A well managed ship is not only profitable to the ship owner but it also assures the safety and security of the crew, goods and passengers. Good ship management is the primary objective of any shipping company. Every shipping company must be capable of good ship management if it wants to achieve success in the field of shipping industry. Efficient ship management is not just a term but it involves a balanced mix of technical management, crew management, operational management and commercial management. A professional shipping company will always give importance to smooth and efficient operations by which they can assure the safe voyage for any goods vessel or passenger ship.
Whenever a shipping company gives due importance to its technical management issues by condition monitoring techniques at fleet levels then this process is likely to avoid sudden and costly failures. With the help of risk assessment tools one can easily identify the critical components by which it becomes very easy to ensure cost efficient operations.
Technical ship management involves the services like repairs and maintenance, dry docking and special surveys, manning, repairs and maintenance, purchasing, insurance , safety, quality, environmental compliance services, risk assessment, emergency response management, meeting third party quality assurance compliance, oil majors' acceptability requirements, feasibility project management and new building supervision.
A good ship management company will always take care of safety related issues. It will give importance to quality and environmental risk assessment. It will be proactive in emergency response. It provides pre-purchase inspections and navigational audits. It will also do customized inspections for client’s specific requirements.
When it comes to crew a good company will have highly qualified crew members. They will be fully aware of safeguarding the vessels. It will have a fully computerized environment of accounting, payroll and purchasing system. These will be accompanied by monthly or quarterly accounting reports. Every aspect of the financial administration will be handled by astute professionals.
A ship management company is also known for its experience in building and conversion of vessels that includes crude tankers, LNG carriers, LPG tankers, container vessels and conventional bulkers. It should be capable of handling all aspects of marine operations whether it is marine consultancy or design and construction of vessels. If a company also provides technical investigation, surveying and marine legal services to the ship owners then it can be called a good ship management company. This team of consultant surveyors consists of marine engineers, master mariners and marine legal experts.

Author's Bio: 

The author is the Captain in a ship management company based in Mumbai, India. He has 14 years of Sailing and shore experience at different positions including Master onboard tankers and Commercial Operations Manager ashore with a ship owning company. http://www.toships.com/