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World - GAC

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INSIGHTHans Barto, <strong>GAC</strong>’s IT Managerresponsible for the UK,considers how technologyhas revolutionised the way inwhich ship agents work.Let’s take a trip back to theearly 1990s. Mobile phones arerare – usually a brick-sized status symbolcarried by the young elite. The <strong>World</strong> WideWeb is newly invented by British scientistTim Berners-Lee. A ship’s agent’s job stillinvolves a lot of running: from office toport authority; from authority to berth;up and down ladders; then back to theoffice to sort through the paperwork andcommunicate with the customer.Many ship agencies use VHFequipment to talk to the vessels approachingthe port or at anchor. Staff might also havewalkie-talkies to send arrival and sailingdetails to their offices faster. In turn, theoffice informs interested parties by telex(when was the last time you saw a telexmachine in regular use?).Such communication equipment isused as a marketing tool, making the shipagency stand out from its competitors inmeeting the needs of vessel owners andoperators. But this is a time when ownersand operators themselves are limited inhow they can communicate directly withtheir vessel. The ship agent is the link.A very different pictureNow fast forward a couple of decades andsee the impact of mobile technology andsatellite communications systems.Vessel operators no longer needagents to act as communications bridges.They contact their vessel anytime andanywhere. These days, it is not unusualfor operators to see their ship’s ‘in port’details on screen before the ship agent atthe scene has got back to the office. Theycan often see the vessel in the actual portvia satellite imagery.ForesightNot so long ago, it was rare (and evenfrowned upon) for an agency to handlevessels in a port where they did not havean office. Those who did were referred toas ‘car boot’ operators.But that too has changed with the use ofmobile communications tools and with theincreasing pressure on agency fees (in someplaces agents earn less per vessel today thanthey did 10 years ago). As a consequence,marginal ship agency operations in somesmaller ports, have been squeezed out byoperators with the foresight to harness thepower of IT to effectively create mobileoffices, wherever their agent goes.ClickAt <strong>GAC</strong> Shipping UK we spotted thepotential of the new communicationstools and equipped ourselves so we couldimprove performance and serve vessels inports where we had no physical office. Thekey developments are:• Improved mobile phone technology• Wireless 3G communication advanceswhich extend coverage further yearon year• Ever lighter and more powerful laptopcomputers• Portable scanners• Battery-operated printers and ‘in-car’power supplies.These are now part of the agent’sarsenal to provide better service, faster, atthe click of a mouse.OutsourcedMobile technology has allowed boardingofficers effectively to become outsourcedassets: on the spot where they are needed,when they are needed. There’s no morereturning to the office to order up anyservices or equipment a vessel requires.We’re talking about a mobile office– one that can relocate to wherever itis needed. Onboard or in port, it is thephysical presence of the agent – not hisoffice building – that ensures customersand authorities get the information theyneed in ‘real time’.JULY 2010 | <strong>GAC</strong> WORLD

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