(1) Chartering agency. Also known as chartering broker, it refers to a person who conducts ship leasing business with a ship as the object of commercial activities. The main business is to find a suitable transport ship for the charterer in the market or find a freight object for the shipowner, and make the charter as an intermediary. Both the shipowner and the shipowner enter into a lease transaction and earn commissions from it. Therefore, according to the identity of the principal it represents, it can be divided into chartering agent and shipowner's agent.
(2) Shipping agency. Refers to the person who accepts the entrustment of the carrier to handle all ship-related business. The main business includes ship entry and exit, freight transport, supply and other service work. The ship’s entrustment and the agent’s acceptance are limited to one time per ship, which is called voyage agency; the long-term agency agreement signed between the ship and the agent is called long-term agency.
(3) Freight forwarders. Refers to the person who accepts the cargo owner’s entrustment to handle the cargo declaration, handover, warehousing, allocation, inspection, packaging, transshipment, booking and other services on behalf of the cargo owner. It mainly includes booking agent, cargo handling agent, cargo customs declaration agent, and forwarding agent. , Tally agent, storage agent, container agent, etc.
(4) Consulting agency: refers to a person who specializes in consulting work and receives a certain amount of remuneration for providing relevant international trade and transportation conditions, intelligence, materials, data and information services according to the needs of the client. The businesses of the above types of agents are often intertwined. For example, many shipping agents also serve as freight forwarders, and some freight forwarders also serve as shipping agents.