North Star Shipping Services

What North Star Shipping Services does

North Star Shipping Services is a Brazilian maritime services company founded in 2011 in Recife that provides shipping agency, husbandry, training, and logistics services to vessel operators calling at Brazilian ports. The company serves bulk carriers (liquid and solid bulk), offshore vessels, project cargo, dredgers, and passenger ships, acting as the local port representative for foreign and Brazilian-flag vessels and coordinating between public authorities and private stakeholders during port calls. Its core offerings include vessel attendance and documentation agency work, comprehensive husbandry services (crew changes, medical assistance, provisions, emergency response, bunkering, underwater inspection), training and consulting on maritime contracts and demurrage, and — via the 2016 spin-off North Star Logística — unitized cargo (NVOCC), road freight, warehousing, and cargo consolidation. Underlying technology is limited to a web-based PDA/FDA portal (portal.northstar.sierretecnologiaweb.com.br) and a Line-Up client login for documentation and scheduling; the company's value proposition rests on human expertise and local presence rather than proprietary software.

The company distributes services through 14 directly owned offices spanning Brazil's coastline from Santos (headquarters since 2013) and Rio de Janeiro in the Southeast, to Rio Grande and Paranaguá in the South, to Salvador, Maceió, Recife, Fortaleza, São Luís, and Natal in the Northeast/North, and Belém, Santarém, Itacoatiara, and Manaus along the Amazon basin — supplemented by a partner agent network for ports without owned coverage. The go-to-market is sales-led and direct, with specialized commercial teams handling liquid bulks, solid bulks, husbandry, and PDA operations through dedicated phone lines and email addresses. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, structured as multi-year contracts with large and consolidated market players. The company holds ISO 9001:2015 certification (Bureau Veritas, March 2021), EcoVadis Silver (2022), UKAS quality management certification, and FENAMAR membership, and operates as a privately held, bootstrapped entity with 51-100 employees and a management team led by directors for Administrative/Finance (Alexandre Dos Santos Pacheco), Operations (Dário Gomes de Morais), and Commercial (Luiz Fernando Lopes).

Name

North Star Shipping Services

Legal name

North Star Shipping Services

Website

https://nsshipping.com.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

North Star Shipping Services is a Brazilian maritime agency founded in 2011 that provides shipping agency, husbandry, training, and NVOCC logistics services to vessel operators through 14 offices across Brazil's major ports.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maritime Shipping Agency and Port Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Medical Assistance & Ship-to-Shore Healthcare Coordination (TLAHAJAG)

Keywords

• Maritime agency services
• Husbandry services
• Port documentation services
• Freight brokerage
• Maritime training

Headquarters

HQ city

Recife

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices14 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Maritime Agency and Freight Brokerage Services: Revenue generated from maritime agency services, freight brokerage (shipbrokers), and maritime consultancy. The company provides services for bulk vessels (solid and liquid), loose cargo, offshore vessels, project cargo, dredgers, and passenger ships to large market players.
2. Husbandry Services: Comprehensive husbandry services including crew support (crew changes, medical facilities, emergency SAR calls), logistics support (cleaning, fumigation, spare parts, underwater inspection), and 24/7 support for vessels at Brazilian ports.
3. Training and Consulting Services: Training sessions and workshops on Contract of Affreightment, Purchase Contracts, Customs Regulations, Demurrage Calculation, and dispute resolution for maritime industry professionals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

North Star Shipping Services is a Brazilian maritime and port services company that provides shipping agency (vessel attendance, port representation, and documentation), husbandry services (crew changes, medical assistance, provisions, logistics support, and 24/7 emergency response), freight brokerage and maritime consultancy, specialized maritime training, and unitized cargo logistics through its North Star Logística NVOCC arm. Services are delivered across 14 owned offices and a partner network covering all major Brazilian ports for shipping companies, vessel operators, and freight/trading firms.

Product overview

North Star Shipping Services operates as a maritime and port industry services company offering a portfolio of integrated solutions. The core offerings consist of three main service lines: Shipping Agency (Agenciamento Marítimo) providing vessel attendance and documentation services; Husbandry Services delivering comprehensive crew and vessel support including emergency response, logistics, and provisions; and Trainings offering specialized courses on maritime contracts and port operations. Additionally, North Star Logística (launched in 2016) extends the portfolio to unitized cargo services (NVOCC) covering freight brokerage, warehousing, and cargo consolidation. A digital PDA/FDA portal enables online documentation management. The company was founded in 2011 and has grown to operate 14 offices across major Brazilian ports.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• ISO 9001:2015 quality management certification achieved in March 2021

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Port Partners NetworkminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNorth Star maintains partner relationships with agents at ports along the entire Brazilian coast where they do not have own offices, extending service coverage nationwide. This partner network allows the company to provide services at all Brazilian ports.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Inchcape Shipping Services: One of the world's largest port agency and maritime services providers, with established presence in Brazilian ports. Offers the same ship agency, husbandry, and vessel support services as North Star, but with global vendor panel approvals and integrated technology platforms.
• GAC (Gulf Agency Company): Global ship agency and logistics group with operations across the Americas including Brazil. Directly competes in husbandry, agency, and freight forwarding, with broader geographic reach and a more developed digital offering.
• Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM): Global ship management and maritime services group with husbandry and agency capabilities in Brazil. Comparable on vessel support and crew change services, though its primary franchise is third-party ship management rather than port agency.
• Wallem Group: Hong Kong-headquartered ship agency, ship management and maritime services group active in Brazilian ports. Competes in agency and husbandry with broader Asian and global commercial reach.
• Wilhelmsen: Global ship agency, husbandry and maritime services group operating across hundreds of ports including Brazil. Directly comparable service lines (agency, husbandry, parts/logistics) but at global scale with deeper digital tooling.

Others

• Hapag-Lloyd (Agency Network): Global container line that contracts ship agency services at Brazilian ports. North Star's agency and husbandry services support Hapag-Lloyd (and similar carriers) at Brazilian ports, making it a customer-side comparable rather than a direct competitor.
• Maersk (Ocean & Logistics): Global ocean carrier and integrated logistics provider whose vessel calls at Brazilian ports are supported by ship agents including North Star. Useful as a customer / market-context comparable for vessel-call-driven service demand.

Regional players

• V.Ships: Global ship management and maritime services provider with Brazilian presence. Overlaps with North Star on husbandry and crew support for third-party managed vessels calling at Brazilian ports.
• Ultramar: Chilean maritime agency and logistics group with South American port coverage. Comparable service model (agency, husbandry, freight) but primarily serves Chilean and southern cone ports rather than Brazil directly.

Direct peers

• Wilson Sons: Brazilian integrated port and maritime services operator (Wilson, Sons & Co.) offering ship agency, towage, terminals, and offshore support. The closest domestic comparable in agency and husbandry, though substantially larger and diversified across port logistics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/nsshipping.com.br
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/north-star-servi-os-mar-timos-ltda

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about North Star Shipping Services