Seatrans Shipping

Seatrans Shipping Ltd is a Maltese ship agency, which means it represents shipowners, charterers and operators whose vessels call at a port and looks after everything the ship needs on arrival: berthing arrangements, authorities, crew, supplies and cargo paperwork. Founded in 1986, the business operates from St Angelo Street in St Julian's and is a member of the Association of Ship Agents in Malta.

Although it sits in our directory of courier and freight services in Malta, its core work is maritime. Most readers will be shipowners, yacht or vessel managers and importers, and the page below explains what each service involves in plain terms.

A family business with a long record

The Sullivan family have been ship owners, brokers, chandlers and ship agents for many years. Trevor Sullivan founded Seatrans in 1986 after learning the trade from the age of 17 alongside his father and a cousin. He remains managing director, with Thomas Sullivan as commercial director, Granville Ciantar as executive manager, Angel De Leon as finance executive and Anthony Bianchi as accounts executive.

The business serves 150 customers and has handled 1,000 port calls over 36 years. Its founding motto is service, service, service, with safety above all, and it holds the ISO 9001 quality management award. Malta's long maritime story runs through the Grand Harbour, and our guides to Valletta and its harbours, the Three Cities waterfront and historic Vittoriosa show how the island's harbours grew into the working ports of today, and the story of the Knights of Malta explains why.

Ship agency and husbandry services

Seatrans acts for every kind of vessel, from container ships, bulk carriers, Ro-Ro vessels and tankers to cruise liners and superyachts, and for cargoes such as grain, cement, steel, minerals, crude oil, LPG and chemicals. Three agency levels are available: protective agency, husbandry agency and full agency. Tramp agency serves owners and charterers calling at ports, while liner agency serves container lines through offices close to Malta Freeport.

Husbandry means the practical services a ship needs while in port or offshore. Seatrans arranges crew changes and visas, delivery of spares, supplies, provisions and fresh water, offshore launch services, life raft repairs, hull cleaning and inspection, slop disposal, lay by berth, medical arrangements and armed security guards for embarkation. Other offshore work includes cargo sampling, fendering, diver services, hull surveys and ship-to-ship transfers. Services run both inside Maltese ports and offshore, at short notice if required.

Bunkers, freight and warehousing

As bunker agents, Seatrans arranges fuel supply for ships in key Mediterranean ports, including Limassol in Cyprus, and keeps clients updated throughout the delivery. Planning every step in advance is how the team aims to avoid delay.

On the freight side, sea freight is arranged through contracts with major ocean carriers on trades to and from Asia, the USA, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. Cargo can travel as a full container load or a less than container load, and consolidation is offered for smaller consignments. Air freight reaches any airport worldwide, and can be door to door with collection. If you are shipping goods as part of a move, our guide to Malta's corporate tax structure and the advisers at CLA Malta are useful for the commercial side.

The warehouse has covered and open storage, free zone and non-free zone status, several security levels and lifting capacity up to 200 tonnes. It holds AEO customs status, handles dangerous goods and hires out cargo carrying units, mainly for marine and energy customers, and also supports transhipment.

Where to find them and how to start

The office is on St Angelo Street in St Julian's, and there are further bases in Greece, Sicily, Cyprus and Spain. Anyone planning voyages should check sea conditions in our Malta weather guide, and our introduction to Malta covers the islands for newcomers.

Use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will pass your message to Seatrans Shipping, with details of the vessel, port and dates or the cargo you want to move.