Dear Readers,
It’s Thursday 22nd August, and we are back with another weekly newsletter. Here in Stockholm, Sweden, where I am residing, the schools have now started again after a very long summer holiday. Frankly speaking, I believe that the kids are particularly glad to get back to school, as it seems that the last two to three weeks of the almost ten-week long holiday simply becomes too boring and there is only so much you can do to keep young children entertained, I guess.
Time, after all, goes by fast and before you know it, your children are grown, are always busy and hardly have time for you. I have some experience in this field since I have children of ages ranging from of three to thirty, so sometimes I feel like I need to be a child, a teenager and an old and wise at the same time. Not easy. Still, for most of us, the main thing in life is to make sure that our kids are doing well and that we steer them clear of drugs, crime and a lot of other traps that exist in our so-called modern, western world. I praise and respect all those out there doing their best every day to fight for their children’s well being. May they all be successful in their endeavours.
On the great political front, there hasn’t been much happening, except it was said this week that US President Trump wanted to buy the world’s largest island, Greenland, due to its Arctic proximity. However with Greenland being an autonomous territory with solid ties to Denmark, together with the Danish prime minister calling the idea absurd, President Trump decided to cancel his otherwise planned visit to Denmark in early September. Taking candy from a child is not that easy and this instance shows that the elevators in the White House don’t go to the top floor. I wouldn’t be surprised if this administration even struggled to find Greenland on a map. I would remind our readers to read two books that further inform about the US, more so than many others. One is CIA: A Legacy of Ashes and the other is The Great Deformation, about how Wall Street hijacked Mainstreet and was never held accountable. Still, on balance, at least the US has a leader, just like China. I don’t know who the leader of the EU is.
Business this week is, of course, our focus in this newsletter. We start in a country of colours and contrasts, i.e. India and we speak to a reputable logistics services provider with a long history there. We then jet off to the country of the Kiwis and the All Blacks. Yes, you guessed it, New Zealand. There, we get some input from a local project freight forwarder telling us more. Finally, we speak again to a company based in India, but with Saudi roots, i.e. the agency of Bahri. The ro/ro shipowner has services to and from India, a service that perhaps isn’t that well known. Of course, we conclude this issue with our usual shipping news, trade intel and wise words.
With all our best wishes, I remain,
Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
bo.drewsen@projectcargo-weekly.com
Velji Dosabhai & Sons Pvt. – Mumbai, India
Interview with
Mr. Prashant Popat
Director
First, could you kindly elaborate a bit on the history of Velji Dosabhai?
Allow me to take this opportunity to share with you the journey of myself and Velji Dosabhai & sons Pvt. Ltd, also known as VDSPL by our tech-savvy and SMS generation.
VDSPL was founded by my great grandfather Mr. Velji Dosabhai in 1925. Like all success stories, it was never smooth sailing and my father Mr. Natvarlal Devchand had to put in a lot of effort to streamline the business to suit changing times and modalities of the trade.
Mainstream – Auckland, New Zealand
Interview with
Mr. Matt Pearson
Special Projects Manager
Elaborate, if you will, on the major ports of New Zealand. Which ones are mainly used for project cargo on both the north and south islands?
That’s a tough one. It depends where the destination is. New Zealand has some fairly narrow roads and strict trucking weight limits, which can make transport of larger items (+100TN) difficult. Certainly, the main ports are Auckland, Taurang and Lyttelton, however for heavy/large project cargo, we often have to use Timaru on the south island, as it has better road access than Lyttelton. Basically, it depends on the cargo type, weight, dimensions etc. and the final destination.
Bahri’s India Service
Interview with
Capt. Jiten Bhosale
Country Manager
Bahri is a reputable Ro/Ro carrier with roots in the Middle East & Saudi Arabia. Can you introduce our readers to the services that Bahri offers in the market to/from India?
Bahri Logistics operates six new state-of-the-art multipurpose vessels with 26,000 DWT each on a regular liner schedule; four vessels connect the United States to Saudi Arabia and major ports in the Gulf, Indian Subcontinent and the Mediterranean, and two vessels connect Europe to Saudi Arabia and key ports in the Gulf and the Mediterranean. From India, Bahri has a direct Service to the USA via the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. For European ports, Bahri transships cargo via Jeddah onto their European Service for North continent Europe ports.
BBC Chartering Appoints Ulrichs as CEO
Editor’s Note:
A legend indeed in break bulk shipping, Mr. Svend Andersen of BBC steps down. He, if anyone, epitomizes the spirit and development of BBC Chartering now, among the largest in the world in operating break bulk tonnage.
German shipping services company BBC Chartering has announced that Ulrich Ulrichs has taken over the CEO position from Svend Andersen as announced in May of this year.
“The shareholders would like to thank Svend Andersen for his many years with BBC Chartering and his contribution to develop and grow the company to become the market-leading operator of multipurpose and heavy lift vessels,” said a press note from the operator of multipurpose and heavy lift vessels.
Container Fire Aboard APL Boxship Brought Under Control
Editor’s Note:
Yet another fire onboard a container ship. This newsletter fully supports the hefty fines that are now progressively put in place by shipowners towards rogue shippers or forwarders who misdeclare cargo loaded into the containers. Fines of up to USD50,000 has been mentioned plus other costs if found guilty.
A container fire broke out aboard the boxship APL Le Havre off the coast of Gujarat last Friday evening, prompting a response from the Indian Coast Guard.
On Friday, the APL Le Havre departed Karachi, bound for Nhava Sheva, a port complex outside Mumbai. A fire broke out in a container stack aft of the deckhouse at 1915 hours while the vessel was at a position about 40 nm Porbandar, Gujarat.
Namibia Inaugurates Port of Walvis Bay Container Terminal
Namibia has launched an expanded container terminal at the Port of Walvis Bay, projected to double the country’s annual container handling capacity. Works on the expansion of the terminal started in 2014 and were completed by China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) under a project worth $268 million.
The project, inaugurated on August 2 by Hage G. Geingob, the President of the Republic of Namibia, included the creation of 40 hectares of new land reclaimed from the bay within Namibian Ports Authority’s current port jurisdiction.
Hydroscand Expands Into Armenia
Hydroscand is growing rapidly and has now launched operations in Armenia, making it the company’s 20th market worldwide.
2019 is an exciting year for Hydroscand, the company celebrates its 50th anniversary, has seen expansion into two new international markets as well as the launch of new services.
The establishment in Armenia is strategically important for Hydroscand, where the company sees great opportunities in a growing market. Since 2015, Hydroscand has been present in Georgia and it is a natural step to expand the business in the region and establish Hydroscand in neighboring Armenia.
US Group to Invest $120M in Pulp, Paper Mills
US group Verso Corp. has unveiled plans to invest some $120 million in three of its pulp and paper mills.
Among others, the company is aiming to expand the product range of its Androscoggin mill in Jay, in the US state of Maine, whose production ca-pacity is to be increased, according to the information obtained by local daily The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram.
Kruger Biomaterials to Upgrade Plant with $2 Million from Federal Government
Kruger Biomaterials, a company that generates cellulose filaments from wood fibres for industrial applications, has received $2 million from the federal government.
“We are very proud to contribute to the diversification of the Canadian forest industry.”
The funds will go toward a project to upgrade Kruger Biomaterials’ plant in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. This plant was the first cellulose filament pre-commercial plant in the world, which started up in the early 2010s. The project brought in investments from both the public and private sectors, which collectively committed $43 million to set up the plant and fund its research projects.
Pestech, Sungrow Sign MoU to Jointly Develop Floating PV Projects
Pestech International has signed off on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese inverter manufacturer Sungrow for a collaboration on future floating PV installations, according to a filing with the Malaysian stock exchange.
“The parties intend to explore the possibility of complementing each other’s core competencies, technical capabilities and references to co-operate jointly on exploring floating solar system solution, localisation of parts and other possible co-operations in the region of Southeast Asia,” the filing read.
Port of Monfalcone
Editor’s Note:
The port of Monfalcone in Italy is perhaps not always heard of or known for shipping people. However it is being used by break bulk shipowners due to its strategic location at the top of the Adriatic Sea.
Paderewski Voy. 12 – Maiden Call at Emden
After loading in Hamburg a portion of project and break bulk cargo, amongst those a gas turbine of 330ts unit weight, m/v „PADEREWSKI“ proceeded to Emden for its maiden call.
A Beautiful Rainbow Clearly Visible In The Indian Ocean From Onboard M/V CMA CGM Georgia
Editor’s Note:
We all try to reach for the rainbow but we will never really catch it. However it almost seemed like it was within reach here when seen in the Indian Ocean heading for Fremantle recently onboard the CMA CGM Georgia. The scenery on the ocean is second to none and simply has to be experienced for real.
Editor’s Note:
Close up of a flatrack loaded with project cargo (Sany from China) taken in Singapore. The picture surely shows how useful it is to use flatracks for moving heavy and oversized cargo on containerships.
