Dear Readers,
It’s Thursday the 10th of August and time for a new edition of Project Cargo Weekly. I returned from a trip onboard a container ship from Malta to Busan last week. It was an awesome experience, especially meeting with agents face to face in various ports and spending a considerable amount of time with the captain, officers and crew learning more about their daily life.
It is not uncommon for Filipino seafarers to spend 9 months at a time on the water. That can certainly be hard on anyone’s family life and psyche. I suspect the pay only goes so far to compensate for the sacrifices they make. It puts things into perspective, curtails self-pity and might even help our wives realize that being away on business for 1 week is not that bad.
When I arrived by container ship in Asia the economy appeared to be booming, giving me the impression that trade between Europe and Asia is back on track. I was most impressed by the investment in infrastructure and ports in China. South Korea and Jebel Ali, U.A.E. also appear very strong in infrastructure investment. There seemed to be a “let’s move” / “let’s do this” attitude that I don’t see much in Europe.
My ship was delayed out of ports in the MED because of a lack of gangs (workers) and slow moving operations etc. Knowing that we have over 15 million unemployed in the EU it makes one wonder what is going on. Have we become weak in the west because the life has been too good? As they say, “lots of talk in the EU but less shop” – its probably a leadership problem, nobody wants to stand out.
In the Korea Herald there was an interesting article about the foreign currency reserves in Asia and I have shared it with you below. It certainly gives food for thought. Another interesting read appeared in the China Daily about the opening up of new roads in Western China – there is no doubt that with their investment in infrastructure (including shipping – note COSCO’s purchase of OOCL) the Chinese are serious about developing global trade and especially controlling world trade routes. Chinese investment has been made in terminals like: Colombo, Djibouti, Piraeus, Gwadar (to have a port for Western Chinese exports) to name a few. Lately they have also invested in railways from South China down to Bangkok and Laem Chabang. It seems all continents are feeling the Chinese power to place their money where their mouth is.
In this issue:
Foreign currency reserves in Asia
Opening up Northwestern China with new highways
DaChan Bay Terminal in South China now interesting in handling project cargo
Vancouver receives grant to develop multimodal facilities
Shipowner SAL taken over by Harren
Zeaborn purchases 5 Rickmers Line MPP ships
Sector news
Video, Photo and Quote of the week.
Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
bo.drewsen@projectcargo-weekly.com
Foreign Reserves Across Asia
China is the world‘s largest holder of foreign exchange reserves. It has over 2 1/2 times more foreign reserves than the second-largest reserve holder, Japan.
Opening up Northwestern China with New Highways
The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in far northwestern China has just become a bit closer to the capital, as three sections of a new expressway along risky terrain opened to traffic on July 15th.
DaChan Bay Terminals handles second-hand Boeing 747 Aircraft
The dedicated team at DaChan Bay Terminals handled the import of a second-hand Boeing 747 aircraft from Indonesia. The aircraft was separated into 10 units of 40-foot container and 14 units of break-bulk cargo including the nose cone, wings, and tail. A special work team, with all the necessary equipment to handle all sorts of cargoes, was formed to ensure a safe and quick unloading of this special cargo. In addition, the DaChan Bay Terminals team worked closely with the local authorities to ensure a smooth and swift customs clearance.
DaChan Bay Terminals is located in the West Shenzhen Port area in South China.
Read the full press release from DaChan Bay Terminals
Port of Vancouver USA receives $485,000 grant for multimodal path at Terminal 1
The Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council (RTC) has awarded the Port of Vancouver USA a $485,000 grant for construction of its multimodal path at Terminal 1 on the downtown Vancouver waterfront.
Shipowner SAL taken over by Harren
Bremen-based ship management firm Harren & Partner finalized a deal to acquire SAL Heavy Lift from Japanese shipping firm “K” Line. Harren & Partner is the owner of Combi Lift, a competing heavy lift operator, and the acquisition will give it a total of 26 vessels in this market segment.
Zeaborn purchases 5 Rickmers Line MPP ships
the Zeaborn Group signed the contracts for the purchase of five 30,000dwt Superflex Heavy Lift vessels, all of which are sister ships of the previously acquired Rickmers Hamburg, and are employed in the Rickmers-Line liner service acquired by Zeaborn in April.
China to have significant presence during the upcoming 82nd Thessaloniki International Fair
According to organizers, some 140 to 150 China-based companies will take part this year, including 25 hi-tech firms from Shanghai. Two Greek-Chinese forums will also take place during the week-long trade fair, one focusing on new technologies and telecoms, and the other on energy. Notable Chinese giants expected to field pavilions at this year’s TIF are Cosco, which manages the port of Piraeus, Huawei and China Development Bank (CDB). Read more…
Oil & Gas
Hexagon Composites awarded new major order in Iraq
Hexagon Composites’ subsidiary Hexagon Ragasco has received a new major order for LPG cylinders from Gas Filling Company (GFC) at a total value of around USD 15 million (approximately NOK 120 million). Deliveries are scheduled to commence in fourth quarter of 2017 and continue through first quarter of 2018. Read more…
Fluor Wins Malaysia Isononanol Plant Contract
PETRONAS Refinery and Petrochemical Corp. Sdn. Bhd. has awarded Fluor Corp. an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract for an isononanol plant in Pengerang, Johor, Malaysia, Fluor reported Monday. Read more…
Australian firm wins Kuwait $21mn LNG Deal
Australian complex services company SRG Limited has been awarded a USD 21 million-contract to provide specialist contracting services for eight new liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanks in Kuwait, reports O&G Link. Read more…
Hong Kong’s NewOcean to Build $1.2B Oil Refinery in Malaysia
Hong Kong’s NewOcean Energy Holdings Limited said on Monday it planned to build a 5.1 billion ringgit ($1.2 billion) petroleum refinery complex on Malaysia’s east coast along with two partners. Read more…
Renewables
GE to Supply 32 Turbines for Engie’s South Australian Wind Farm
GE will be supplying 24 of its 3.8MW and eight of its 3.4MW turbines for the Willogoleche Wind Farm, located 160km north of Adelaide in South Australia. Read more…
Holcim Indonesia Signs MoU for Waste Treatment Facility
Holcim Indonesia has signed a groundbreaking Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a municipal waste management facility for refuse-derived fuel (RDF) located in Cilacap, Central Java. This facility will be the first integrated MSW to RDF processing facility in Indonesia. Read more…
View from the Bow of a Container Vessel Heading South Bound in the Suez Canal
