For the second year in a row, Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS), was named Ships Agent of the year 2011 at last week’s Seatrade Middle East & Indian Subcontinent Awards (SMEISA), one of the industry’s most prestigious accolades.
As one of the region’s most important events, more than 750 senior shipping and maritime executives attended the event held at The Palm Dubai resort.
Chris Hayman, Chairman of Seatrade said, “The companies that were shortlisted for the awards and those that were winners have shown exemplary levels of achievement and we salute them all.”
The awards were judged by a 12-strong panel of esteemed international judges, led by Rear Admiral Efthimios Mitropoulos, secretary general of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
Frederic Fontarosa, Director Ships Agency accepted the award on behalf of WSS. “To receive this award from Seatrade is a huge honour and I am delighted to accept it for the second year running” , commented Mr Fontarosa.
“Through our Ships Agency Redefined (SARD) offering we are revolutionising the way we manage port calls. Our customers are able to take advantage of a globally-coordinated approach which streamlines and simplifies the process and offers a unique ‘one point of contact’ global system.”
The SARD concept was introduced by Wilhelmsen Ships Service in 2010 and the company is now operating 150 SARD contracts around the world, of which one third are in Asia and India. Customers in India and Asia are managed from key WSS hubs including Mumbai, and the company is investing heavily in resources and expertise in Asia to meet the increasing demands of this increasingly important region.
Mr Fontarosa said, “The Indian subcontinent is vast and is an area that is becoming increasingly influential within the global maritime industry. WSS will continue to work closely with our customers within the region to ensure that we are offering a service which enables them to operate efficiently and without the complexities that have existed in the past.”
Wilhelmsen Ships Service supplies regulatory products and services as well as Unitor marine products, Nalfleet marine chemicals, global maritime logistics and ships agency services.
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Source: WSS, October 26, 2011.