ship chandler in Kolkata India | The Chemicals Man

A ship chandler (or ship's chandler) is a retail dealer who specialises in supplies or equipment for ships, known as ship's stores.A ship chandler is the exclusive supplier of all the basic requirements of a shipping vessel, trading with the arriving ship for those goods and supplies without necessitating the arrival of ship into port.
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The typical goods supplied by ship chandlers include:

Food
Fuel
Tools and spare parts
Maintenance supplies, etc.

Ship chandlers have been a part of maritime trade since its inception. A ship chandler is responsible for the complete repository of the supplies required by a ship for its voyage and is hence integral to marine transactions. Traditionally, ship chandlers in India have been working since the time ships required tar and turpentine, rope and hemp, lanterns and tools, mops and brooms, and leather and paper to replenish their stocks. Even today, the presence of ship chandlers is highly valued from buying groceries to a full-fledged ship.

For traditional sailing ships, items that could be found in a chandlery might include sail-cloth, rosin, turpentine, tar, pitch (resin), linseed oil, whale oil, tallow, lard, varnish, twine, rope and cordage, hemp, oakum, tools (hatchet, axe, hammer, chisel, planes, lantern, nail, spike, boat hook, caulking iron, hand pump, marlinspike), brooms, mops, galley supplies, leather goods, and paper. In the days of sail ship chandlers on remote islands, such as St. Helena, were responsible for delivering re-supplies of water and fresh produce (fruit and vegetables) to stave off scurvy.

Restored Ship Chandlery circa 1900 at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia
The ship chandlery business was central to the existence and the social and political dynamics of ports and their waterfront areas.

Today's chandlers deal more in goods typical for fuel-powered commercial ships, such as oil tankers, container ships, and bulk carriers. They supply the crew's food, ship's maintenance supplies, cleaning compounds, rope, et cetera. The advantage of a ship's crew using a chandler is that they do not have to find stores in the town they have landed in, nor hold that local currency – assuming they are let out of the dock compound by the immigration authorities. Typically, the ship owner has a line of credit with the chandler and is billed for anything delivered to the crew of his ship. Chandlers are supplied by merchants close to wherever they happen to be.

Their distinguishing feature is the high level of service demanded and the short time required to fill and deliver their special orders. Because commercial ships discharge and turn around quickly, delay is expensive and the services of a dependable ship chandler are urgent.

Types of Ship Chandlers in India

Deck Stores
Engine Stores
Cabin Stores
Safety Stores
Provision Stores
Hardware & Tools
Ropes & Lifting Tackles
Marine Paints & Accessories
Marine Chemicals
Electrical Stores

The nine coastal Indian states Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and  West Bengal are home to all major and minor ports of India. The long coastline of India forms one of the biggest piece of land into a body of water,These twelve major Indian Ports are handle a large volume of cargo traffic and container traffic.

There are total 13 major sea ports of India,out of 12 are government and one, Ennore port of Chennai is the corporate one. Ennore Port is one of the major port of India located at Coromandel Coast of Tamil Nadu state along with Kakinada Port and private Krishnapatnam Port and Mundra Port. Other 12 major ports of India are listed as follows.