Ship Agency Services in Tunisia
Ship Agency Services in Tunisia
All Eight Commercial Ports
Aidi Shipping Agency provides full ship agency services that Tunisian owners and charterers have relied on since 2000. We attend vessels at Bizerte, Rades, La Goulette, Sousse, Sfax, La Skhira, Gabes and Zarzis. Our agents live at those ports. Therefore, we can board a vessel within hours of a nomination, not the following morning. Every call is handled by a single named agent from pre-arrival notice through final disbursement to the account. As a result, you never repeat yourself to a second desk. We are independent, so we are not tied to a carrier or a terminal, and the advice you get on berth choice, stevedores, and timing is ours alone.
The Six Ship Agency Services We Provide
Dry Bulk Cargo Agency
Grain, fertiliser, coal, clinker, phosphate and scrap. We supervise the discharge, attend the draft survey, and keep the laytime record straight so demurrage arguments do not start after the fact.
Tanker LPG Agency
Crude, products, chemicals and LPG, mainly at La Skhira, Bizerte, Gabes and Zarzis. We manage terminal liaison, surveyor attendance and the cargo documents that follow the discharge.
Offshore Oilfield Agency
AHTS, PSV, seismic vessels and drilling rigs. We cover pre-arrival requirements, crew rotation, spares clearance, and rig moves. We deal with the offshore paperwork that a normal port call never touches.
Project Cargo Agency
Heavy lift, out of gauge and break bulk project pieces. We arrange route surveys, lifting gear and the permits that an oversize load needs before it leaves the quay.
Crew changes, ship supply, spares, bunkers, fresh provisions, and medical attendance. We meet joiners at the airport ourselves rather than sending them on alone.
Freight Forwarding Agency
Sea freight, groupage, and door delivery in and out of Tunisia. Customs clearance is arranged too, so you deal with one agent instead of chasing two companies.
Cargo Handling Services Tunisia Shippers Can Plan Around
Cargo work is where a port call is won or lost. Consequently we put an agent on the quay for the whole operation, not just at arrival and departure. He checks the stowage plan against what the gang is actually doing, records the time sheet as it happens, and photographs damage before it turns into a claim. In addition, a daily report keeps you updated, so the first you hear of a delay is not the invoice. Our cargo agency Tunisia work covers dry bulk, break bulk, containers, project pieces and liquid cargo at every commercial port.
The sequence itself is simple. Send us the vessel particulars, the cargo and an ETA, and you get a proforma disbursement account the same working day, priced against the published tariff. We then clear the vessel with customs, immigration and the harbour master on arrival. Meanwhile, a daily report keeps you current while she works. After sailing we close the call with a final disbursement account and every supporting invoice attached. Because the same agent runs all of it, nothing is handed over halfway.
Ship Agency Services Tunisia: Port by Port
The eight ports do not work the same way, so we do not treat them the same way. Bizerte takes steel, general cargo and break bulk in the north. Rades is the container gateway, and conventional parcels move there alongside boxes. La Goulette handles cruise and ro-ro. Sousse is a smaller general cargo port serving the Sahel. Sfax is our head office and our busiest berth for break bulk, phosphate derivatives and bagged cargo. La Skhira is the crude oil and chemical terminal. Gabes serves the chemical group and its sulphur trades. Finally, Zarzis covers the south and its offshore support traffic. Whichever port you nominate, the agent attending already knows the berth, the stevedores and the harbour master by name.
Questions About Ship Agency Services in Tunisia
Which ports do your ship agency services in Tunisia cover?
All eight commercial ports: Bizerte, Rades, La Goulette, Sousse, Sfax, La Skhira, Gabes and Zarzis. We have people at each one. Therefore no port is a subcontracted arrangement.
Can you act as protecting agent instead of full agent?
Yes. Where charterers have nominated their own agent, we attend for owners, check the disbursement account line by line, and report to you independently of that agent.
Do you provide logistics solutions Tunisia importers can use inland?
Yes. Beyond the quay we arrange customs clearance, trucking, warehousing and door delivery. In other words, we can take a shipment from the ship rail to the receiver gate.
How fast can you issue a proforma disbursement account?
The same working day, provided we have the vessel name, IMO number, flag, GT and NT, LOA and beam, the cargo and quantity, and the port.
Do you arrange customs clearance as well as the port call?
Yes. Clearance runs as part of the same file, coordinated by the agent already handling your vessel. That matters more than it sounds, because a clearance delay costs berth time. One agent owning the timeline means nothing stalls between two desks.
Can you take a vessel at short notice on a weekend?
Yes. We answer the phone 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and our agents live at the ports rather than travelling down from Tunis. Consequently a weekend or a public holiday changes nothing about how fast we can board. Send the particulars and we will confirm attendance the same day.
Can your ship agency services in Tunisia cover more than one port on the same voyage?
Yes, and it is common. A vessel loading at Sfax and topping off at Gabes is one file with us, not two appointments. The same agent coordinates both calls, so the disbursement accounts arrive in the same format and the laytime record stays continuous.
What is the difference between a charterer's agent and an owners protecting agent?
Under a voyage charter the charterer usually nominates the agent, and that agent handles the whole call — clearance, cargo, documentation, disbursements. An owners protecting agent, often written OPA, is appointed separately by the owner to watch the same call from the owner’s side: checking the port timeline, verifying documentation and reviewing what is being charged. BIMCO recommends owners appoint one. In Tunisia we act in both roles, though never on the same vessel.