The purpose of this study is to present how shipping companies manage their ships. In order to understand how a ship is managed we must first answer to some simple questions: i) Which are the main characteristics of these companies? ii) Which is their managerial structure? iii) Which methods can ship owners use in order to manage their ships? iv) Which are the problems of this international sector? v) Which are the advantages? There is an analysis of the characteristics of the maritime sector, which are special and the companies have different structures companies use in order to manage their ships. But inhouse management is not the only solution for the management of the fleets of the ship owners. In this study there are presented and some other models of management which can manage more effective their ships. Additionally, there are analyzed the difficulties and the advantages of this sector, which is the most globalized sector.

Nikolaos Doganos BSc, MSc. Studied Shipping, Trade & Transport at the University of the Aegean. He is a Maritime Economist and member of Hellenic Association of Maritime Economists. Nikolaos holds an MSc in Transport and Maritime Management from ITMMA (Institute of Transport and Maritime Management of Antwerp).