AGENCY STANDARDS

Herewith you will find a summary of the standards that we are committing our work to, in order to offer you and your fleet the first class agency sevice in all german ports that you deserve. It goes without saying that your agency instructions will always be our guideline, but the below standards will assure that we will implement your requirements on the highest grade 


BEFORE YOUR VESSELS CALL

- Before the agency appointment

When you have scheduled your vessel to call the port of Hamburg or any other german port and it is your choice to appoint an agent, please don’t hesitate to contact INTERCOAST in order to ask for further information about our agency services / qualtlity, the port / berth / cargo situation and a competitive proforma d/a, which you will receive as soon as possible.

YOUR ADVANTAGE :

• Before committing yourself to an agent, you will receive all information needed to take the best decision for you and your vessel
• You will benefit from more than 40 years of experience in ship agencies

- Appointment acknowledgement

When we receive your agency appointment during office hours to our general agency e-mail address agency [at] intercoast-tca.de , we will acknowledge and accept agency within 2 hours after receipt.
With the appointment acknowledgement we will supply you with general information about :

• the port and the berth (restrictions, security standards etc.)
• loading / discharging operations
• prospects, B/L status, surveyors details etc. if already available
• further information worth knowing (bunkers, sludge / garbage / slop disposal, freshwater etc.)
• a competitive proforma d/a
• answers to any of your specific questions / requirements
• INTERCOAST contact information 

YOUR ADVANTAGE :

• you can trust that once you have send an agency appointment, it is taken care of by us after a very short time
• You will already know how much the port call will cost you approximately, including all possible tariff reductions / savings
• When we have developed a trustworthy business relationship with your good company, we will not ask you for an advanced payment of funds, unless extraordinary high amounts are involved
   

-Port call preparation

Once we are your appointed agent for your vessels call we immediately take the following action :

• We will send pre-arrival information to the vessel / master, including berth restrictions, loading / discharging prospects, security issues, authority requirements etc.
• We will keep you and the vessel / master informed on daily basis about berthing / loading / discharging prospects, cargo (stem) / storage availability etc.
• We will keep the terminal and other involved parties (shippers / receivers, brokers, surveyors etc) - of course always according to your instructions - informed about vessels position / ETA on daily basis
• We are checking / confirming B/L status on permanent basis in order to avoid any delays in cargo operations due to lack of documents
• We will announce your vessel and its conditions to all relevant authorities according to their requirements
• We coordinate / arrange all services / deliveries / requirements (crew, technical, bunkers etc.) for your vessel and keep all parties involved always updated about vessels ETA

YOUR ADVANTAGE :

• At any time you will have a full picture of what is arranged and what is going on with your good vessel, which enables you to easier planning of your vessel
• The port call - including but not limited to cargo operations, services / deliveries etc. – will be well arranged in advance in order to minimize the risk of unnecessary delays for your good vessel
• You can trust that all port services are arranged and authorities are informed well in advance for the smoothest possible port call
• All vessels related services / deliveries will be planned in a way not to conflict with the vessels cargo operations, nevertheless not to cause any unnecessary delays
   

DURING YOUR VESSELS CALL

- Arrival

In case the vessel needs to wait for a ready berth at anchorage for any reason, we will make sure that the vessels notice of readiness will be distributed to all parties concerned. Due to close communication with the terminal and pilots we will make sure that your vessel always will proceed to the berth as quickly as possible.
Upon vessels arrival at berth we will board the vessel in order to supply the master with the latest information about the port call / cargo operations, assist him with the authorities clearances (customs / immigration) and collect the arrival details. Within max. 2 hours of vessels arrival in berth we will send all relevant arrival details to you.

YOUR ADVANTAGE:

• No unnecessary time loss, thanks to close communication
• You will receive immediate information about your vessels arrival and planned turnaround
• You will receive updated bunker figures for better planning
• Due to prompt clearance your vessels operations can start as soon as possible
   

- Alongside

During the port stay we will visit your vessel at least once a day - or according to your / masters request - and we will send you updates about your vessels operations at least twice a day (morning + afternoon). The port rotation will be scheduled in the most efficient and safe way to avoid unnecessary delays and / or unpleasant circumstances. Any delay in cargo operations and / or other reason off schedule will be communicated without delay. We will issue a detailed statement of facts covering all events effecting the cargo operations.
We will take care that all advanced planned services / deliveries for the vessel will be carried out as scheduled during the port stay. Furthermore we will stay in close contact with the vessel for any kind of further requirement in order to make all arrangements within the portstay as far as possible.

YOUR ADVANTAGE:

• You will always be informed about vessels progress, which enables you to better plan your vessel
• You will get all important information in due time, so you can react accordingly if necessary – of course always with our local assistance
• The vessel will receive all services / supplies during port stay, if timely possible, without disturbance of cargo operations and without time loss 
   

- Departure

Thanks to close communication with the vessel / terminal / surveyor we will make sure that the vessel can sail the port as soon as possible after completion of cargo operations. Before departure we will visit the vessel to collect all cargo related information / documents, to support the master / vessel with any kind of late request (landing of spare parts, bunker samples etc.) and to make sure everything planned was carried out accordingly. Within max. 2 hours of vessels departure you will receive all relevant port / departure details as well as related documents. The agents in the next port will be informed by us about the vessels ETA.

YOUR ADVANTAGE :

• No delay for awaiting pilots, tugs, boatmen, authorities etc. for departure
• Contemporary receipt of all cargo relevant information (times, documents) for your further processing
• You can trust that all scheduled operations / services / deliveries will be completed before departure
• You can be sure that the agent in the next port will be aware of your vessels arrival
   

AFTER YOUR VESSELS CALL

- Ship / Cargo related:

After vessels departure we will make sure that all cargo related documents are complete - including all required signatures – and forward the full set (originals wherever available) to you by mail, unless instructed otherwise. In case of any kind of claims arriving after vessels departure, we will immediately inform you about it and preliminary answer such claim in your sense.
In case any spare parts will arrive after the vessel sailed for any reason, we make sure that such consignment will reach the vessel most cost effective at the next convenient port / possibility.

YOUR ADVANTAGE:

• The full set of port call documents will be in your hands only a short while after vessels departure for your further processing
• You will have your interest protected in case of claims
• You can trust it will be taken care of all matters concerning your vessel (cargo, crew, technical etc.) in the most efficient way until all is satisfactory settled and the file can be closed. 
   

- Invoicing:

We will collect all invoices for your vessels call, check them carefully and – if correct - settle them immediately. We will forward a final disbursements account to you – resp. as per your instructions – latest 4 weeks after vessels departure, if we have all invoices at hands by then. We will take care that all available rebates / savings will be realized.

YOUR ADVANTAGE:

• If required you can obtain from us an almost accurate overview of costs shortly after vessels sailing
• Within about one month you will know the actual costs for your vessels port call, which you can settle with one payment only.
• You will pay the most cost effective fees, as we are checking every invoice carefully and make sure that you will eventualy get the best possible rates available
   

GENERAL :

Besides the agency standards as described above, you can expect from us the following services for you and your vessels, if required:
 

• When your vessel will call the port for other purpose than cargo operations (yard, repair, supply etc.) we will take care of your / your vessels interests as agents in the same accurate manner as described above
• In case you are forced to appoint any other agent, which you feel is not representing your interests 100%, we can always assist as your nominated protective agent
• If you are interested in long term service contracts with tugs, boatmen etc., we are pleased to assist in negotiating the best possible conditions for you
• We will assist to connect you with any kind of qualified local service company, shipchandler, supplier etc. and to negotiate the best prices / rebates for you
• We will arrange storage / transportation / delivery of all kinds / sizes / weights of spare parts for your vessel
• We will take care of all required crew matters, like crew change ( visa assistance, transportation, accomodation), medical care or documentary issues at the consulate etc.
• If any of your companies representative or vetting inspectors will attend the vessel we will arrange for appropriate transportation / accomodation.
• We will arrange for you cash to master payments, including secure transportation
• We will assist you with any kind of documentary issue ( B/L, Manifest etc.)
• We will arrange on-hire, off-hire or any other kind of bunker survey
• We will regularly inform you about any changes of port tariffs
• We will regularly update you with port / berth descriptions or changes in the port regulations
• We will keep you always informed about security matters and ISPS status in the ports we are serving
• We always offer a 24 hours per day – 7 days a week - 365 days a year service
   

YOUR ADVANTAGE:

• Whichever challenge you will rise to us, we will take it and work out for you the most satisfying solution resp. solve it in the most cost and time effective manner.
• Your ship will be attended by our motivated and highly qualified agency staff, to avoid any kind of ignorance for the required service
• You will benefit from our local knowledge and well maintained network to all kinds of marine related services and suppliers
• You will always have a reliable partner taking care of your / your vessels interests
   

CONTACTS

                                    
     Bluecherstrasse 43 - D-22767 Hamburg   
             Phone: +49-40-3893995
                Fax: +49-40-383348
      E-mail: agency [at] intercoast-tca.de
    Visit our webseite: www.intercoast.de                           SPOT THE DIFFERENCE !!!
                                                                         
                                              
Office hours:  Mon – Fri    09:00 h – 17:00 h

A.O.H. :
           Joachim Hanssen     +49-(0)160-7217654
           Andreas Drobbner     +49-(0)178-3893995




WE SERVE YOU AT THE FOLLOWING PORTS:

Hamburg, Wedel, Stade, Brunsbüttel, Cuxhaven, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Brake, Wilhelmshaven, Emden, Kiel, Rostock, Wismar, the Kiel Canal and all other german ports.