B-BBEE ship’s agency launched

A new ship’s agency has

opened its doors in South

Africa, with offices already up

and running in Durban and

Johannesburg.

Headed up by group CEO

Malte Kersten, Polaris Ship

Agencies is a

level 1 female

black-owned

B-BBEE

company, which

also offers

depot, transport

and freight

forwarding

facilities. “Polaris

therefore

meets the key

requirements of

transformation,

as outlined in

the State of the

Nation address,”

says Kersten

“The new

B-BBEE chapter codes for the

transport industry are due

to be released shortly, and

ownership is one of the priority

elements – which is why we

believe we have a very strong

value proposition combined

with extensive market

knowledge and industry

connections.”

“The company believes it

can offer solutions that others

aren’t able to. “Competing with

more and more rationalised

global carriers I believe a

personalised

service

is what

customers

are looking

for. They

want to move

away from

remote call

centres. The

SA shipping

market is

ready for a

new market

player.

“On the

freight

forwarding

side of our

business we deal with shipping

lines and we know their

shortfalls. We know about

the call centre issues and how

important it is for clients to

have someone on the ground

to take responsibility and find

solutions.”

Kersten is currently going

all out to promote Durban as

a hub for the rest of Africa and

has indicated his willingness

to open offices in other centres.

He is based at the Durban

head office with fellow director

Alex Hill, both of whom

have decades of experience

in the shipping industry. “We

understand the issues and we

understand the needs of the

industry.”

Pierre van Zyl has been

appointed branch manager in

Johannesburg and Kersten has

not ruled out the possibility of

opening offices in the rest of

Africa, based on client needs.

The ultimate objective is

to offer an integrated service

that encompasses ship's

agency, freight forwarding,

warehousing and distribution,

says Kersten who is cautiously

optimistic about the year

ahead. A repeat of 2016 would

be unsustainable for the

shipping industry and a firming

of rates is therefore nonnegotiable,

in his view, for the

industry’s long-term survival.

INSERT AND CAPTION

The ultimate

objective is to offer

an integrated service

that encompasses

ships agency,

freight forwarding,

warehousing and

distribution.

– Malte Kersten