Dear Readers,
It is Thursday 17th October and here we are again. Autumn has arrived here in Stockholm Sweden, and the weather has become gradually colder. I am lucky enough to be able to work from home and just yesterday I was reminded my good fortune in avoiding daily commutes to/from work and not having to be part of jam-packed buses or subways in the morning rush hours.
Of course, the downside of working from home is the lack of social interaction with colleagues. “How was your weekend? What happened on your date last night?” and so on. Still on balance, at least for me, I do appreciate saving the commute time to work efficiently online as it does give me a couple of extra hours a day. I’ve worked with colleagues who’ve allegedly spent ten hours at work looking busy, whilst others could do the same work in half the time. Social media interrupts us constantly too with messages and we tend to lose focus.
I am still, at fifty-six, trying to come to grips with digital discipline so that it doesn’t hamper my concentration finishing the task that is before me first, before jumping onto something new. The jack of all trades but the master of none is what I feel many of us are nowadays. So yes, let us hope that the young generation will manage the digitization better and that we will still be able to see each other eye-to-eye and have normal conversations. Speaking of which, during dinner with your wife at a nice restaurant, I’d recommend that you remove your mobile phone from the table!
When I started as a trainee in 1980, I learnt to use the telex. Next came the bulky fax machine and the rest is now history. My mobile is glued to my hand nowadays and this is likely because, admittedly, it has indeed revolutionised both work and private life. Well, as the saying goes, you can’t stop the train, so you’d better stay on it once you’re already on.
On the political front, we have the usual statements from the EU concerning Turkey and Syria, but as well all know by now, statements from the EU are just that: grand proclamations. The EU seems mostly preoccupied with nominating this or that person to a certain political post, but when it comes to protecting or defending the outer borders of the EU area, they are incapable. Looking back to 2015 or perhaps even further, the utterances from the EU haven’t changed and when you do deals with dictators instead of solving problems yourself, it’s like peeing your pants in winter; it warms at first but will inevitably become colder later. But as a famous leader told us all, “War schaffen dass” loosely translated as “we will handle it”, but please share our burdens later.
In today’s newsletter, we start by flying to one of my favourite South American countries, Chile, famous for nature, food, wine, and more. You name it, the country has it all. We talk here to Eurotrans, a local freight forwarder located in Santiago.
Finally, we have an interesting conversation with a company physically based in Finland and heavily involved in security devices for containers. As we all know, theft is a big problem in certain areas, so the opportunity to get to know their innovative product on the market is important. We have, of course, shipping news, trade intelligence and wise words, as well as a nice video and project photo in store for you. Please enjoy fully.
On a final note, I would like to inform you that the last issue of Project Cargo Weekly for this year will be published on 28th November. We’ll start again on 9th January 2020.
Until next week, I remain,
Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
bo.drewsen@projectcargo-weekly.com
Eurotrans Overseas – Chile
Interview with
Mr. Italo Lizana
CEO
Do you have experience in handling project cargo and, if so, could you provide us with a few examples?
Yes, we have experience in project cargo, mainly for the piping industry and also transporting minerals like lithium and barite. Transporting oversized iron pieces is another of our…
Enero 8 Holdings – Finland/Singapore
Interview with
Mr. Stefan Carrizo
I understand that you are developing keyless electronic locks for the shipping industry. Will you please tell us more?
Let’s start with the keyless aspect. Many container attacks originate from the fact that physical keys are just not safe enough. Key locks can be picked, keys can be copied and keyholders can be pressured, to say the least. So, we want to give back the sole authority to open/close a container to the actual person in charge of the…
COSCO Group News
Editor’s Note:
COSCO the agency for whom I worked for eleven years (first at Triship and then later at Penta Shipping, bought by COSCO in 1995) has now gone into cruise shipping. That is indeed a major development. It’s interesting as the Chinese market is potentially huge for cruise shipping, with a wealth of Chinese people wanting to travel in this way.
Antwerp XL 2020
Editor’s Note:
AnwerpXL is a breakbulk expo that you should attend if you are involved in breakbulk and project cargo. Antwerp is the traditional hub for expos like this, and has above all excellent links as a port to the emerging markets of Africa and South America. At PCW, we’ve been approached by the conference director, Ms. Helen Blantz. If you are interested in this expo, I’d recommend you plan it soon. I attended it last year and it was a high quality event, an event made for profit, of course, but you didn’t get the feeling that profit was what the expo was all about. In short, a quality venue, with quality food available and overall a nice environment to meet pther shipping people.
Through the Northwest Passage with the Manhattan in 1969
Editor’s Note:
The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is becoming popular, although a couple of global shipowners, most notably CMA CGM and Hapag Lloyd, have already announced that they will not seek to utilise this route due to environmental concerns. I found this to be a very interesting article that gives a historic perspective into the NSR, published recently in Maritime Executive.
This was considered a historic voyage, the Manhattan being the first very large commercial vessel to transit the Northwest Passage. The purpose of the voyage was to test the feasibility of using the Northwest Passage as a year-round transport route for Alaskan oil to the U.S. eastern seaboard (the decision was later made to build a pipeline across Alaska and ship the oil down the Pacific Coast).
WTO Boosts Employee Trade Skills, an Incoterms(R) Rules Podcast and more
Editor’s Note:
Incoterms 2020 new rules are out. Perhaps it is time to train your staffs and organise that they really understand the internationally accepted trade terms and conditions. If more shipping people actually understood the terms there would no doubt be less claims about costs and responsibility.
Namibian Ports Authority – Namport Newsletter
Editor’s Note:
Namibia is a beautiful country and its ports are also a gateway for places in Central Africa. Here’s all the latest news from Namport.
Zippe Receives Osotspa Batch Plant Order in Thailand
Zippe Industrieanlagen received an order for a new batch plant in Ayutthaya from Osotspa (Siam Glass) in 2017. The two older batch plants, which had supplied furnace AY#1 and furnace AY#2, were replaced by a new Zippe batch plant.
The plant is designed for a total melting capacity of 470 tonnes per day.
Genesis to Increase Soda Ash Capacity at Granger Operation
Genesis Energy will invest $300 million to increase its soda ash glassmaking raw material facility. The US company said it will expand its Granger production facility, at Green River, Wyoming, USA to increase soda ash production by 750 kilotons a year.
Mesnac Sells First Cutting Machinery to the US
Mesnac has signed an agreement on 17th July to supply its fabric cutting machine to a “premium tire maker” in the US.
Smiths Detection’s Largest Ever Order for HBS Systems Confirmed by Spanish Airport Operator, Aena
Smiths Detection’s long-term Spanish distributor, TECOSA, has won a contract with Aena SME, S.A. worth over £128 million – representing Smiths Detection’s largest ever single order for hold baggage security scanners. The ECAC Standard 3 approved explosives detection systems will be deployed in five international airports across Spain.
Editor’s Note:
Footage taken by a passenger onboard CMA CGM Christophe Colomb, looking to another giant container vessel from Yangming in the Bay of Biscay.
Editor’s Note:
Residing here in Stockholm, it is nice to see that even here in the capital of Sweden project cargo movements are actually happening, and on a more regular basis than thought. Being a former chairman of Martin Bencher Group I am happy to see that the company is still going strong moving heavylifts in urban areas with skill and expertise. The piece measuring 30 x 3,9 x 5,6 m and weight 212t was moved by them including discharge from ocean vessel, transport on inland water ways, discharge to trailer with floating crane, road transport and unloading by jacking and skidding. www.martin-bencher.com
