Ship Agency in Cyprus
Port agents at Limassol, Larnaca and Vassiliko and the oil terminals at Vassiliko, Moni and Dhekelia — every commercial berth, anchorage and sea terminal on the island, one agency desk, around the clock.
Agents on this coast since 1951
Shoham has been a ship agent in Cyprus since 1951, and the experience runs further back still — our older sister company, Famagusta General Agency Ltd, was established in Famagusta in 1946. Seventy years of calls at every port the island has operated is the practical asset: we know which berth suits which vessel, which approval takes three days and which takes three phone calls, and who answers at the terminal at 02:00.
The work is the whole call, not just the paperwork: discharge and load attendance for every vessel type calling at Cyprus ports, crew changes and repatriations, spares and stores to the ship, bunkers supervised at the manifold, repairs and underwater surveys coordinated alongside or at anchorage.
And because Shoham is also a customs clearing agent and freight forwarder, the parts of a call that are really customs problems — bonded stores, duty-free spares in transit, cargo formalities — stay on one desk instead of being subcontracted out of sight.
The port of Famagusta - Painting by George Pol Gheorghiou - 1943
What the agent handles on a call
A port call is three jobs wearing one name. The measure of an agent is how much of this list the master never has to think about.
Before arrival
- ETA notifications to the port authority, pilots and terminal, and berth or anchorage booking
- Pre-arrival documentation — crew lists, health declarations, security notifications
- Proforma disbursement account so the owner knows the cost of the call before committing to it
- Arrangements that need lead time: bunkers, stores, surveys, crew travel, spares already in customs
During the call
- Boarding on arrival and attendance through cargo operations, on whatever schedule the terminal works
- Husbandry: crew changes and repatriations, cash to master, medical attendance, stores and spares to the vessel
- Coordination with stevedores, surveyors, customs and immigration so delays are resolved rather than reported
- Fresh water, waste and slops, repairs and underwater surveys where the call needs them
After sailing
- Statement of facts and departure notifications
- Final disbursement account, supported by vouchers, reconciled against the proforma
- Follow-up on anything that outlives the call — cargo claims documentation, deferred repairs, spares to the next port
The ports we work
Cyprus is compact enough for one agency to genuinely cover it — the same desk, whichever coast the vessel is ordered to. The Limassol port schedule is updated daily with vessel arrivals and departures.
Limassol Port
Cyprus's largest commercial port — containers at the Eurogate terminal, cruise, general cargo, and the island's busiest anchorage.
Larnaca Port
General cargo, bulk and the working base for offshore oil & gas support.
Vassiliko
The industrial cluster: cement port, EAC oil terminal with its SBM, and the VTTV petroleum tank terminal running 24/7.
Oil terminals
Sea-berth tanker work at Moni, Dhekelia and Larnaca oil terminals — buoy moorings and submarine pipelines, not quaysides.
Ship Agency for All Vessel Types
We provide comprehensive ship agency services for vessels of all types calling at Limassol, Larnaca & Vassiliko Cyprus.
Container Vessels
Full container ship agency services
Offshore Supply Vessels
PSV, AHT, and support vessels
Oil & Gas
Offshore platform support
Tugs, PSV, AHT
Anchor handling and tug services
Bulk Carriers
Grains, pellets, general cargo
Cruise Ships
Passenger vessel coordination
Navy Vessels
Military vessel support
Tankers
Moni, Larnaca, Dhekelia stations
STS Operations
Ship-to-ship transfers offshore Cyprus
LPG / LNG
Gas carrier services
Our Services
Oil & Gas Agency
Offshore operations and oil & gas support
Bunkering
Marine fuel arranged and supervised at Cyprus ports
Ship Chandling
Provisions, bonded stores and spares delivery
Crew Changes
Crew change coordination and logistics
STS Operations
Ship-to-ship transfer operations
Owners Protecting Agency
Protecting agency services
DryDock Service
Drydock coordination and support
Vessel Repairs
Vessel repair coordination
Change of Ownership
Ownership transfer services
Yacht Agency
Yacht and superyacht services
Frequently asked questions
What does a ship agent actually do?
Everything the vessel needs ashore that the crew cannot do from on board. Before arrival: notifications, berth booking, documentation and a proforma disbursement account. During the call: boarding, cargo operations attendance, husbandry — crew, cash, stores, spares, water, waste — and keeping customs, immigration and the terminal moving. After sailing: the statement of facts and a final disbursement account supported by vouchers. The fee is a small line on that account; the agent's real value is what the call would have cost without one.
Which ports in Cyprus do you cover?
All of them. Limassol, Larnaca and Vassiliko as working commercial ports, the oil terminals at Moni, Dhekelia and Larnaca, the VTTV and EAC facilities at Vassiliko, and the anchorages. One agency covers the island, which matters when a call moves — a vessel ordered from Limassol anchorage to Vassiliko keeps the same agent, the same file and the same phone number.
Can you act as protecting agent?
Yes. When the charterer nominates the agent, the owner can appoint their own protecting agent to watch the owner's side — laytime, damage records, disbursements billed to the right party. It is a distinct service with its own page, and the point of it is independence: the protecting agent answers to the owner alone.
How is the disbursement account handled?
Proforma before the call, so the owner sees port dues, towage, pilotage and the agency fee before the vessel commits. Final account after sailing, supported by vouchers, reconciled against the proforma. Differences are explained, not buried — an owner who has to query a DA line twice does not stay a client for seventy years, and our business is built on the ones who have.
Are you available outside office hours?
Yes — ships do not keep them. Arrivals, sailings, crew medical emergencies and terminal windows run around the clock, and the agency desk runs with them. The out-of-hours contact is on every appointment we confirm.
Who appoints you, and what do you need to take an appointment?
Owners, operators, charterers and managers all appoint us directly. To open the file we need the vessel's particulars, ETA, the purpose of the call and the cargo if there is one — from that we come back with the proforma and anything about the port the operator should know before arrival. For oil and gas calls, tanker terminals and STS work, the earlier the appointment the more of the approvals run in parallel rather than in sequence.
Appoint an agent
Send the vessel's particulars, ETA and the purpose of the call, and we will come back with a proforma disbursement account and anything about the port worth knowing before arrival. If the call involves bunkers, stores or an STS transfer, say so at appointment — the approvals run in parallel when they start together.