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VesselCall
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Ship chandlers

Reach purchasing while the vessel is still inbound

Provisions orders are often placed before the vessel arrives. VesselCall detects approaching vessels, finds their manager and sends your introduction in the manager's language, from your own domain.

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Ship chandlers

The problems today

  1. 1

    Orders go out before arrival

    Purchasing teams often order provisions and stores before the vessel reaches port. If you first spot the ship at the berth, a familiar supplier may already have the order.

  2. 2

    Finding the right address takes time

    Tracking site, Equasis, company website: the same manual routine for every vessel. And you still don't know whether the address you found actually works.

  3. 3

    Foreign-language outreach is hard to sustain

    Ship managers work in many countries and languages. A small sales team rarely has time to write a careful, correctly worded e-mail in each recipient's language.

With VesselCall

Automatic introductions on range entry

Set a range around Aliağa or Mersin. When a commercial vessel enters it, VesselCall finds the manager and sends your introduction automatically or after your approval.

The purchasing address, found for you

From the IMO number to the ship manager, then to the purchasing address the company publishes, if it has one. Each address is MX-checked and saved for next time.

See who waits at anchor

VesselCall Data records each port call with arrival, departure, anchorage or berth and length of stay. Long waits are worth following for fresh provisions and extra stores.

List your port's most frequent managers

Port and period reports show which ship managers and owners call most often. Export the list to Excel and plan visits, calls and quotes around it.

Who do we reach?

Provisions and stores are usually ordered by the ship manager's purchasing (procurement) or supply department, based on requisitions sent from the vessel. VesselCall picks the purchasing address when the company publishes one, because that is the department that fits your sector.

VesselCall helps ship chandlers in Türkiye contact ship managers while their vessels are still approaching. It detects cargo ships, tankers and passenger vessels heading for your ports from AIS (Automatic Identification System) position data, finds the manager through the vessel’s IMO number and e-mails your introduction to their purchasing team, in their language and from your own domain.

How does a chandler’s day change with VesselCall?

Without VesselCall

In the morning, the sales manager opens a vessel tracking site and spots a product tanker heading to Aliağa. They look up the IMO number on Equasis, note the manager’s name, then search the company website for an e-mail address. By the time an English e-mail goes out, the tanker is already at anchor. The afternoon repeats the routine for a few more vessels, and the rest slip by.

With VesselCall

Aliağa was set up once, with a range that covers its approaches. When the tanker enters that range, VesselCall identifies it, finds its manager in international ship registers and picks the company’s purchasing address. If the manager is in Italy, your introduction goes out in Italian, with an English copy if you want one. It is sent from your own domain, so the reply lands in your inbox. In approval mode, nothing goes out until you approve it. The sales manager spends the morning on quotes instead.

Even if this call’s order has already been placed, your name is now in the purchasing team’s inbox: for extra needs during a long wait at anchor, and for the vessel’s next call in Türkiye.

Two practical notes. A wider range sends the e-mail while the vessel is farther from port. And in your template, state the ports you serve, whether you deliver to the anchorage and whether you quote against IMPA codes.

Which ports and vessel types matter most?

For chandlers, the best prospects are bulk carriers and tankers that spend time at anchor or at berth. The longer the wait, the more likely fresh provisions and extra stores are needed. Good ports to start with:

  • Aliağa: tankers and bulk carriers serving the refineries and steel mills.
  • İzmit Bay: a wide mix of vessels calling at refinery, chemical and container terminals.
  • Mersin and İskenderun: container and general cargo traffic in Mersin, steel and dry bulk in İskenderun.

You can also test this with your own numbers: period reports in VesselCall Data show vessel types, average stay and monthly trends for each port. Records build up from the day monitoring starts.

Frequently asked questions

How do ship chandlers find new vessels to supply?
The usual method is to watch tracking sites for vessels heading to port and e-mail each manager by hand. VesselCall automates this: it detects approaching commercial vessels, finds the manager and sends your introduction in their language.

Which vessels does VesselCall e-mail?
It e-mails the managers of cargo ships, tankers and passenger vessels that enter the range you set around your ports. Tugs, pilot boats, fishing boats and yachts are filtered out by default.

How often can the same vessel receive an e-mail?
Never twice within 7 days, even at another port, and at most 3 times in 90 days. The same recipient company gets at most 1 e-mail in 3 days.

What is an IMPA code?
An IMPA code is the six-digit product code in the Marine Stores Guide, published by IMPA (the International Marine Purchasing Association). Many purchasing teams use these codes in requisitions, so say in your introduction if you can quote against them.

Other industries

A port at night with a ship alongside

The next vessel is already on its way.

Pick your ports, set the range, write your introduction. VesselCall runs the rest.

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