other such formalities.

At the docks, port authorities as well as shipping companies, take care of the operational aspects such as customs, surveying of the ships and cargoes, as well as insurance of the ships and shipping material. Officials are also appointed at the docks to take care of the ship handling-equipping the ship with provisions, spares and other requirements for a voyage, as well as with loading and movement of containers.

Graduates in any discipline are taken in by most shipping companies although a diploma in shipping is preferred. Due to the paucity of training programmes in shipping, most candidates receive on the job training. Some training programmes are conducted by shipping companies for their own employees.

While most companies also take on management graduates, there are a few institutions in the country that offer training in shipping..

The Narottam Morarjee Institute of Shipping in Mumbai offers two kinds of training courses in shipping. The two-year Post Graduate Diploma in Shipping Management is open to all those who are not less than 20 years in age and have a degree in arts, commerce, science, law or in any other faculty. There is also the Fellowship in Advanced Shipping Practice for professionals in the shipping industry.

In order to meet the increased demand from up-country candidates, the institute has introduced Distance Education Programme offering correspondence courses, which provides candidates from outside Mumbai access the necessary study materials for training in this field.

The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, (I.I.F.T), New Delhi, offers a three-month certificate course in export management, which includes shipping and documentation training for foreign traders. The programme covers international marketing management, international business environment, India’s foreign trade and policy, marketing logistics, export and import procedures and documentation.

The Academy of Maritime Education and Training, Chennai, which also conducts programmes for training of seafarers for the merchant navy, has designed a new MBA programme with focus on Shipping and Logistics Management through distance learning. The programme is suitable for those who are already trained in the merchant navy with Master Mariners Licence, or Marine Engineers Licence, as also graduates from a recognised university.

There is no dearth of employment opportunities in this area, since there are hundreds of Shipping Companies and Freight Forwarding companies in the country with branches in all the major trading centres of the country, as well as abroad. Government organisations such as the Shipping Corporation of India, also provide employment in this area. With the introduction of the multi-modal transportation and containerisation, there are many inland container depots, freight stations as also special export promotion zones being set up in different parts of the country. With this, the demand of trade and commerce for personnel conversant with shipping has increased, not only in port cities such as Mumbai, Mangalore, Chennai, Vishakhapatnam and others, but also in centres across the country.

With the increase in international trade, there are tremendous opportunities for employment with international shipping companies and for travel and assignments abroad. The salary package offered to professionals in this area is also attractive, starting on an average at Rs 20,000 - 25,000 per month.

But the job is demanding since deadlines have to be met and consignments have to reach their destinations safely and on time. You also need to have practical intelligence, physical energy and stamina, good management and organising abilities and an interest in commercial matters, geography and world trade. Good contacts and the ability to win peoples' confidence, an entreprenuerial spirit, a liking for paper work, and a readiness to work irregular hours can also be an asset.

So if you have an interest in international business, wanted to join the Merchant Navy, but could’nt, or love geography and wonder what you can do with it — think of a career in shipping.

The writer is a noted career expert