Noida-headquartered integrated maritime solutions company PortDesk has raised $2 million (Rs 12 crore) in seed investment from Alphard Maritime Group, a Singapore-based maritime services company, a company executive told VCCircle.
The firm will use the capital to strengthen its tech capabilities and to expand its global footprint, Pushpit Pallav, founder and chief executive of PortDesk said.
PortDesk offers merchant vessels a single platform to manage all port-related costs through a proprietary port cost management system.
Beaides this, it also offers its customers an array of services including bunker procurement, agent appointments, and chartering services. In addition, PortDesk also acts an e-procurement platform for the marine and shipping industry. It provides port disbursement, bunker, vendor, lay time and other voyage services.
Owned and operated by PortDesk Services Private Limited, the company offers a host of IT-enabled software services which help ship-owners, managers, operators, charters to reduce operation expenditure in categories such as marine supply, port agencies, bunker procurement and services and towage providers.
Towage and launch providers, agents, surveyors, marine suppliers can list their services on PortDesk for a designated period of time. Buyers can thus monitor these service providers so that they automate their entire procurement cycle in order to reduce the operating time by 20%, thereby reducing costs.
The company also offers KPI-based rating for the service providers, providing them with greater market insights in the shipping industry.
PortDesk, launched in December 2016 by Pallav a shipping industry veteran, operates in Asia and is looking to expand to other markets soon. Pallav has worked with shipping giants such as A.P. Moller – Maersk, Cargill, Scorpio Group, and Norvic Shipping in the past.
Besides Noida, the company has offices in Singapore and Dubai.
Singapore-based Alphard Maritime Group provides a range of maritime services to the shipping and oil and gas sectors worldwide with offices in Europe, Africa and Asia. Currently present in Singapore, India, China, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, UAE and UK, the company offers underwater diving services, maritime security, radio survey and equipment repairs, and audits and inspection.