Dear Readers,
Thursday is here again and I am sending this newsletter just after my trip to Dubai and Cape Town.
First off, in Dubai when lunching with the manager of Rickmers Line, we had what an American might call an “awesome” experience. A lady with a hawk on her arm passed our table and we exchanged a few words, the hawk was used for pest control and we saw it in action. Indeed awesome describes it perfectly – see the photos below.
What I learned most of all in Cape Town was that there was a severe water shortage but NO shortage of wine. It is really a place that can be recommended for food, wine, and scenery. What a rich country indeed, if managed right.
As for shipping, Cape Town is also interesting – not least for me who last visited there in 1967 onboard mv Thyra Torm.
Turning to business, I was just in touch with a friend of mine in Bangladesh and he (as others have) told me that there are quite a few fraud cases in logistics and quite a few coming out of China. Some forwarders jump on the wagon and book some containers with cheap rates only later to find out that if they want bills of lading released they must pay double, triple or even more. Quite a few cases like that, so all of you in shipping these days watch out for fraudsters claiming this and that, even representing this and that – like Stalin once said: “Trust is good, but control is better!”
So with that warning of the week, I turn to the news we have in store. We start off with an interview with a good contact for many years in Brazil, a country that is like some others is subject to a few confusing regulations and corruption, so you need a guiding light there. We then travel across the globe to what we may call the top of the world, where we interview a project forwarder located Nepal and Bhutan. We round off this weeks newsletter with our usual project cargo feature of the week, video, photo and wise words of the week.
See you next week on December 8th and as incredible as it may sound, there is hardly a month left of this year….where did it go?
Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
bo.drewsen@projectcargo-weekly.com
TropicosProjects – Sao Paulo, Brazil
Interview with
Mr. Arnaldo Cassettari
General Manager
What is the main focus of your company?
I am a project cargo consultant and manager. Through TropicosProjects I can assist customers, mostly foreign project freight forwarders, to operate in Brazil from the early phase of pricing construction for tenders up to the management for the execution. Also, I can assist in selecting partners and subcontractors and act as protecting agent for these customers abroad.
Sea Sky Cargo Service – Kathmandu, Nepal
Interview with
Mr. Pankaj Sharma
President
How is the general business relationship with India and China?
Nepal business is mostly in India and occupies 70% of the trade with India. The trade relationship between India and Nepal has a very long history. Nepalese trade with India has been characterized by a persistent and increasing deficit.
China occupies the second place in Nepal’s trade with 20% percent of its trade. China has a long history of political, cultural and economic cooperation with Nepal. China already announced that it will pay more attention and reinforce its cooperation with its neighbors.
Renewables
Eni Plans 20 MW Solar Power Plant in Ghana
The Italian oil and gas provider is also assessing the feasibility of floating PV projects in in the Volta basin. Read more…
Power Generation
Marubeni to Overhaul Power Plant in Myanmar
Wholly owned subsidiary Marubeni Power Systems will renovate the combined-cycle plant operated by a public utility in Yangon’s Thaketa. Gas turbines will be replaced with the latest equipment, for example, raising output from 24,000kW to 66,000kW. Read more…
GE Says Plans New Wind Farms in Finland, Sweden
General Electric’s (GE.N) power generation unit is planning to build new wind farms in Finland and Sweden. Read more…
Oil & Gas
KCA Deutag Secures Land Drilling Contracts for Five Rigs
The majority of these rigs were manufactured by Bentec, KCA Deutag’s land rig and oilfield equipment manufacturer. Bentec manufactures a wide range of rigs that can deliver high performance drilling and fast rig moves in all climates and geographies. Read more…
Pulp & Paper
UPM and the Government of Uruguay Sign Investment Agreement for a New Pulp Mill
UPM and the Government of Uruguay have signed an investment agreement, which outlines the local prerequisites for a potential pulp mill investment. The agreement details the roles, commitments and time-line for both parties as well as the relevant items to be agreed prior to the final investment decision. Read more…
Plants & Processing
AGC Glass Orders Zippe Equipment
AGC Glass has ordered a batch plant and cullet return system from Zippe for its second glass float line in Guaratingueta, Brazil. Read more…
Norwegian Paint Maker Jotun Invests RM60m in a New Factory to Double Production Capacity
Leading Norwegian paint maker Jotun Paints (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd has invested RM60 million in a new powder coating factory in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, expected to more than double its production capacity. Read more…
Drifting While Waiting for a Berth in Qingdao, China
