Having become a seafarer at the young age of 18, Capt B Mahapatra has devoted 17 years of his life to the ships and the seas. Now, as the CEO of Crescent Shipping Agency he has put together all his passion and expertise to shape the company. Crescent Shipping Agency (India) Ltd is part of the Transworld Group of Companies.

What sets him apart

Capt Mahapatra is a veteran in the shipping and logistics business. He has seen the ups and downs in the industry, and has been quick to adapt himself to suit the demands of the conditions. Crescent Shipping Agency was founded in 1992 as the Indian partner of the Malaysia International Shipping Corporation, Berhad. Capt. Mahapatra joined the agency in 1993. Now, as the CEO, he heads the company which has a diverse fleet of over 100 vessels chartering to all major sea ports of the world, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Far East, South East Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Mediterranean among others.

Formula of success

Capt Mahapatra is the kind of entrepreneur who works shoulder-to-shoulder with his fellow workers. As the head of the organisation, he believes it is his primary responsibility to ensure that the business generates enough revenue each year to enable the staff to stay motivated and passionate about their job and the organisation they work for.

Empowerment is the one word that he considers apt for describing his company’s USP. He strongly believes that in the service industry, it is the staff motivation level and the sense of well-being that the company is able to provide them that makes a difference.

Milestones

Considering the cyclical nature of the industry, Capt Mahapatra’s journey has so far been extremely challenging yet satisfying. Crescent Shipping toiled hard to raise the monthly output from a few hundred Twenty-foot Equivalent Units(TEUs) to over eight thousand TEUs. All twelve offices of Crescent Shipping are ISO 9001:2000 certified.

Within a few months of entering the European sector Crescent became the 3rd highest loader out of JN Port amidst stiff competition from already established shipping lines. Crescent has become a serious contender to the world's leading shipping lines when it comes to reefer shipments out of Nhava Sheva and Kolkata.

Foreseeing the future

Owing to the current economic scenario, Capt Mahapatra finds it difficult to predict the future and hence refrains from predicting future prospects. However, he has plans for his company. He foresees Crescent Shipping venturing into newer unexplored territories such as USA, Canada and South America in the next few years. Crescent Shipping also has plans to diversify into the liquid bulk segment of shipping, as well as into warehousing and supply chain management.

In 2006, Capt Mahapatra delivered a paper on “Logistics Opportunities and Challenges in India” at the 4th Asia Maritime and Logistics conference, held in Kuala Lumpur’s state-of-the-art convention centre.