Dear Readers,
It’s Thursday 2nd May and we’re here again. Spring has finally come to us here in the north of Europe and, from where I am sitting (Stockholm, Sweden), I can see through the living room windows that trees and flowers are blooming. Sadly, so are the sneezing and coughing and I do feel sad for the very many that have problems with allergies in spring. Breathing even can become difficult, so the only instant remedy is popping tablets for it. Stimulating the pharmaceutical industry seems to be the order of the day.
Speaking of pharmaceuticals and tablets, I had a scary experience recently involving my father. He was prescribed some blood pressure medicine, but apparently it had the opposite effect and he became very weak overall. It was only after changing medication and forcefully ‘speaking’ to his local doctor that he got the proper diagnosis and prescription. I am not asking that every doctor be a specialist in every field, but sometimes it does feel like we’re Guinea pigs and if you have a problem, you’ll just be prescribed this-or-that medicine.
Look at the opioid crisis in the US, where pain relief medicine is creating long-lasting cravings and addiction in users. No one seems to care about the root problem, or how to address it. The pharmaceutical industry wields enormous power around the world and, although millions are needed for research and development, there is no doubt that billions are reaped from making deals with doctors and countries where stringent control on medication is lacking.
As I mentioned in the editorial last week you should never be shy to question your doctor and confront them with second opinions. If something doesn’t seem right then, it normally isn’t. Don’t be afraid of what is perceived as authority by the older generation. We, who are still a bit younger, have a duty in this digital, IT-connected world to help and research for our parents and to back them up when they go for a check-up. You might even want to join your parents when they go to the bank as men in suits there can, at times, be unreliable and untrustworthy.
In today’s newsletter we have some interesting and slightly different interviews for you. We start off in Casablanca, Morocco, setting of the classic movie and the infamous Humphrey Bogart misquote, “Play it again, Sam”, that never actually featured in the movie at all. We are, in fact, talking to a shipowner and operator who’s just opened a new breakbulk coaster service between North West Europe and Morocco. They are also project freight forwarders and no doubt you will find their introduction interesting.
Next, we stay on the high seas and indirectly touch on the problem of piracy. Around the Horn of Africa, piracy has historically been rampant and is now frequent around Guinea and Nigeria. We interview a former high-level executive of a large Scandinavian shipowner and victim of a hijacking in the area a couple of years back. With that and other incidents in mind and addressing the root cause, an organisation called Fair Fishing was established in order to give the locals in Somalia and Puntland an alternative way of life.
We finally speak to a consultant here in Sweden representing the HK SAR government in Scandinavia, promoting business and investments in the great city of Hong Kong. If you are ever considering an Asian base, Hong Kong is without a doubt the place to be, with its location close the huge market of mainland China.
On another note, before my closing remarks, I would like to remind you all that you may reach me at the AntwerpXL breakbulk conference from 7th-9th May. I shall be at booth B42 on 8/5 between 09:30 and 13:00 in case you wish to meet up personally. Also, on both 22nd and 23rd May, you’ll find me from 13:00-14:00 at booth F10 at the Breakbulk Expo in Bremen. Finally, I’ll be chairing the CLC Projects network conference in Prague, taking place on 25th-26th May, where already a record no. of more than ninety participants shall be present. I just hope that I’ve got enough business cards printed for all these May events, as Theresa said, postponing it again. 🙂
We round off this week’s newsletter with shipping news, sector news and Wise Words and we’ve also got our featured picture and video of the week to share with you. Finally, kindly make a note if you are one of our many advertisers, that the last issue before the summer is published on June 27th and the first issue after summer will be published on August 8th.
Until next week, I remain,
Idea Shipping and Global Forwarding – Casablanca, Morocco
Interview with
Mr. Reda Benjelloun
Managing Director
Reda, firstly, please tell us about the history of Idea Shipping in Morocco. How was it founded and who are the owners of the company today?
Idea Shipping and Global Forwarding is a family owned business and has been since 1976. It was founded by Captain Mahmoud Benjelloun, a first Moroccan sea captain. He represented the golden generation of officers of the Moroccan merchant navy who had been able to accede to the higher functions of the sector, notably by being part of the general staff that had participated in the Moroccan acquisition, or Moroccanisation, of Comanav.
FairFishing – Copenhagen, Denmark
Interview with
Mr. Per Gullestrup
Board Member
Most of us involved in breakbulk and project cargo shipping are aware of the piracy situation around the Horn of Africa (and elsewhere). Can you tell us about your own hands-on experience regarding this matter? Also, can you enlighten our readers on whether it made you, as a shipping professional, consider new means and ways to remedy some of the root causes of piracy??
Clipper was unfortunate enough to have vessel highjacked in 2008, which I had to deal with, being responsible for our technical organisation at the time. It is not something you are prepared for, having to learn how to deal with that on the job. After this, we decided to take an active role in dealing with the pervasive piracy problem on the Somali coast. This involved dealing with it at the political establishment at the national (Danish) and international level. Denmark took a leading role in this effort, not least as a result of the input from Danish shipowners. In my view we all have a responsibility for addressing issues that affect the industry, as we cannot expect that someone else will do it.
The Danish shipping industry decided to address the root causes of piracy, i.e. the lack of gainful employment, the failed state in Somalia etc. by supporting Save the Children’s program for vocational training in Somalia.
Invest Hong Kong – Gothenburg, Sweden
Interview with
Mr. Mats Gerlam
Investment Promotion Executive
First, Mats, let me inform our readers that we met recently at the Port of Norvik/Stockholm deep water port introduction last week and that you represent InvestHK. Can you tell us a few details about InvestHK, as well as what you can do practically for people and companies that are interested in Hong Kong?
Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) was established by the Hong Kong SAR government to spearhead Hong Kong’s efforts to attract inward investment. InvestHK offers solution-oriented investment promotion, facilitation and after care services to ensure that companies have all the support required to establish or expand operations in Hong Kong. All assistance is free-of-charge. I represent InvestHK in the Nordics together with my colleagues Richard Chui (covering Norway) and Geert Hovens (covering Denmark).
Meet the breakbulk industry at AntwerpXL – last chance to register
Editor’s Note:
Breakbulk expo is coming back to its origin, Antwerp, Belgium, under the name AntwerpXL. It seems like it is well-organised, and it will be nice to meet you there early May. I shall be present at the booth no. B42 on 8th May between 9:30-13:00, in case you would like to meet the undersigned.
It’s who you know that counts, so at AntwerpXL we’re making sure you meet the people who are shaping the future. Taking place 7 – 9 May 2019 at Antwerp Expo, the event will feature a variety of networking events and opportunities, ranging from parties to working lunches, all aimed at helping you expand your network when you attend next week.
SAL Heavy Lift and Intermare Group Create SAL Heavy Lift, Italy
SAL Heavy Lift GmbH and Genoa based Intermare Group is very happy to announce the appointment of SAL Heavy Lift, Italy as the official representative for SAL in the Italian market.
Commencing 1st May 2019, SAL Heavy Lift, Italy will open its doors to existing and new clients and will be greeted by the familiar faces of Mr. Marco Campodonico, Mr. Mauro Morasso, and Mr. Paolo Boccoleri who with more than 75 years of experience between them are the perfect people to extend even further the presence and reputation of SAL in Italy.
Sustainable Arctic Shipping Service, CSSC
Editor’s Note:
COSCO is developing the Northern Sea Route. Here’s their latest introduction to this very interesting shortcut between Europe and Asia, passing north of Russia.
COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers Co. Ltd. is dedicated to the operation and management of more than One hundred thirty vessels, Including multi-purpose and heavy lift vessels, Semi-submersible vessels, Pure car carriers, Logs carriers as well as Asphalt carriers. The scale of this specialized shipping fleet is ranked as the largest in the world for MPV vessels.
The total fleet of COSCO Shipping Group is operating more then 1200 vessels with a capacity of 85.32 million DWT, ranking No.1 in the world.
Point of Contact:
Chen Feng 陈 锋
General Director
Marketing & Sales Center
19th Floor, Ocean Plaza,20 Huacheng Avenue
Guangzhou 510623, China
M: +86 139 0101 9441 / 180 2625 0757
Tel: +86 20 3816 1103
CHENFENG@coscol.com.cn
WeChat: Feng Chen
Somali Pirates Captured Following Attacks on Fishing Vessels
Editor’s Note:
As one of our interviews today include the mentioning of piracy and Somalia it seems that it was timely done. Here’s some fresh news literally showing that piracy is still ongoing, albeit at a slower pace, around the Horn of Africa.
EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation Atalanta has apprehended five suspected Somali pirates following incident that transpired over the course of several days.
According to EU NAVFOR, the incident began April 19 when five suspected pirates captured a Yemeni dhow off the coast of Somalia, before proceeding to navigate the dhow to a pirate basecamp where they reinforced their crew with additional members.
Skyluck: the ship that carried 2,600 people to Hong Kong in 1979
Editor’s Note:
News from the late seventies and a reminder of the exodus of boat refugees from Vietnam back then. Here an interesting look at the history covering the ship that carried 2,600 people to safety in Hong Kong. I recall I was a shipping trainee in Denmark in those days and many Vietnamese people were picked up by Maersk line ships and ultimately ended up in Denmark, doing well too.
On April 30, 1975, with the fall of Saigon, the capital city of South Vietnam, to the communist North, the long Vietnam war came to an end. The following year, Saigon would be renamed Ho Chi Minh City, in honour of the North’s late revolutionary leader.
With the country soon to be officially unified under the Communist Party of Vietnam, the bloody revenge against the people of the South (that many had anticipated) did not materialise. Once the dust of conflict had settled, however, as many as 300,000 people, especially those associated with the southern government and military, were sent to re-education camps to be “reformed” through hard labour and political indoctrination.
Bigge builds ‘perfect fleet’ at Bauma
Bigge Crane and Rigging has made a big impact at Bauma 2019, inking
orders for a variety of cranes and participating in handovers at Kobelco,
Liebherr, Link-Belt and Manitowoc Potain.
Liebherr handed over the keys for 16 crawler cranes including 15 LR 1300 and
one LR 1800. Bigge also placed orders for two LR 11000 units. Based in San
Leandro, CA and with branches located throughout the United States, Bigge has
more than 100 Liebherr models in its fleet.
Japan’s Showa Denko to build third plant in Vietnam, eyeing 72% boost to aluminum can output
Industrial material maker Showa Denko K.K. is planning to build a third
plant in Vietnam and launch operations by 2020, to aggressively boost aluminum
can output in the country.
The company said Thursday it will build the plant near Ho Chi Minh City and aims
to operate it from July next year, expanding its production capacity in the
Southeast Asian country by 72 percent to 3.1 billion cans per year.
Smiths Detection Receives $4.2 Million to Supply Ezeiza International Airport with Advanced Checked Baggage Screeners
Smiths Detection Inc. (SDI) supplier Dainippon, has received an order to supply HI-SCAN XCT 10080, a next generation, high-speed explosives detection system (EDS), to Dainippon for Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The systems are the first explosives detection solutions to be installed in the airport’s new baggage handling system aimed to improve the speed and efficiency of screening processes.
Smiths Detection’s HI-SCAN 10080 XCT utilizes a dual-energy advanced security X-ray and 3D volumetric Computed Tomography (CT) for enhanced imaging. The units are also capable of detecting other goods that are of interest to cargo shipment companies, customs, police and other authorities.
Sandvik, Codelco partner for automation and digitalization of Chuquicamata mine
Sandvik announced that it will deliver its AutoMine and OptiMine solutions to Codelco for its Chuquicamata mine in Chile, to transform it into an advanced underground mine in the world.
Codelco is converting Chuquicamata mine from open cast to an underground mine as part of a 10-year strategic project and the conversion operations are expected to start in 2019.
First Container Ship – ONE MINATO
Editor’s Note:
One which is the joint Japanese shipping conglomerate with its distinctive pink colours celebrating here their newbuilding from a yard in Japan. I hope that their economic future as ONE is as rosy as their ships colour.
Air separation unit to Temirtau / Kazakhstan
Editor’s Note:
An impressive shipment into the country of Kazakhstan via the Caspian Sea port of Kuryk, shows that anything is possible. Courtesy of www.vtg.de
From June 2018 till date VTG shipped over 12.000 FRT of equipment from Europe, Korea, China and Turkey to the ArcellorMittal steelworks in Temirtau / Kazakhstan.
The most challenging units were the 5 main components of coldboxes, the biggest measuring 4000 x 500 x 580 cm and weighing 150 tons. VTG teamed up with ALE Kazakhstan to get the job done.
After shipping the equipment from the German port to the Caspian sea port of Kuryk it took 3.800 kilometers of roads along cities like Atyrau, Uralsk, Aktobe, Astana up to the jobsite with a transit time of more than 70 days. www.vtg.de
