How to become a shipping agent or Boarding officer
Official title: Shipping agent/Boarding officer
Also called: Boarding officer, Ship agent, Ship boarding officer, Shipping agent, Freight Officer, Ship Agency Manager, Ship Agent/Boarding Officer, Shipping Specialist, Ship boarding officer
Shipping agent/Boarding officer represents the ship owner in a foreign port. He/she ensures that insurance, licences and other formalities are in order. He/she processes all formalities and declarations to ensure smooth entry and departure of ships assigned. He/she may also review freight costs, negotiate rates with logistics and insurance companies and prepare quotes for customers.
Main tasks
- Carrying out customs clearing procedures for exports or imports
- Ensuring that insurance is in order
- Ensuring that export/import licences and other formalities are in order
- Signing and issuing bills of lading
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: $48,552 a year. The middle half earn $39,684 to $64,440 a year.
- Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.
Related jobs
- Clearing/Forwarding agent
- Freight inspector
- Auctioneer
- Exhibition/Conference/Event planner
- Employment agent/Labour contractor
- Real estate agent
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Questions people ask
How much does a shipping agent or Boarding officer earn in Singapore?
Median full-time pay is $48,552 a year (Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg)). The middle half earn $39,684 to $64,440.
Will AI change the work of a shipping agent or Boarding officer?
Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg): Resident Occupational Wages (Occupational Wage Survey) (June 2024 (data.gov.sg update 2026-04-01)), Singapore Open Data Licence v1.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026