The crew is all in all in ship management. Crew is actually the heart and soul of a ship. As a matter of fact crew is one of the most essential elements of a ship and its cost is among the highest costs centers in the running of a vessel. Hence, it is vitally crucial that the ship owners stay ensured that their vessels are being manned by the qualified, experienced, proficient and reliable crew members. So the big question is – should your crew be managed by in-house team or should it be outsourced?
I am pretty sure that this question would definitely be triggering the minds of many ship owners who are faced with the challenge of manning their vessels. Quite obviously, doing the job internally by your own in-house crew management team will enable better cost control and lower the expenses also than the outsourcing ones. But there are several other benefits that you experience by outsourcing the proficient crew management service.
Here I have outlined a number of benefits which owners gain from outsourcing the crew through the appointment of a crew manager.
• Saving On Extra Costs – When in-house staff is hired for crew management, the company has to incur the additional cost and hassle of hiring. In addition, the company has to also make sure that the right infrastructure and right equipment is there to ensure the smooth operation. But if the crew management is outsourced, the owner may save on these costs.
• Hassle free operation – Who doesn’t want to have the hassle free ship management? Aren’t you? Outsourcing means the same. By outsourcing the crewing needs, you can actually ensure a hassle free operation as all the logistics in crew management will be handled by the outside specialists who will relieve owners from the burden, caused through changes in the schedules of vessels, changes in planning of crew, conflicts of crew on board, planning and promotions on board, sickness and injury cases, premedical and certification verification and visa arrangements.
• Fixed Pricing – When the crew management system is outsourced, the ship owner is expected to get a fixed cost for the expense on ship management. Hence, the owner knows upfront how much he will be cost for the crew management as the price is fixed for the duration of the contract.
To sum up, outsourcing the crew management system relieves ship owners from the workload connected to the manning of their ships. It gives them the time to focus on other areas which are more important to their business.