Durban-based Polaris Ship Agencies is growing and expanding nationally to provide its agency services at the country's major ports. CEO Malte Kersten, who founded the firm with his wife Noeleen three years ago, has expanded its services and grown its staff complement from just two employees in the beginning to 13 staff, despite slow global and local economic growth during this period. The firm is also B-BBEE Level 1 accredited.Kersten left his position at a German shipping line in 2016 after 27 years of service with the line when he saw a gap to compete in the ship agency sector.
The first vessel his firm serviced was a bunker vessel that arrived at Durban port on October 17, 2017, and following rapid growth, the team handled its 100th vessel in July last year. The company offers a range of services from port agency and husbandry matters to surveyor coordination and dry dock operation. It represents one of the main car carrier lines calling South Africa, various Chinese clients that export project cargo into South Africa, a number of international vessel owners, and an NVOCC.Polaris’s head office is located in Umhlanga. It recently opened an office in Port Elizabeth to service one of its major shipping line clients and it will open its Cape Town office in February.
"We are small and f lexible which helps in the decision making process because we can move quickly and adjust quickly to what works best for our clients’ needs. We provide innovative solutions for our clients whereas bigger companies tend to offer a set package," said Kersten, who is also the chairman of the SA Association of Ship Operators and Agents (Sa a soa). The firm is also exploring opening offices in Richards Bay and Saldanha to provide a national presence. It already has an agency in Mauritius.
"We are also offering a breakbulk service from South Africa to West Africa and China expanding into land side transportation from port to factories and vice versa throughout the country," Kersten said. Over the next five years he intends to extend the company ’s footprint by establishing agencies across Africa.