Dear Readers,
It is Thursday the 14th of April, and I am writing to you from Perth, Australia.
It’s been a couple of years since I last visited this beautiful place, but I am also reminded just how far away Perth is. The state of WA / Australia is similar to the size of Western Europe and is famous for scenery, wine, mining and whatever you can dig out of the ground you can sell to China….well almost. It is, of course, typical for such an area that there is boom and bust. Right now, there seems to be a boom again with prices going up and plenty of jobs available.
Originally, when deciding to leave Beijing in 2012, I was planning to move to Perth but ultimately decided with the family to take up residence in Stockholm instead. I must admit that when enjoying the very pleasant weather down there (at the moment, down here), I sometimes wonder if it was the right decision ? .
Anyhow, visiting here is great, and I had several nice meetings, lunches, and dinners. There seems to be a positivity here as WA now also gradually is coming out of the Corona lockdown. I am flying back to Stockholm tonight and will be home after some 20 hours of flight. Also taking into account the 6-hour time difference, it makes for quite an ordeal, but luckily, I am for once in front and using Qatar Airways which does make your flight pleasant.
A couple of friends of mine from Sydney and Brisbane flew in to Perth to meet me, and considering that their flight was about 5 hrs in the same country, it makes you remember the true size of the continent of Australia. It is indeed, in many ways, the lucky country, and somehow it is still a magnet for many who have tired of the “old” continent of Europe. On the other hand, there are plusses and minuses everywhere, and we can’t have everything in life, right? I also have to admit that being away from the children at home is getting more and more difficult, so yes, the old saying “east, west home is best” is indeed true.
Last time I was in Fremantle (which is the main port city to Perth) it was 2019. I arrived aboard a container ship as a passenger together with my daughter, and we then continued on to Melbourne where we disembarked. A few selected pictures from that trip here, reaching Fremantle after 12 days of sailing from Port Kelang. It was a fantastic trip, I was (and still am) proud that my daughter, now 20, enjoyed the trip with her “old man” as well.
Back to business and our usual interviews. This week, we “visit” Libya, Mongolia and Australia.
We start off by talking to an expert with a wealth of experience living and working in the country of Libya. He is normally based in Malta but has spent much time early in this oil-rich but somehow war-torn country. That makes the interview with ALAJEAL OIL SERVICES interesting.
Mongolia is a landlocked country sandwiched between China and Russia. It is the place where the master ruler Genghis Kahn originates from. We hear from a local project freight forwarder called INFINITY TM in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and they tell an interesting story.
We finally re-publish an interview with LOBO LOGISTICS in Brisbane, Australia in honour of the owner coming all the way to Perth to visit me here.
We naturally provide the usual shipping news, trade intel and wise words and remind you once again to download our mobile App here and see our Yearbook here.
Until next week when I am back in Europe,
Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
bo.drewsen@projectcargo-weekly.com
Video Interview
Alajeal Oil Services
Etienne Vassallo, Offshore & Technical Assistance Director at Alajeal Oil Services was interviewed by Bo H. Drewsen, Editor in Chief at Project Cargo Weekly.
TM Infinity LLC – Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Interview with
Mr. Naranbaatar (Nikkie) Chantuu
Logistics & General Manager
First of all Nikkie, could you tell our readers about the history of TM Infinity, Mongolia?
We are a Mongolian customs’ licensed freight forwarding and cargo handling company with the name TM Infinity, registered in January 2019.
At TM Infinity, we meet all your global transportation needs at the best rates (very competitive). Whether you are flying any item no matter how sensitive, for instance general cargo and shipment from your country or vise-versa, you can count on us to get your cargo where it’s going to, on time and its safety guaranteed.
TM Infinity LLC is an International Freight Forwarding company providing a broad range of services in the field of transportation. By choosing TM Infinity LLC, you have selected a firm that has built its reputation on the highest service standards facilitated by an experienced organization. We are offering comprehensive international and domestic transport logistics services to our customers, using all kinds of transportation (such as rail, air, sea and auto); our specialist knowledge and skills; and a network of over 200 agents which are located in over 90 countries of the world.
Lobo Logistics – Brisbane, Australia
Interview with
Mr. Alberto Coll
Director
Could you please tell us about your experience and background in project cargo and logistics? What is your nationality?
I was born in Venezuela, South America and have been around international logistics and project cargo all through my professional life. I moved to Australia in 2002 and started working for companies such as P&O Nedlloyd, Maersk Line, Skelton, JBS and 20Cube.
I have been lucky to work in almost every field including: reefer cargo/dangerous cargo/OOG/liquid bulk/dry bulk and project cargo.
Ports of Stockholm Welcomes the First of 230 Cruise Ships
Editor’s Note:
Fantastic news for the Port of Stockholm and the cruise related industry in Sweden with obviously less (if any) cruise ships now visiting Russian ports such as St Petersburg, Stockholm and other “democratic” ports is bound to to see a surge in business of course also due to corona restrictions being lifted.
The first cruise ship of the season will arrive in Stockholm on 10th April. Despite the troubling international situation the season has a lot of bookings, with many cruise ships booking extended stays. Stockholm is an extremely popular cruise destination and an obvious choice for shipping companies and travel organisers.
UECC Launches New North Sea Service
Editor’s Note:
Latest news from the intra-european roro carrier that also takes project cargo as well as rolling stock.
UECC is launching a new North Sea service connecting the ports of Zeebrugge, Esbjerg, Gothenburg and Drammen on a weekly basis. This new service is being launched on the back of several new contracts with some of the major European car manufacturers and will supplement UECC’s existing weekly Atlantic service connecting the ports of Vigo, Zeebrugge, Bremerhaven, Malmo and Drammen.
Despite Ukraine war, US and Russia Continue Emergency Cooperation in the Bering Strait
Editor’s Note:
More than ever in present war situation with Russia/Ukraine its important to keep abreast of developments ALSO in the Arctic. Latest here from Arctic today which seems most informative.
Even as western nations break off relations with Russia and freeze it out of international forums in the Arctic and elsewhere in response to its invasion of Ukraine, there is at least one area of continued U.S.-Russian cooperation: marine safety on either side of the Bering Strait.
The U.S. Coast Guard in Alaska and its Russian counterpart, the Russian Border Guard, maintain their agreements and programs for cooperation and joint responses to life and safety threats, government officials said at an Arctic conference in Anchorage last week.
Crozier & Christie’s Launches New Regular Sea Freight Route Between London and New York
Editor’s Note:
Not directly project cargo but still art also needs transport and it seems to of the most well known involved in art have teamed up as you can see here.
A pioneering initiative aiming to significantly reduce the carbon footprint associated with artwork transportation is launched today by Crozier in partnership with Christie’s. This new initiative will now afford arts organizations the opportunity to minimize the environmental impact of shipping by choosing sea vs. air freight – calculated to represent an 80% reduction in impact compared to standard air freight shipments. Together, the companies will inaugurate a monthly service to determine viability of creating a fleet of bespoke sea containers exclusively for the transportation of artworks between London and New York and every 2 months between London and Hong Kong. Each shipment will allow 60% of space for use by Christie’s with remaining space available for consolidated Crozier gallery client shipments.
Registration Is Now Open for Manifest 2023 in Las Vegas
Editor’s Note:
The Las Vegas held event that focuses on innovation and technology in the logistics and supply chain sector will begin 30th January, 2023.
The successful inaugural event, in January of this year, featured more than 1,400 supply chain executives from 30 countries, who descended on Las Vegas, for three days of powerful content, technology demonstrations, 1:1 meetings, a hands-on Expo Floor and exciting after-hours networking events.
“We were honored to host such an impressive gathering of the industry’s best and brightest,” said Manifest President, Courtney Muller. “The feedback has been incredible and we look forward to returning to Las Vegas in 2023.”
Scientific & Medical Equipment House awarded SAR 219m Contract
Scientific & Medical Equipment House Company has won a SAR 218.83m contract to provide maintenance, cleaning, and non-medical operation services to King Fahad specialist hospital.
The five-year contract has been signed with the Saudi Ministry of Health, according to a bourse filing on Wednesday.
Boliden to Improve Aitik Mine’s Tailings Dam
Miner Boliden said on Monday it would spend large sums over the next two years on works on the tailings dam at its Aitik copper mine in northern Sweden. “Areas with poorer soil conditions than previously estimated have been identified. Additional dam heightening and deposition of tailings against dams in these areas has therefore been suspended,” it said in a statement.
The Guinea Government Signs a Framework Agreement with the Companies Active in Simandou Iron
In full production, the Simandou deposit can deliver 100m tonnes of iron ore. Determined to preserve Guinean interests in this gigantic project, Conakry had ordered in early March the cessation of all activities related to its development.
In Guinea, the Transition authorities announced last weekend the conclusion of a “ historic ” framework agreement with the two companies active on the four blocks of the giant Simandou iron project.
Rio Tinto Simfer and Winning Consortium Simandou are indeed going to pool their investments for the construction of the Transguinéen, a railway of around 670 km allowing the transport of future iron production to the deep water port which will be built in Moribaya. This advance comes two weeks after the suspension ordered by President Mamadi Doumbouya of all activities related to the project.
Port of Stockholm/Norvik (Hutchison) with mv Pacific Fortitude alongside
Editor’s Note:
Hatchcover opening readying a ship for discharging cargo from the lower holds is always special
Editor’s Note:
Flying has started again and so also for me. Visiting Perth, Western Australia is a long trip when coming from Stockholm. But one pleasure on an otherwise terrible long trip was indeed the service from Qatar Airways onboard. Adding a candle to the light meal was a highlight of the trip and made the ambience on the long trip over the Indian Ocean even though bumpy worthwhile.
