Dear Readers,
And it is Thursday again and the last one in February 2021. Two months have gone by which won’t come back—at least not this year.
Not a day goes by without us all being hammered by the latest corona situation, locally, regionally, continent-wide and worldwide. A lot of focus is currently on the seemingly slow and incompetent EU administration when it comes to procuring vaccines in time, and when comparing this to the status of UK vaccinations, we must admit that they are doing exceedingly much better than others in the EU.
Perhaps there is something to be said for the fact that the EU is, in many ways, a working place and bureaucratic monster created by leftovers from national parliaments. I mean with the ridiculing of the foreign policy advisor recently in Moscow and the sluggishness with which the EU looks after the pandemic, there surely is a lot that could be improved. Having a monster in Brussels asking for money from every member state; then, after financing their gigantic gravy train, they distribute those funds back to the very same countries, mainly from North to South and East, and, of course, only after a loss due to corruption (read more here) or mismanagement on the way.
COVID-19 has for sure, together with the immigration crisis before, made it evident for everyone that the mere talk of EU sanctions towards countries such as Russia or China are meaningless because we might be a sizable tiger but we’ve got paper teeth. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) though, has certainly learnt from the Russian way about NO TRANSPARENCY and rejected a couple of years ago a call to look into members spending. See video.
COVID-19 has brought, on the other hand, extremely happy days for containership owners at the moment in particular. I heard from a reliable source that the income right now of just one sailing, repeat one sailing, only out of China to Europe is as much as the income overall from a whole months’ worth of departures before the pandemic hit.
On another note, we are so gripped by the green religion and political correctness in the EU that many items nowadays simply cannot be sourced from outside China and/or India. Factories face rules up their backsides and approval procedures to get started, so moving back or taking back production is very problematic. But fear not, you can always levy more taxes on the citizens…..
Before I turn off my ranting for this week, let me reiterate that our societies have nothing much to learn from the likes of China or Russia, but we do need stronger leaders who are able to fight, stand strong, and also take decisions that are not always borne out of consensus. Perhaps it is the major drawback of democracy in action.
Speaking of which I almost forgot… In case you missed it, Italy changed their government again….?
Being a business newsletter about shipping, I had better get back to it!
We provide you today, first of all, with a reminder of an interview we had with Coli Logistics in Hamburg—an interesting, versatile company having both logistics operations and ship chartering on a global scale.
Then we provide you with an interview with Seaworks BV in The Netherlands, and the manager there tells us about their solutions in chartering and regular semi-liner traffic to South America in particular.
Finally, we have a discussion with the business development manager of WOF EXPO in Bratislava, Slovakia (a landlocked country, however at the heart of Eastern Europe) where they will launch a major logistics event slated for the autumn of this year. And yes, given the current work and costs climate in bigger parts of Western Europe, perhaps Eastern Europe is the place to be, develop contacts, and contemplate setting up business, production or offices in the future.We provide you with the usual shipping news, trade intel, and featured video and photo of the week and as well our wise words that are carefully chosen for content. And like clockwork, every Thursday I remind you to download our Project Cargo Weekly app free of charge where you have access not only to all interviews but also our 2020 YEARBOOK.
Until next week, we remain,
Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
bo.drewsen@projectcargo-weekly.com
COLI Logistics GmbH – Hamburg, Germany
Interview with
Mr. Patrick Zernikow
Managing Director
First of all, Patrick, tell us why you got into shipping in the first place and how you ended up as MD of COLI Logistics GmbH?
Due to the fact that my grandfather was a shipowner, I got in touch with the shipping business very early, actually from the time I was a child. Shipping was always a topic in our family. When I was a child, my father and I went to the port of Bremerhaven and could get very close to the ships. In those days, it was still possible, because it was before 9/11. Even though shipping and logistics is part of my daily life, for me it is still unbelievable how such big ships can keep afloat and carry so much cargo.
After several years working for another freight forwarder and doing some port consulting afterwards, the owner of COLI Group asked me to join COLI in order to set up the logistics division as a service addition of the COLI Group. So now we have brokerage, carrier and logistics under one umbrella.
SeaWorks BV Interviewed by PCW
Tjeerd Veldhuizen, Managing Director at SeaWorks BV interviewed by Bo H. Drewsen, Editor in Chief at Project Cargo Weekly. https://www.sea-works.com
WOF Expo Interviewed by PCW
Kristína Vetráková, Business Development Manager at WOF EXPO was interviewed by Bo H. Drewsen, Editor in Chief of Project Cargo Weekly. https://wofexpo.com
Intermarine and SAL Heavy Lift say “Ola Brasil” and establish a new joint office in São Paulo
Editor’s Note:
Seems like expansion plans are taking shape between SAL and Intermarine in the South Americas market—certainly an area that the 2 carriers know well and have relationships in as a team and with their current management. PCW wishes them well.
An exciting new venture is about to unfold in Brazil. On March 1st 2021, Intermarine Brazil and SAL Heavy Lift Brazil will open their doors in the great South American country. By establishing a joint office, the two heavy lift shipping & logistics companies are set to strengthen their operations in South America and expand their activities within the project cargo and breakbulk sectors.
Global Debt Soars to Record High of $281 Trillion in 2020 Following Robust Pandemic Response
Editor’s Note:
Shipping and airfreight are earning big time during this pandemic. But it also comes at a cost and the ever-easier printing of money to shelter most of us from repercussions will be costly. Can the printing of money continue endlessly?
Black Sea to Baltic: How Far is it from Being Realised?
Editor’s Note:
Railway is constantly being expanded and few, if any, have been thinking about why the Black Sea hasn’t really yet been linked to the Baltic, but given the development of the Silk Road to/from Central Asia/China it does make sense to also regionally move further on this.
Two months after the initial proposal for an intermodal corridor extending from the Black Sea to the Baltic, the situation looks more concrete than a vague suggestion. The possibilities concerning the corridor’s establishment are favourable since it will provide a reliable alternative to existing solutions. It seems that the Port of Gdansk and Poland are ready to move forward. However, missing rail links through Ukraine and Turkey’s role in the following years are crucial for the project’s completion.
HHLA: Rail Subsidiary Metrans to Expand Network through Investment in Hungary
Editor’s Note:
Already the darling of Eastern Europe cargo flow (Hamburg) in most cases one can say, this HHLA subsidiary continues to expand in the region. Besides branches in Caucasus region, they will soon cover most of the former good old East Block—as we who were born before the wall disappeared might say.
The HHLA intermodal company Metrans is building another rail terminal in Hungary in order to expand its transport services along the Adriatic Corridor and towards Southern and South-Eastern Europe. A corresponding agreement has been signed between the subsidiary of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) and the Hungarian government. The hub terminal will be built in Zalaegerszeg, which is located on the transport axis to the Adriatic ports of Trieste, Koper and Rijeka.
Construction of Tanzania–Uganda Roads Expected to Begin Soon
Undertaken by LEA Consulting Ltd, the designs covered 89.5 kilometers of the Masaka to Mutukula road section in Uganda, a 30 km section from Mutukula to Kyaka linking to a 133 km Tanzania section from Bugene to Kumunazi via Kasulo.
Kengen Wins Geothermal Drilling Contract for Three Wells in Djibouti
This is the third geothermal drilling contract that KenGen has won in Africa. In October 2019, the company secured a Ksh 5.8 billion contract to drill 12 geothermal wells in Ethiopia. The contract with an independent power producer includes installing a water supply system and equipment. In February 2019, KenGen won yet another contract for consultancy services and drilling geothermal wells. The contract is worth USD 76,801,344 (about Kshs 7.6 billion). It has also developed partnerships with countries such as Ethiopia and Rwanda in renewable energy development.
Financing of Secured for Wind Farm Project in Brazil
The project was developed by Brazilian developer Eólica Tecnoligia and Nordic Power Partners, a development company owned jointly by European Energy and the Danish Climate Investment Fund, which is managed by IFU and partly financed by Danish pension funds.
Phase Two Implementation of Obetsebi-Lamptey Interchange Project Starts
This phase consists of the construction of the third tier flyover from the Abossey Okai Central Mosque side of the Abossey Okai road towards the STC Yard. It also includes the construction or other continuation of the construction of underground storm drains from the Graphic Road all the way to Mpamprom, near Kaneshie.
Departing early morning from Fremantle, WA to Sydney, NSW mv CMA CGM Georgia
Editor’s Note:
Being on board a cargo ship as a passenger is my pastime. I hope I can go soon again. Here is some footage from early morning while leaving the port of Fremantle, July 2019 with next stop Sydney!
Editor’s Note:
The size of the wind turbine blades arriving nowadays on breakbulk ships is ever increasing, and when you compare it to the port worker trying to climb up here, you get a feel for how huge (mainly long) at 72 m they really are! And they are talking about in excess of 100 m for offshore in the future!
Picture taken onboard a UHL vessel at Port of Karlshamn.
