A ship chandler is a retail dealer in special supplies or equipment for ships, who may also be responsible for the berthing and docking of the vessel before it arrives into port and is usually considered the liaison officer for the vessel's needs and demands in a foreign port. Drawing of a self-service store. ... Look up berth in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article should be translated from material at fr:Liaison. ...

For traditional sailing ships items that could be found in a chandler might include: rosin, turpentine, tar, pitch, linseed oil, sperm whale oil, tallow, lard, varnish, twine, cordage, rope, hemp, oakum, tools (hatchet, axe, hammer, chisel, planes, lantern, nail, spike, boat hook, caulking iron, hand pump, marlingspike), brooms, mops, galley supplies, leather goods and paper. A 20 g cake of amber violin bow rosin. ... For the band, see Turpentine (band). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Whale oil is the oil obtained from the blubber of various species of whales of the genus Balaena, as , Greenland or right whale (northern whale-oil), (southern whale-oil), Balaenoptera longimana, Balaenoptera borealis (Finback oil, Finner whale-oil, Humpback oil). ... Varnish is a transparent, hard, protective finish or film primarily used in wood finishing but also for other materials. ... Coils of rope used for long-line fishing A rope (IPA: ) is a length of fibers, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. ... Oakum is a preparation of tarred fibre used in shipbuilding, for caulking or packing joints of timbers in wood vessels and the deck planking of iron and steel ships. ... Caulking - Wikipedia /**/ @import /w/skins-1. ... Marlinspike (French Moulinsart) is the castle where captain Haddock lives in Hergés Tintin comic book series, starting from Red Rackhams Treasure. ...

Today they typically deal more in goods typical for fuel powered commercial ships, such as oil tankers, container ships, bulk carriers. They supply the crew's food, ships maintenance supplies, cleaning compounds, paint rope, et cetera.

Their speciality is the high level of service available and the short time required to fill and deliver their special orders. Because commercial ships discharge and turn around so quickly today, the services of a dependable ship chandler is urgent. Holding up a ship could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Most major ports have ship chandlers that have been in business for many years and understand and furnish these urgent needs.