Dear Readers,
I am sad in a way to announce that today’s issue of PCW is actually the last one for this year! 2024 is just around the corner, and I will start publishing again on January 11th. A year is soon behind us and I think (together with many no doubt): where did the time go. I googled it for lack of a better way and found this link.
I am trying to remind myself to plan not only for the future but also to live for TODAY. A friend of mine remarked after a dinner I had last week here in Santiago, Chile (where I am right now) that the brain seems to focus on what happened before and what is happening tomorrow – but NOT on today. Join me in learning to live also today, not just in the past or in the future. It sounds simple enough but it isn’t.
Some of us no doubt have had instances where friends suddenly succumbed to illness, traffic accidents or just burn out. One particular incident comes to mind whereby the wife of a former business partner died by a stroke just as they were about to embark on the plans they always had for their retirement in the sunshine without stress. What is the point of having money if you are dead? Does the last jacket have any pockets? My father once told me: ‘Save for a rainy day! but remember it won’t rain for 3 months.’ To me, at least, as much as I like to fly 1st or business class, the pleasure of it diminishes the more you can do it. Habit kills pleasure, and you need then to get more and more so as to speak to get a new high, right?
I am now flying into Asia where I have spent many years of my life: China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Thailand, etc. I am looking forward to it, but it is a very long haul from Chile. I managed to get myself an emergency row seat on the QR flight from São Paulo to Qatar (and 2F on SCL/GRU) and then with a 6 hour layover the same from Qatar to Hong Kong. I luckily found the happiness of reading books again, and thus, the trip with some solid books, a sleeping table perhaps and being able to stretch the legs should help me “overcome” the long trip. I learnt the hard way from before and did NOT book any meetings until 2 days after my arrival in what was my favourite worldwide city for many years.
I am currently reading 3 books as my mood changes (sounds like one of my ex wives… 😁). Here are the 3 books I am currently delving into:
I have almost managed to stop drinking on the flights. First, simply because age is creeping up on me more than before and second, because jetlag is a longer and more frequent consequence. So, although I have airport lounge access, I know only too well that ‘getting in the mood’ lasts only for a short time and that you eventually have to pay the bill. A friend of mine from Thailand once remarked: “The most difficult thing for me is to hear the clinking of bottles when the stewardess brings the cart towards my seat. How can I order only a diet coke?” I believe that is indeed a true statement!
The Danish movie Druk (aka Another Round) actually highlights this. They experiment whether the belief that we function better with a bit of alcohol in the blood is true or not… One might say that drinkers, smokers and sniffers do keep the business of said substances going whilst in turn employing hundreds of thousands of people—and of course, let us not forget keeping the government’s tax coffers full as tax levied on cigarettes and alcohol is a major source of revenue.
Being a journalist can sometimes have risks. For some, or more than ever, it is coupled with dangers when reporting on the issues of the high and mighty, stories often relating to greed, corruption, etc. Having lived in Malta and still having a property there, the island with its proud history does have somewhat of a bleak reputation nowadays and seems unable to “clean itself up”. You may watch the following video to know more of what I am talking about.
Still back to our beloved shipping business. We have some interesting interviews in our final issue of the year:
1. Equatorial Guinea – a country seldom heard about (perhaps many didn’t even know it exists). We speak to Akon-Donluis, a project and general freight forwarder active there.
2. Ghana & the UK – Freightagency is a UK and Ghana-based freight forwarder offering solid and hands on services to all.
3. Denmark – We revisit an interview we had earlier with one of the majors both for the small country in the world but also for the world, i.e., DSV — which by some estimates ranks among the largest 3-4 freight forwarders.
We, of course, provide you with shipping news, trade intelligence, featured picture and video as well as wise words. Before I let you go, let me also remind you that we are publishing our 2023 Yearbook on the 15th of February. Being a 300+ page online and totally clickable Yearbook, it is a sought after publication.
Wishing you all the very best for Christmas, Happy New Year and with hopes for a peaceful, prosperous 2024!
Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
bo.drewsen@projectcargo-weekly.com
Akon-Donluis – Equatorial Guinea
Interview with
Mrs. Heather Woodcock-Destemberg
Vice-President of Sales and Marketing
First of all Heather, can you tell our readers a bit about your career? How come you ended up in logistics, and for how many years have you been active in this field?
I was working as a consultant on an Exxonmobil project in N’Djamena, Chad, in Central Africa training new recruits from the country in English. Eventually things progressed for me differently and I was given the opportunity to join the Operations Department and started to get involved in different parts of Logistics. I started in “people logistics” (airlines, etc.) and eventually worked my way from Chad to Equatorial Guinea. It was there that I really got involved in inbound/outbound shipment processes for American Oil & Gas operators dealing with Customs Clearance activities and other parts of the Supply Chain business activities.
What was so interesting for me was to have worked in a landlocked country such as Chad and then later to Bioko Island where the capital city of Malabo is located. It was from a hot, dry, sub-saharan climate to a tropical one, and I was surrounded by water! As we know, logistics has so many facets and through the 20+ years (a woman never gives away her age they say!) I can say that I have enjoyed so many great moments in Central Africa in spite of all of the challenges!
Video Interview
Freight Agency Ltd – UK & Ghana
Richard Smith Sales and Marketing Director at Freight Agency Ltd was interviewed by Bo H. Drewsen, Editor in Chief at PCW
Video Interview
DSV
Sune Thorleifsson, Director, Global Sea Chartering at DSV interviewed by Bo H. Drewsen, Editor in Chief at PCW
Ice Chart from the Swedish Weather Authority
Editor’s Note:
Icy conditions are known to shipowners and sailors in the Bay of Bothnia / Baltic Sea. See this latest update from the Swedish Weather Authority…
SEKO Logistics Partners with CakeBoxx Technologies to Provide Transformative Solution for Government, Space & Defense Industries
Editor’s Note:
Not directly shipping but still – a new “joint venture” by Cakeboxx concerning space and defense, interesting for us all as the world evolves nowadays with conflicts around…
SEKO Logistics today announced it has teamed up with CakeBoxx Technologies. Leveraging CakeBoxx’s expertise in sustainable, specialized transport and storage solutions for high-value, high-consequence cargo, SEKO will continue to elevate its Government, Space & Defense vertical to move the most sensitive shipments to the world’s most complex areas.
Carriers roll out new ancillary charges – ‘we’re going to need every dollar’
Editor’s Note:
Shipping lines need to recover their balance sheet and face the “hardship”, still they ought to have saved for a rainy day from their corona heydays with fully booked ships, unreasonably high freight rates and so on… reality now bites again.
With container spot rates below ocean carrier unit operating costs on some routes, shipping lines are increasingly focusing on billing customers with a myriad of surcharges to boost revenue in what is predicted to be a tough period.
ESC Newsletter – 30 November 2023
Editor’s Note:
European Shippers Council has issued their latest newsletter – it involves shippers, without whom we are doomed in the logistics and shipping industry so we had better read whatever they have to say…
Here is the next edition of our bi-weekly newsletter, containing a selection of the most relevant news, information, and events in the field of transport & logistics from the shippers’ perspective. It is published in the middle and at the end of the month and contains an overview of all posts within the respective reporting period. For more regular news, please visit our website frequently, as we are writing news posts regularly.
Thiess Ramps Up Truck Rebuilding in Asia-Pacific
Thiess has secured a lease for a new facility at Kabil Integrated Industrial Estate on Batam Island, Indonesia, allowing the global mining services provider to expand its truck and component rebuilding capabilities on a large scale.
Comprehensive Expansion of Yas Waterworld
The Arabian Miral Group is expanding Yas Waterworld on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi by some 16,900 square meters. A total of 18 new attractions, including a total of 3.3 kilometres of slide sections, are to be added until 2025, in order to increase the water park’s guest capacity by around 20 percent. The new area of the park will open under the name of “Lost City”, where guests will embark on an exciting journey in search of hidden treasures and secret passages. The coming new attractions include a boat ride, racing and tube slides, family raft rides and a “Duelling Master Blaster”. The slides are supplied by Canadian manufacturer WhiteWater West.
Steerprop To Supply Bow Thrusters for Canada’s New Polar Icebreaker
Steerprop has been chosen to supply advanced ice-classed bow thrusters to the Canadian Coast Guard’s new Polar Icebreaker. The ship will be designed and built by Seaspan Shipyards as part of Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy.
India’s Waaree Secures US Order for 1.5 GW of TOPCon Solar Modules
Waaree Energies said this week that it has agreed to supply 850 MW of mono PERC solar modules to Acciona Energia’s projects in the United States. This brings the Indian manufacturer’s total panel shipments to the US market to 4 GW in 2023.
Visiting Antofagasta, Chile and Surroundings
Editor’s Note:
Visiting Antofagasta and surrounding which are very desert and moon-like, but don’t be fooled by the barren landscape it contains “gold” so to speak – last time in Antofagasta for me was some 20 years ago – my father was in Antofagasta 1957… hard to fathom.
Editor’s Note:
Coli Shipping in Hamburg are among the more innovative shipowners, operators and logistics providers that we know of. They were involved in this project recently consisting of deliveries to Japan!
Green Energy on a Green Ship
The MV E-Ship 1, powered by sustainable energy, set sail from Emden, Germany carrying six E-115 turbines below deck, which was topped off with 18 rotor blades from Leixoes, Portugal. Due to the detailed planning of all involved parties, the cargo was safely loaded so that the vessel could proceed timely with its voyage to Soma, Japan.
This entire arrangement was orchestrated through the collaborative efforts of COLI Japan (CPC) and COLI’s HQ in Hamburg, all in the service of @Hitachi Power Solutions, Japan.
These two companies are proud members of the COLI Group, a collective driving innovation and sustainability in maritime transport and logistics.
Note that the vessel, the E-Ship 1, is quite a special roll-on/lift-off (RoLo) cargo ship. It is owned by Enercon, the third-largest wind turbine manufacturer and is used for transporting Offshore Wind equipment. It features 4 in-house developed Flettner rotors.
Want to know more about this project or the capabilities of COLI Group? Reach out to: Steffen Rosskamp or Shiragami Takeshi.
