Dear Readers,
Thursday the 15th of February has arrived and along with it both your issue of Project Cargo Weekly and the Chinese New Year of the Dog. Around the world the arrival of CNY is being celebrated with special food, fireworks and so on.
Although this year there are no fireworks in Hong Kong due to a bus accident with almost 20 fatalities.
Companies are getting bigger and bigger within the field of shipping, but perhaps with size also comes arrogance?
I have noted that yet again some of the worlds largest RORO carriers are about to be fined for running a price cartel and it leads me to think out loud “if you cannot compete without being part of a cartel then why are you in business in the first place?”
The shareholders or investors should make their voices more prominently heard during the annual general meetings! Cartel, arrogance, price fixing and avoiding competition damages all of us and here we do indeed need governments that are strong and not subject to being swayed by the threat of “moving jobs elsewhere”.
One freight forwarder remarked to me recently that although it’s impressive with new ideas in blockchain and other buzzwords and you can now do this and that online with your shipments, it still takes more than 4 weeks sometimes to get a simple invoice corrected. What about normal customer service? What about having a system where you actually can speak to someone who can correct the mistake? When contacting your bank can you actually meet someone in person?
We are told that profits this year at say 1.5 billion USD did not live up to the expectations of the market, so 3000 people need to be sacked….the new CEO proclaims in his first speech at the new company”. Frankly not impressive – survival of the un-fittest applies not only to some politicians, but also to some business leaders.
Business wise this week we pay a visit to Israel and then Kenya where we speak to a couple of competent shipping agents & project freight forwarders. We have some interesting shipping and sector news for you and a good video of the week showing the NSR (Northern Sea Route) being used.
Finally I wish to remind you all to feel free to contact us if you wish to place a banner ad. Our latest number of recipients is 54,332 and since we only allow 4 banner ads in each newsletter you are bound to be noticed. Click here for media kit.
Wishing you a good read and until next time, I remain,
Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
bo.drewsen@projectcargo-weekly.com
Dynamic Shipping Services (DSS) – Israel
Interview with
Capt. Yaron Karmi
Co-Owner
Can you organize inland transport in Israel?
DSS is proud to be one of the leading companies in Israel. Our motto is “hands on steel”. In DSS we do not just shove papers from side to side, we go out and physically escort all our cargo from port to site. We render one-stop-shop services, starting from accepting the cargo at the berth, clearing customers, loading the cargo onto trucks, arranging the required permits, delivering to the job-site and if required positioning the cargo onto it’s foundation.
Skyline Logistics Ltd – Kenya
Interview with
Mr. Eric Mailu
Owner
Can you organise inland transportation in Kenya and is it possible to transship cargoes to other countries, if so which ones are suitably reached via Kenya?
Yes we can handle inland transport in Kenya and yes it possible to transship cargoes via Kenya to other countries. The countries that we can transship to are Uganda, South Sudan, DRC Congo and Burundi.
RollDock and SAL Heavy Lift Forms World’s First Pool for Dock Vessels
As of April 1st 2018 the world’s first pool for dock vessels will be established. RollDock and SAL Heavy Lift will join forces for Roll-On / Roll-Off and Float-In / Float-Out heavy lift cargoes. The pool will consist of the combined fleet of six vessels and will be managed by RollDock with SAL providing specialized heavy break bulk cargo support.
Insurance News – The Latest from TT Club
TT Talk – Dangerous Goods – in the latest issue of TT Talk, a monthly bulletin on loss prevention from TT Club. TT Club is one of the best in the market when it comes to insurance and know how thus you may find this their newsletter interesting for you.
Oil & Gas
Orgkhim Biochemical Invest US$50m to Build Facility in Johor, Malaysia
Norman Process Oils Malaysia Plant Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Orgkhim Biochemical Holding from Russia, is building a US$50 million (RM197.84 million) facility at Tanjung Langsat, Pasir Gudang to manufacture petroleum-based extender oils used in tires, synthetic rubbers and rubber compounds.
Renewables
Denmark’s Oersted to Invest in Energy Storage Program in Taiwan
Danish Oersted, a renewables company that was rebranded from Dong Energy, on Thursday announced its plan to set up a storage pilot project in Changhua County of China’s Taiwan Province. Read more…
Thailand’s Largest Solar Firm Superblock Plans $1.76B Worth of Wind Farms in Vietnam
Pulp & Paper
Chinese Company Says it Will Increase Investment in Arkansas Pulp Plant, Could Add Up to 100 New Jobs
Sun Paper announced the total investment in its pulp mill outside of Arkadelphia is now $1.8 billion, increasing from its initially projected $1 billion. The number of jobs at the mill is expected to top 350. Read more…
Plants & Processing
Steel Producer Orders Reheating Furnaces
Fives FCB signed a contract with JSW Dolvi Works, part of India’s leading steel producer JSW Steel, for the design and supply of two reheating furnaces. Fives will supply two Stein Digit@l furnaces for a new hot-strip mill. Read more…
Public Transportation
Austrian Firm Wins Deal to Build Sh5.8bn Likoni Cable Car Project
Austrian technology company Doppelmayr Group has won a contract to set up the Sh5.8 billion Likoni cable car project. Doppelmayr will start the construction in May. The work will take two years, with commuters expected to start enjoying cable car services from 2020. Read more…
Eduard Toll Breaks Ice on the Northern Sea Route
