A supercargo (from
Italian
or from
Spanish ) is a person employed on board a vessel by the owner of
cargo
In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in cas ...
carried on a
ship
A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...
.
The duties of a supercargo are defined by
admiralty law and include managing the cargo owner's trade, selling the merchandise in
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...
s to which the vessel is sailing,
[ and buying and receiving goods to be carried on the return voyage.
The supercargo has control of the cargo unless limited by other contracts or agreements.][ For instance, the supercargo has no authority over the stevedores, and has no role in the necessary preparatory work prior to the handling of cargo. Sailing as they do from port to port with the vessel to which they are attached, supercargos differ from factors, who have a fixed place of residence at a port or other trading place.][
]
History
During 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 ...
from the 16th to the mid-19th century, the supercargo was the second-most important person aboard a merchant ship after the captain.
Sweden
On ships of the Swedish East India Company (1731–1813), the supercargo represented the company and was in charge of all matters related to trade, while the captain was in charge of navigation, loading and unloading of cargo as well as the maintenance of the ship. The captain was restricted to following written orders from the supercargo. A new supercargo was always appointed for each journey; he had to keep books, notes and ledgers about everything that happened during the voyage and trade matters abroad. He was to present these immediately to the directors of the Company on the ship's return to its headquarters in Gothenburg
Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
. The supercargo was fined for each day the books were delayed. Helping him in all this, he had a staff of assistants: a concierge, a cook, a footman and his own ship's court, consisting of seven persons. According to historical documents, the court remained busy throughout the voyage. The supercargo also had to maintain and run the company's factory
A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...
at the trading destination.
Having the highest rank aboard the ship, the supercargo also received the highest salary. In addition to this, he received six percent of the value of the cargo which the ship carried home. Every person on board had the right to buy, bring home goods, and sell them in Sweden. The amount of goods permitted was regulated by the person's rank aboard the ship and his financial means. At the top of this list was the supercargo.[
]
See also
* Loadmaster, a similar role for command personnel of a military cargo aircraft
* Payload Specialist, the equivalent role on NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...
missions
References
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Maritime law
Marine occupations
Nautical terminology
Titles