Dear Readers,
It is Thursday the 22nd of February, and we are back with our regular programme.
It has been a while since I wrote an editorial, and it was mainly due to the recent long visit to Dubai attending the www.clcprojects.com & www.cross-ocean.com Global Network Meeting (see picture here); in addition to attending the now famous Breakbulk Expo Middle East. I believe I met with some 250 people in less than 6 days, but overall, that is indeed what shipping is all about. Meeting and greeting. People move around a lot nowadays, but somehow they often remain the same, so the one you may talk trash about one week may be your boss the following week. “Never burn bridges” and “keep all doors open” seems to be the right policies nowadays.
Companies evolve, and once they become too big and drown in admin, politics and in-fighting, then the clever people leave. They are then replaced by others, and the circle goes on. Besides the network meeting and Breakbulk, I also attended 2 great parties and didn’t find time for the last one (Cosco Shipping) . One party that stood out in quality, ambience, food and drink of the highest standard was the www.aalshipping.com party. Being kind of the replacement for the now defunct Rickmers Linie RTW Service, AAL Shipping has grown to become a major player not just in regional China/Australia trade but also now across the Pacific and from Europe to Indian Subcontinent and Asia. If I was a cargo owner and my bookings followed the quality of the party event, they would get the shipment🙂.
Writing this editorial from Stockholm (where I am right now visiting with family and kids before yet another trip) and where darkness and winter still prevails makes, me of course long for the light. I find the winters and dark hours harder to take as I grow older, and in the week passed, I turned 61. I had lunch yesterday with a friend of mine who turned 64 just 3 days after me, and he told me that some of his friends have started to pass. I also think about life and enjoying it to the fullest; appreciating every minute. This means removing obstacles to happiness and living my own life without listening too much to what other people suggest that I do. It is always easier for other people to ‘clean windows’ which do not belong to themselves. As the saying goes: “You got trouble in your marriage? just tell me all about it and I will guide you”…but your own problems you cannot sort out. Rings a bell, doesn’t it ? I repeat the phrase that a friend of mine told me when I was in doubt: “Better regret what you did than what you didn’t do.” I think this sentence says it all. Finding out that you have lived a life that is not your own and overly pleasing other people is not the meaning of life. That doesn’t mean that you need to be selfish, greedy, stingy, and/or always protective of your own demands, but it does mean that you should put on the oxygen mask yourself first when the plane loses cabin pressure… if you know what I mean.
I felt very invigorated from the recent trip, particularly because Project Cargo Weekly is now pretty well-known. Besides the writings in my editorial, interviews, etc., it is all about networking and “rings in the water” … spreading the word from one to the next so there is no stopping it. But networking is hard work; you need to hang in there. You cannot only keep in touch when you need something. You also must do something yourself even when it is not always in your own interest.
It costs money to earn money. I have met a few who believe they can save their way through life and who always seem to need to go to the restroom when the bill is to be paid. You met some of them, haven’t you? Jokes abound about some people famous for being stingy. In this particular regard, the Dutch come to mind, and even when I worked as the agent of Scottish Ben Line where they said that a Ben Line ship could always be spotted in the horizon because there were no seagulls following it🙂. They say that the Grand Canyon was actually created by Dutch immigrants who lost some coins..🙂, but trust me: that could have been said about some people from other countries, too. There are jokes about everyone and about every country, but in our politically correct times, we must be very careful as people easily take “offense” and unless you are greener or holier than thou, then you do not belong to the “good people”.
Generally, I would say we need to sharpen our skills overall in Europe if we are to stand a chance against countries with leaderships which have only one goal: world domination. There are some people and countries out there for whom democracy and the rule of law are mere phrases. In fact, such “obstacles” are seen as weakness, yet the offspring of the leaders still want our universities and their “comrades” need our banks. Let us see… The fact that there is an election in the European parliament and just being able to vote is something I guess – if only they would then listen to the people once they get into the ivory towers.
I shall be traveling onboard a cargo ship from Portugal to Japan on or about the 7th of March for 45 days around the Cape due to the Red Sea situation. Thus, PCW will be absent between 7th of March and 25th of April. However, travel reports will be published on what hopefully becomes an epic voyage with www.asiabreakbulk.com
I am looking forward to it very much. What is the point of planning for such a trip when I no longer can walk up the gangway?
Now back to our business which, of course, is interviewing industry movers and shakers of different origins and “beliefs”. In today’s issue we have:
1. ALFAYHA SHIPPING in Oman – a most beautiful country which I can recommend
2. RORO Shipping Company of Panama – a country famous for a certain canal
3. MAGEMAR LOGISTICS Poland – a favourite country of mine
We, of course, provide you with shipping news, trade intelligence and wise words. We also invite you to download the PCW Mobile App and follow us on LinkedIn.
I shall be back again on March 7th with the final issue before the ocean voyage to Japan! However, LinkedIn will have status updates if I am missed by anyone (lawyers, ex-wives, etc., etc.🙂)
With best regards,
Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
bo.drewsen@projectcargo-weekly.com
AL FAYHA SHIPPING
Interview with
Mr. Suresh Kumar
General Manager
Can you tell our readers about the history and ownership of Al Fayha Shipping?
Al FayhaShipping was established in 1973. The company is part of the Al Fayha Group. Our group consists of 28 companies founded by the late Sh. Hamad Al Taie, a prominent business visionary. We are one of the oldest shipping agencies in Oman. The company is now under the ownership of Sh. Khalid Al Taie and Sh. Najeeb Al Taie.The company represented various container liner agencies, including CMA CGM in the past. Currently, our focus is more on project cargo, air and sea transport, and customs clearance. We have a team of highly experienced professionals in the field of shipping and logistics sector.
Video Interview
RORO Shipping Company – Panama
Interview with
Mr. Gabriel Kaklouk
CEO
First of all Gabriel, can you tell our readers about the company RSC (RORO Shipping Company)?
RORO SHIPPING COMPANY (RSC) was founded in 2022. Our head office is in Uruguay and our administrative office is in Panama.
RSC was created with the intention of offering a multipurpose service (mainly ro-ro) to all the Caribbean islands, using as hub ports: Cristobal (Panamá) and Cartagena (Colombia). Our main ports are; Cartagena, Cristobal, Mariel, Santo Tomas de Castilla, Puerto Cortes, Puerto Limon, Kingston, Puerto Cabello, Willemstad, Oranjestad, Port Spain, Georgetown and Paramaribo. We also connect with ports on the East Coast of South America; Santos, Paranagua, Zarate, Montevideo. We have 2 frequencies per month connecting the above mentioned ports.
Magemar Logistics – Poland
Interview with
For starters, what can you tell our readers about the history and ownership of Magemar Logistics?
At the beginning, I think it would be appropriate to provide some key facts and numbers about Magemar–Magetra Group. The Family Group has existed for more than 85 years and it is currently involved in transport, forwarding, logistics and added services. The Group provides door-to-door deepsea & shortsea transport, vessel chartering, road / rail / air transport, multimodal & intermodal transport, handling, storage, customs clearance, insurance and expertise & advice. Magemar–Magetra Group numbers around 600 staff members and has a global turnover of around 125 million euros. The companies within the group are located in Belgium (HQ), Luxembourg, France, Poland, Italy & China. Magemar–Magetra Group owns 3 warehouses in Belgium with a storage area of more than 20,000 m2, 360 trucks and trailers & 500 swap bodies. The Group also leases storage yards in Antwerp (BE) and Szczecin (PL) and manages its own train solutions both ways between Belgium & Italy (3 train departures each week).
As per your question, our history dates back to 1937 when Mr. Oscar Mairlot created the first company of the Group, Magemon, which specialized in warehousing and handling in the port of Liege in Belgium.
MACS Maritime Carrier Shipping is glad to announce the inauguration of a new feeder service
Editor’s Note:
Renowned breakbulk shipowner MACS is opening a new feeder service now to ports in Namibia.
After being awarded by St. Helena Government with a 5-year-contract to service the island with a regular monthly feeder service from Cape Town, MACS is using this opportunity to connect the port of Lüderitz and – on demand – the port of Mossel Bay with their liner services to / from Europe and the US Gulf. The new service is creating a reliable link for the Namibian fishing industry with the European export markets. For the first time the energy industry is getting a scheduled reliable MPP feeder connection to deliver their products to Lüderitz and – on demand – to Mossel Bay via sea.
Liner Alliances: Special Briefing
Editor’s Note:
This might be an interesting briefing to follow on-line now with all the changes in the shipping business.
Drewry invites you to a webinar briefing on Tuesday 27 February 2024 to hear our latest analysis on the alliance landscape.
The announcement of the Gemini Alliance between Maersk Line and Hapag-Lloyd reopens the question of liner alliances and industry structure. We look at how the alliances and lines are currently placed, what a new alliance configuration might mean and how orderbooks could be deployed. We will discuss effects on lines’ competitive position and some of the options open to them.
Which Countries Have the Largest Forests?
Editor’s Note:
Although not directly shipping news as to what size of a forest which country have still it is an indicator of shipping at some point not only of equipment for the forest industry but also of the shipment of logs etc etc and other products made by wood.
Since the last ice age, the Earth’s forest cover has fallen by 20 million km2 or 2 billion hectares. Half of the loss occurred since the year 1900 due to expanding agriculture and industrialization.
Now forests cover about 30% of the Earth’s land, about 40 million km2, distributed unevenly across the globe.
The Red Sea crisis three months on – no end in sight
Editor’s Note:
Freedom of the international water ways is under attack in many places…
In the three months since the Red Sea disruptions began the situation appears to be heading into a more intense and broadening confrontation with seafarers, on the vessels that still operate in the Red Sea, more at risk now than when the Houthi Movement first announced its aggressive policy.
GCL SI, SJVN India ink 550MW PV module supply
With this agreement, GCL SI continues to expand its supply of modules in the Indian market after securing a 1.1GW module supply this year with utility NTPC Renewable Energy, the largest order NTPC made with a single module supplier.
ACL Energy, BW ESS and Penso Power form Italian energy storage joint venture to develop 400MW of projects
ACL Energy, a Milan-based battery energy storage developer, today announces a joint venture partnership with BW ESS, an energy storage business dedicated to building, owning, and operating large scale batteries globally, and Penso Power, a London-based developer, owner, and operator of grid-scale battery storage assets with operations in the UK and Australia.
ADDED, HYCAP Group team up to establish industrial complex in Abu Dhabi
The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) and HYCAP
Group, the net zero asset management company, have signed an agreement
to develop the production, storage, and transport of green hydrogen,
spearheading the transition to net zero in line with the UAE’s Net Zero
2050 Strategy and National Hydrogen Strategy.
Keystonemab Inks Deal to Set Up Manufacturing Unit in Nagpur’s Mihan SEZ
Keystonemab, a company with a wide array of business interests spanning
from the pharmaceutical industry to artificial intelligence research,
has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to erect a manufacturing
unit in the Mihan Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Nagpur. This landmark
agreement was signed by Keystonemab’s top executives, including CEO
Tushar Satav, and other key officials. Witnessing this pivotal moment
was Nitin Gadkari, India’s Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways.
Global Conference for CLC Projects and Cross Ocean in Dubai
Editor’s Note:
It was a marvel to have been invited to moderate the global network meeting of renowned clcprojects.com and cross-ocean.com in Dubai, UAE recently. Here is the picture including the undersigned in the middle.
