A ship chandler is a retail dealer who specializes in providing supplies or equipment for ships.The Maritime Industry Knowledge Centre
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Synopsis

For traditional

sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on Mast (sailing), masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing Square rig, square-rigged or Fore-an ...

s, items that could be found in a chandlery include sail-cloth,

rosin Rosin (), also known as colophony or Greek pitch (), is a resinous material obtained from pine trees and other plants, mostly conifers. The primary components of rosin are diterpenoids, i.e., C20 carboxylic acids. Rosin consists mainly of r ...

, turpentine, tar, pitch, linseed oil, whale oil, tallow, lard,

varnish Varnish is a clear Transparency (optics), transparent hard protective coating or film. It is not to be confused with wood stain. It usually has a yellowish shade due to the manufacturing process and materials used, but it may also be pigmente ...

, twine, rope and cordage, hemp, and oakum. Tools (hatchet, axe, hammer, chisel, planes, lantern, nails, spike, boat hook,

caulking Caulk (also known as caulking and calking) is a material used to seal joints or seams against leakage in various structures and piping. The oldest form of caulk consisted of fibrous materials driven into the wedge-shaped seams between board ...

iron, hand pump, and marlinspike) and items needed for cleaning such as brooms and mops might be available. Galley supplies, leather goods, and paper might also appear. In the

Age of Sail The Age of Sail is a period in European history that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th (or mid-15th) to the mid-19th centuries, in which the dominance of sailing ships in global trade and warfare culminated, particularly marked by the int ...

, ship chandlers could be found on remote islands, such as St. Helena, who were responsible for delivering water and fresh produce to stave off scurvy. Today's chandlers deal more in goods typical for

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...

-powered commercial ships (oil tanker, container ship, and

bulk carrier A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially naval architecture, designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo—such as Grain trade, grain, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement—in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrie ...

) including maintenance supplies, cleaning compounds, and food stores for the crew. A distinguishing feature of a ship chandler is the high level of service demanded and the short time required to fill and deliver orders. Commercial ships discharge and turn around quickly; delay is expensive, making the services of a dependable ship chandler in great demand. Advantages, today and in the past, are that stores in unfamiliar ports do not need to be sought out, and lines of credit make exchanging of currency a non-issue. (Usually a ship owner would establish a line of credit with the chandler and then be billed for anything delivered to the crew.) Chandlers also deliver the product, freeing up crew to work on repairs or, if allowed, take shore leave. The ship chandlery business was central to the existence and the social and political dynamics of ports and their waterfront areas. Ship chandlers are typically supplied by nearby merchants.

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References

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