How can a ship chandler reach new vessels?

Track vessels approaching your port with AIS data, use the IMO number to find the vessel's management company, and send its purchasing team a short, vessel-specific introduction e-mail before the ship berths. VesselCall runs these steps automatically.

Who decides where a vessel orders provisions?

The vessel usually prepares the requisition, but supplier selection and the order typically go through the purchasing team at the vessel's management company. That is why your first introduction e-mail should go to the management company, not to the ship.

Where can I find a ship manager's e-mail address?

Equasis shows a vessel's management company and its postal address by IMO number, but it does not list e-mail addresses. Find the address on the contact pages of the company's official website and check that the domain accepts e-mail.

Should I attach a catalog to the first e-mail?

No. Opening an attachment from an unknown sender is a risk for the recipient. Publish your catalog on your website and include a single link instead.

When should I send a follow-up?

If there is no reply, send one short reminder in the same thread while the vessel is still in port. If the recipient asks to be removed, stop right away.

How Ship Chandlers Win New Vessels Before They Berth

Ship chandlers win new vessels by spotting approaching ships early and sending a short, vessel-specific offer to the purchasing team at the ship’s management company before the vessel berths. This guide walks chandlers in Türkiye through timing, finding the decision maker, the content of the first e-mail, follow-up and the mistakes to avoid.

Why reach the vessel before it berths?

At many management companies the process looks similar: the vessel sends a requisition to the office, the purchasing team collects quotes from suppliers at the next port, and the order is often placed before the ship arrives. By the time the vessel is alongside, the supplier has usually been chosen. That is why the timing of your first contact matters as much as the offer itself.

Vessels waiting at anchor for a berth are a separate opportunity. The longer the wait, the more likely a need for fresh provisions or urgent stores, and the vessel is already right next to your port.

The area you watch around the port, known as the range or radius, also matters. The wider it is, the more time you have between first contact and arrival. A vessel making 12 knots, for example, covers 20 nautical miles in about 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Who decides: the master or the management company?

The master and crew know what the vessel needs, but the supplier is usually chosen by the company that manages the ship. International ship databases such as Equasis show three main company roles for each vessel:

Role	Who it is	What it means for a chandler
Ship manager / Commercial manager	The management company that operates the vessel	Your first contact; write to purchasing
ISM manager	The company responsible for the vessel’s safety management under the ISM Code	The right address if no ship manager is listed
Registered owner	The legal owner in the ship register	Often a single-ship company; the last resort

Inside the company, the right desk for provisions and stores is usually purchasing, also called procurement or supply. If you cannot find it, the general address (info@) is the fallback. Writing to every address at the same company at once looks like a mass mailing.

Finding the manager by hand

Get the vessel’s IMO number from a vessel tracking app. The IMO number is a permanent seven-digit identifier that stays with a ship for its whole life.
Open a free account on Equasis and search by IMO number.
Check the “Management detail” table for the company roles, names and addresses.
Equasis does not list e-mail addresses. Find the address on the company’s official website and confirm that the domain accepts e-mail.

Our Equasis guide covers each step in detail.

What should the first e-mail include?

Purchasing teams receive many offers every day. What makes yours stand out is vessel-specific information that is easy to compare:

Vessel and port: Put the vessel name and the port in the first sentence. It shows the message is not a mass mailing.
Ports you cover: State which ports and anchorages you deliver to.
Delivery times: Say how long you need from order to delivery, and whether you deliver at berth and at anchor.
Catalog codes: Many purchasing teams identify items by catalog code. The IMPA Marine Stores Guide uses six-digit codes, and the ISSA Ship Stores Catalogue uses its own numbering system. If you can quote against these codes, say so.
Certifications and memberships: List only the ones you actually hold. A claim the buyer cannot verify damages trust before the first order.
One next step: Ask for one simple action, such as “Reply to this e-mail with your requisition.”

For ready-to-use wording, see our introduction e-mail templates.

Which language should you write in?

English is the common working language of shipping and always a safe choice. Still, a short text in the management company’s own language shows that the e-mail was written for that company. One way to do this is to write in the recipient’s language and add an English copy below. If you cannot check a translation yourself, do not send it until you are sure the meaning holds; a mistranslated technical term undermines the whole offer.

How should you follow up?

If the buyer replies, try to answer the same day. Purchasing teams often collect quotes from several suppliers for the same requisition.

If there is no reply, one short reminder is enough. Send it in the same thread so the buyer does not have to search for your first message.

Time it to the vessel’s stay in port. Once the vessel has sailed, do not repeat the same offer; write again when another vessel from the same company heads for your port. A good first job with one vessel can open the door to the rest of the fleet.

If a recipient asks to be removed, stop. In Türkiye, Law No. 6563 on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce requires senders to stop commercial messages within three business days of an opt-out request.

Mistakes to avoid

Generic mass e-mails: Sending the same text to everyone, with no vessel name.
Large attachments: Attaching a PDF catalog to the first e-mail. Opening an attachment from an unknown sender is a risk for the recipient; a link is enough.
Wrong address: Writing to the registered owner’s “c/o” address, or to every address at the company at once.
Unsupported claims: Calling yourself the “cheapest” or “fastest” without proof, or naming references you do not have.
Free e-mail accounts: A message from your company domain builds trust and passes authentication checks more easily.
An e-mail on every call: Liner vessels such as ferries, Ro-Ro ships and container feeders call at the same port often; writing on every call wears out the relationship.

How VesselCall automates the process

VesselCall Outreach handles most of these steps for you:

It detects commercial vessels (cargo, tanker, passenger) that enter the range you set for each of your ports, using AIS data.
It looks up the vessel’s company roles by IMO number and picks the Ship manager / Commercial manager first, then the ISM manager, then the registered owner.
It finds the company’s business e-mail address on its official website, verifies the domain’s MX record and stores the result in a company knowledge base, so the same company is never searched twice.
It translates your Turkish introduction e-mail into the recipient’s language, with an optional English copy below.
It sends the e-mail from your own company domain, so replies land directly in your inbox.
It never sends a second e-mail to the same vessel within 7 days, and it sends at most 3 e-mails per vessel in 90 days and at most 1 per company in 3 days.

The Data package adds Turkish port call history and shows which management companies call at your port most often. For more chandler use cases, see our ship chandlers page.