Dear Readers,
It’s 3rd October and it is my middle son’s birthday, but sadly I am in Cape Town, South Africa, instead of Stockholm, Sweden. I’m sure you know as well as I do that, as business people, we cannot always do what we want or be where we want to. There is always a trade-off. Finding the right balance between running your business, turning a profit and at the same time being a loving parent and devoting yourself to your family is indeed perhaps the hardest of all deals! That is, unless you live in a dream world where none of these things matter.
I am in South Africa because I am currently attending the FIATA global conference here. I’ve really got to hand it to the organisers, they’ve made a hell of a show! It’s been very well organised and the venue, food quality and overall management of the event have left any potential competitors in their dust.
The evening of Tuesday 1st October saw the celebration of the seventieth anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, which is impressive considering where China is now, compared to where it was before.
Meanwhile, I spent Tuesday evening attending the Hapag-Lloyd party at a local winery/restaurant outside Cape Town.
Attending the opening ceremony of the FIATA 2019 conference today was a marvel. You can see it here in a small clip filmed by yours truly.
Furthermore, as you can see below, the organisation and its exhibition pulled out all the stops!
FIATA has taken serious strides in addressing some of the problems facing our industry, which, in my humble view, are:
– getting young people to understand that the world is more than just Google, Apple, or made in America,
– understanding that life quality of life doesn’t come out of a mobile phone,
– that I.T. will hopefully alleviate hard work and stress, freeing-up resources and enabling people to rest more, if they’re even capable of such.
FIATA, here in Cape Town, is a great event, but regrettably, I need to depart on Friday. My Emirates flight takes off at 6pm on Friday and I have booked myself on a private sightseeing tour to look at the Cape of Good Hope. Speaking as a shipping professional, I feel that doing this is a must since I am already here. Last time I couldn’t manage, and I blame the various vineyards on the outskirts of the city for that. Of course, as many say, excuses always abound, right?
Business-wise, we have two interviews for you today. First we visit ATN, a company located in the Philippines, the country where the global network of project freight forwarders CLC Projects will hold its conference in November. ATN tells us about shipping and logistics in their archipeligo and, after that, we rush over to visit the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway, which is a famous but perhaps also sometimes overlooked inland waterway feeding in-and-out of North America and Canada. Besides that, we have our usual shipping news, trade intelligence, featured video and photos and of course wise words, so until next time, I remain,
Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
bo.drewsen@projectcargo-weekly.com
All Transport Network (ATN) – Philippines
Interview with
Ms. Penny Estrada
Director, Overseas Business Development
Firstly, when was All Transport Network established and who owns it?
All Transport Network (ATN) was founded in August 1986 after the Philippines’ EDSA People Power Revolution which overthrew a dictatorship. It was quite a challenging but also an opportune time for my mother, Marylou Estrada, to start a business in…
St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) – Canada
Interview with
Mr. Bruce Hodgson
Director, Market Development
First, can you tell us about the history of this vital waterway? When was it developed commercially, and can you elaborate on why it is a good solution for shipping?
We are currently celebrating the sixtieth Anniversary of the St. Lawrence Seaway (SLS). The joint Canadian/U.S. St. Lawrence Seaway project was completed in 1959, and it links the Great Lakes region to global…
Governor of Saudi Customs Authority Delivers Keynotes at FIATA Conference 2019
Editor’s Note:
It was amazing to visit the booth of Saudi Customs at the FIATA conference in Cape Town yesterday. Saudi Arabia is now open for business and not only have they relaxed the visa rules for many countries, enabling normal tourists to visit with ease, but also, they wish to ensure that their dependence on oil is reduced drastically so customs clearance rules got a serious overhaul. Previously, you needed some twenty or so documents to do an import, now two will suffice. So indeed, it was an interesting development and good for all of us not least for the facilitation of trade and through trade the closer relationship between people.
Marguisa Releases Calabar Port in Nigeria
Editor’s Note:
An interesting new service from Marguisa is covering Eastern Nigeria. I am in Africa right now and the intra-Africa trade after the signing of the new free trade agreement will vastly expand the trading possibilities both within and to/from this vast continent.
Marguisa, the Spanish maritime operator specialized in West Africa, successfully docked its first container ship in the Port of Calabar in Nigeria last Monday, September 23.
The shipping company opens its regular service to Calabar, as a result of the agreement signed with the local authorities of the Nigerian port last year…
Handling Giant 86m Pressure Vessel Proves No Pressure for AAL
Editor’s Note:
AAL moves a lot of project and heavylift cargo around the world. They have excellent ships and here is another example of what they recently shipped to Thailand.
Leading project heavy lift carrier AAL has completed the successful handling and transport of an impressive cargo of South Korean-engineered petrochemical plant components, from Pyeongtaek to Map Ta Phut. The units are to be installed at one of Thailand’s largest integrated producers of olefins and polyolefins – for industries like agriculture, automotive, building & infrastructure and medical – and comprised over 15,000cbm…
Zeamarine and Rhenus Sign Contract During the Project Cargo Summit in Rotterdam
On Wednesday the 11th during the Project Cargo Summit in Rotterdam the breakbulk & heavy lift carrier Zeamarine and Rhenus Logistics B.V. in Rotterdam signed a contract on stevedoring and shipping agencies after some successful trial shipments earlier this year.
Vice President, Global Operations & Engineering of Zeamarine, Mr. Kjell Kottkamp, declares. “The Rhenus Deep Sea Terminal in Rotterdam is ideally located to best serve our client’s needs.”
Sinoarp Mulling Expansions in India, Eastern Europe
Chinese manufacturer of hydraulic curing presses is considering expansions in both India and eastern Europe, according to Sinoarp chairman David Chen.
Speaking to ERJ at a product launch event earlier this month, Chen said Sinoarp has opened offices in Japan, India, Europe and the US, and is mulling further expansion with assembly plants in India and eastern Europe.
Ameramex Racks Up Orders
AmeraMex International has announced orders totalling USD780,000. The equipment is expected to ship by the middle of September.
The provider of heavy equipment says the orders include a Taylor Equipment forklift shipping to a customer in Utah…
BA Glass Plots $227 Million Bulgarian Furnace Investments
Portuguese bottle maker BA Glass plans to invest in the expansion of its Bulgarian capacity.
BA Glass intends to build two new furnaces to double the production capacity of its facilities in Bulgaria.
DEUTZ and SANY Begin Construction of Engine Joint Venture Facility
On September 28, Joint venture partners SANY and DEUTZ AG signed an agreement with representatives of the government of Changsha during the foundation stone laying ceremony at the production site in Changsha. DEUTZ AG and SANY, China’s largest construction equipment manufacturer, had already signed the agreement…
Tema Port Expansion Project – MPS Tema – Bolloré Ports
Editor’s Note:
Yesterday evening at the Hapag Lloyd function, I met with the chairman of the port of Tema in Ghana. They are building a new port with superb facilities and excellent possibilities for transhipment. Here is an interesting video about it.
Editor’s Note:
Visiting Cape Town. A spectacular place and deep water port in South Africa.
