Dear Readers,
It is Thursday the 18th of June and PCW has arrived. Our country’s “fame” by following a different COVID-19 strategy than our Nordic neighbors has resulted in our having quite a substantial number of fatalities in comparison. Although I do carry a Danish passport and would be able to visit parents in Denmark at some point, there seems to be little in the way of coordination between the countries regarding ability to cross borders. Swedes cannot enter Denmark, but Danish can enter Sweden. Frankly speaking, to me, it doesn’t make sense. Let us await the “jury” verdict after this pandemic has subsided as it is indeed a clever enemy, and it seems able to strike anywhere and without warning.
Although we certainly do NOT live in hardship here in Scandinavia, the days are becoming a bit dull, and I suppose the main thing is that we are unable to plan anything moving forward. Families are split up worldwide as many cannot be reunited. Seafarers cannot be relieved of duty and cannot get to see their families, and the list just goes on.
Why is it always that when disasters happen, it is the most vulnerable that are hit the hardest? We simply don’t have a system in many countries that protects the vulnerable, and in some ways, that should really be addressed on a higher level.
Another thing to address is pollution, and a horrible accident happened in the vicinity of Norilsk, Siberia recently with a diesel spill of thousands of tonnes into the river system. It will be interesting to see HOW the authorities in Moscow will deal with the problem. See more here. Perhaps Russia can finance the clean up by selling off some of the diamonds they are harvesting in Siberia by digging gigantic holes in the ground. Diamonds are forever, they say, but nature is not; NOT even in Siberia which is so vast that any disaster can be hidden—and heaven only knows what other disasters are out there or in the Arctic waters to the North in that vast country.
The “green party” here in Sweden and most of their followers particularly in European countries could do with a fact-finding mission to Russia to see some of the real problems out there, but getting their hands dirty is not really the aim of these “modern day religions”. Instead, it’s all about being politically correct, especially when others foot the bill through endless taxes and “green fees”—and here, I am not talking about golf.
On another note, in the past week, I was in touch with a friend of mine, Julian of Asercomex in Spain. Spain is a preferred destination for tourists in Europe, and although hard hit by COVID-19, the country seems now to be opening up again. Thus, I was very pleased to see that his small freight forwarding company has started to generate business again and managed to book some project cargo from Spain to China (See photos here), So, yes, I heard from him that they are opening up to tourism, albeit with some restrictions as to keeping distance and so on… perhaps the new normal for us all?
Business has been severely hampered by the inability to travel, so a lot is done using interactive means such as video calls and video conferences. One such conference that you might wish to sign up for is the one by Antwerp XL. This conference focuses on the break bulk and project cargo industry. Otherwise, I do hear from many that although video conferences CAN for a while take up the slack, it will never replace in-person meetings —also not in educational terms of meeting face-to-face, and thank God for that. Still, there is no doubt that people who like to travel on the company’s expense will now find it harder to justify (and perhaps face more scrutiny of) their travel expense claims….
Regarding our interviews this week, we start off in the land of the Taj Mahal, curry, Bollywood, and yoga. Yes, you guessed it. It’s INDIA. We have got 2 interviews in store for you today, and we start off with a famous shipping agency in India called SAI MARITIME. They have a long history and tradition of representing reputable shipowners in Indian ports and can certainly be trusted to provide good service to you. We stay in the area of Mumbai and have a talk with another company with a very long and distinguished history. The company is called JEENA, and they give us their input on logistics to and from this large and populous country. We finally return to the scene of the “crime”, i.e. Siberia, and we speak to MORTRANS in St. Petersburg who tells us more about what to do logistics-wise in a country whose size defies belief.
We provide you with our usual treat, consisting of shipping news, trade intel, wise words, and featured picture and interview. We also feature a shipping profile of the week which features an interesting shipping person from Croatia.
Until next Thursday, I remain,
Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
bo.drewsen@projectcargo-weekly.com
SAI Maritime Management (P) Ltd. – Mumbai, India
Interview with
Ms. Rukhsana Vohra Mithani
Director
First of all could you tell us about the history and ownership of Sai Maritime in India?
Sai Maritime & Management P.Ltd. was formed in 1984 as a subsidiary to our parent company, Sai Shipping Co Pvt Ltd. The primary focus of Sai Maritime was to acquire Indian flag, heavylift tonnage with a plan to operate along the Indian Coast. Unfortunately, this project was shelved, but as they say: “When one door closes, another opens.” A couple of years later, we were approached by German Carrier SAL (formerly known as Schiffahrtskontor Altes Land GmbH and then owned by the Heinrich family) to handle their vessel m.v. ANTJE calling at Kandla port. This opened up a window of opportunity to expand the Group’s activities into the project & heavylift market.
Jeena & Co – Mumbai, India
Interview with
Ms. Shama Matthew
When was Jeena established and who are the owners?
Jeena & Co. was established in 1900 in Mumbai, India. To understand Jeena’s history, I would like to narrate a story.
Mr. Pallonji Katgara & Jamshedji Dastoor established Jeena in Mumbai with a start up finance of USD 75.- from a person called Jeenabhai. This finance was extended on the condition that the new company that would be formed would be in his name, i.e. Jeena.
They started clearing, shipping, and warehousing departments. Within a short span of time, they returned the money to Mr. Jeena and kept their word about the name. So, they never changed the name of the company.
Currently, the fourth generation is managing the company.
Mortrans Ltd. – St. Petersburg, Russia
Interview with
Mr. Oleg Prokoshev
Deputy Director
Could you provide us with some examples of cargoes that Mortrans has handled recently?
Business can be divided as imports, exports and local/domestic transportation.
If we speak about exports, they’re mostly to markets like India, Latin America and the Middle East. Our latest shipment is the dispatch of energy equipment. We packed the cargo, lashed on a FR container and sent it to our customer in India.
As far as imports, they’re mostly the importing of equipment for different building and/or renovation projects in Russia. One of our recent projects was the import of equipment and spare parts for building of a subway in Moscow. The cargo arrived to the Moscow region from China by railway. We arranged receipt of the cargo, handling it from the railway, through import customs clearance (with special attention paid to paperwork beforehand, as previously mentioned) and delivered it to the construction site within the Moscow city limits. That was big project, about half a year of transportation and about half a year of preparation. In total, it was about eighty truck voyages.
People in Shipping – Borna Petrovic – Liburnia Maritime Agency – Rijeka, Croatia
Interview with
Mr. Borna Petrovic
Commercial Manager
First of all, Borna, tell us why you chose a career in shipping?
I come from a country with a long maritime tradition. Growing up in Rijeka, the local port and three major shipyards always dominated the horizon. Coming from a family involved in shipping, it quickly became a real passion.
ILS Logistics Transported a Super Puma Helicopter from Poland to Angola
Editor’s Note:
A short shipping news story here about project cargo from origin in Poland to destination in Angola. Full credit for this valuable input to our newsletter to Mr. Carlos Magalhaes of ILS Group. I have never been to Angola, all I remember about the country is that once upon a time due to the oil boom the McDonald’s burger index price had Luanda ranked highest. Not sure about the situation now.
Originally manufactured by Aérospatiale, today Eurocopter, is a medium sized helicopter for civil and military purposes.
Also named as SUPER PUMA this helicopter achieved a major success in the civil industry in transport of equipment and on the crew changes on the oil rigs done in the Oil & gas industry.
The helicopter can transport 21 to 25 people apart of the flight crew and carry out up to 4.5 tons with an external hook.
Measurements 16,79 x 3,87 x 4,65 mt – 302 FRT
Weight 5900 kgs
Due to cargo nature, dimensions, and value the operation was meticulous prepared.
The Last Container Ship has Left Frihamnen Port in Stockholm
Editor’s Note:
Farewell to the port of Stockholm being “container commercial” downtown. The new port of Norrvik is now open and as you can see from below the port organised the Swedish word Hejdaa which means goodbye using containers and taking a shot of it – amazing! Who said the Swedes were boring?
The unloading of the final container vessel at Frihamnen port in Stockholm was an end-of-an-era moment. Now traffic will be redirected to the new freight port, Stockholm Norvik Port, which by its strategic location contributes to sustainable transport direct to the growing Stockholm region.
Port of Felixstowe Empty Never Seen this Before – It Only Can Become Better
Editor’s Note:
A friend of a friend of mine sent this photo taken with some distance looking towards the port of Felixstowe. Not a ship in sight and NOTHING’s going on – I think such a view hasnt been seen since the days of Henry the 8th!
Can only get better going forward – may this covid19 be eradicated AND soon!
CEVA Logistics Significantly Expands in Africa and Unveils its Strategic Plan to Become a Leading, Continent-Wide Market Player
Editor’s Note:
CEVA Logistics, although debt ridden and now the forwarding and logistics arm of CMA CGM, forges ahead irrespectively also in Africa with new company acquisitions. French-owned companies certainly do have an advantage in many African countries.
CEVA Logistics is launching a three-part expansion plan for the African market, through which it aims to become a leading, continent-wide market player.
With the acquisition of AMI Worldwide, CEVA Logistics is accelerating its expansion in East and Southern Africa. CEVA Logistics has acquired a controlling shareholding in AMI Worldwide, a third-party logistics provider with an extensive network in East and Southern Africa, which has more than 100 years of expertise in the region.
Djibouti Approves Construction of Grand Bara Solar Power Plant
The construction of the Grand Bara solar power plant has been green lighted by the government of the Republic of Djibouti, following the adoption of a preliminary assessment of the project.
Located at the Grand Bara region, of the East African country situated at the horn of the continent, the project will be developed, built and operated by a French energy company called Engie, on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis, following a framework agreement signed with the government of Djibouti, through the country’s electricity utility Électricité de Djibouti (EDD) mid last year.
LOESCHE Strengthens its Position in Vietnam with a Follow-up Order from Thanh Thang Group Cement JSC
Thanh Nghi, Vietnam – At the beginning of 2020 LOESCHE received a follow-up order from Thanh Thang Group Cement JSC in Vietnam to supply two vertical roller mills. The two mills are destined for a new cement line at the Bong Lang cement plant in Ha Nam province. The new cement line is a greenfield project. The contract customer for this project is SinomaNCDRI, a long-standing LOESCHE partner in international cement plant construction.
ABB to Install Electrification and Automation Systems at New Cement Plant in India
Birla Corp subsidiary RCCPL will employ ABB Ability™ Expert Optimizer and other digital technologies to maximize production at its new cement plant at Mukutban in Maharashtra.
Hisense to Start TV Set Production in Slovenia in January
China’s household appliances maker Hisense (000921.SZ) plans to start producing TV sets in Slovenia in January 2021, creating about 350 jobs in the country, Hisense said on Monday.
Production would be approximately 1.5 million TV sets in 2021 and rise to 4 million sets in the following years, spokeswoman Mateja Celin told Reuters, without giving a specific timeframe.
Port of Beirut
Editor’s Note:
It was once called Paris of the east and I am referring to Beirut, Lebanon. I was there personally in 2017 onboard CMA CGM Andromeda and had a nice lunch in their Monaco style marina but it is certainly a city with several faces and several levels of income. I didn’t see Carlos Ghosn there but understand that he arrived there later by stealth from Japan 🙂
Editor’s Note:
The KESS – Kline European Short Service RORO vessel seen here at the Port of Sodertalje south of Stockholm where the majority of car imports are arriving at the Swedish Baltic Coast.
