Dear Readers,
It is Thursday the 23rd of April, 2020, and we are here again. Spring has arrived in Stockholm, and whilst contemplating life and what is happening in the world, I am so pleased to welcome the light, temperature creeping up to 16-17 degrees, and birds chirping from the early morning. It reminds us to be thankful for what we’ve got and that happier times are around the corner. Here are a couple of pictures that I took just outside my “office” home:
Although some lockdown measures are being lifted gradually, including in the Wuhan epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak, there is still a certain apprehension about going out, and international travel and communal events seem to be months off still, watch this video about Wuhan’s re-opening. Fantastic what we CAN do on-line, but on the other hand, face-to-face for real always beats talking through a screen.
What concerns me are the millions of workers out of a job with nowhere to turn, the employers who may take advantage of the situation, and the apparent gross inequality that exists in some of our so-called “rich” societies. Let us see if we all will learn a lesson personally or otherwise after this crisis has abated.
The crisis has also shown with scary clarity that most nation states fend for themselves and that so-called unions talking big about solidarity are just that…..talking only. I think of the instances where French authorities, for example, stopped protective gear destined for Italy and Spain. Embarrassing to say the least.
The air quality in China and other megacities is now better than ever, and perhaps the crisis so far has made us think about life in general. It remains to be seen what habits, if any, will be changed after this. That most western countries are totally dependent on simple things such as protective equipment, gloves, masks, etc. being made in China shows that they have outsourced almost all of their independence mainly for profit. If we here can rethink our strategy a bit so that we, at least, have some ability to make at home items like the ones we now scramble for, then much would be won. One small example from my own work desk: I got a wooden Swedish flag, and when I turned it upside down it said “Made in China”. Half of Sweden is covered with forests and yet a simple thing like that is made far away and transported here. There need to be some changes to the way we are thinking and, not least, consuming.
Business goes on, albeit slowly, and I did manage to interview an interesting company based in Israel: Freightools. They are known in Israel for high tech in some areas and that also goes for software to the shipping and freight forwarding industry, and I am sure you may find their input interesting. We then remind you about two interviews we had last year. One is with ANL, the Australian, now French-owned, container line servicing Australasia and accepting breakbulk cargoes on most of their services even to some of the Pacific Islands. Finally, we remind you about a traditional LINER AGENCY still in existence today. INCOTRANS in Hamburg is one such liner agency, and they are able to find solutions for you on most trades worldwide representing a variety of principals.
We naturally provide you with shipping/economic news as well as trade intel and we finish it off with a couple of nice videos, the featured picture of the week and wise words.
Until next week, I remain,
Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
bo.drewsen@projectcargo-weekly.com
Freightools.com (Powered by FAST) – Israel
Interview with
Adam Yaron
CEO
First, off Adam, tell us about the history of Freightools, and tell us about who owns this product?
Freightools is all about helping Freight Forwarding teams be more efficient and effective using digital tools. It is the next-gen SaaS solution for digital shipments!
White-labeled, Freightools has a branded set of tools that can turn any SME into a digital forwarder without substantial upfront investments or an in-house programming team.
Freight Forwarders still struggle with manual systems, weak visibility, and inefficiencies across their businesses. This is why Freightools has developed a set of tools that resolves these issues and offers the SME freight market these solutions to safeguard their future business across today’s global digital disruptors.
ANL Container Line
Interview with
Mr. Chris Schultz
General Manager – Business Development
Does ANL carry project cargo on its own, considering that ANL is part of the larger CMA CGM group?
Yes we carry many project cargoes working with freight forwarders or in our own right with our own logistics company ANL Logistics offering full door-to-door solutions. http://www.anllogistics.com.au/. In addition we have our own container hire business, ANL Container Hire & Sales where we can supply containers for project cargoes on a hire or sales basis. This is particularly relevant for project cargo to remote areas where containers may not be returned quickly, for example in PNG.
Incotrans GmbH Linienagentur – Hamburg, Germany
Interview with
Mr. Torsten Bender
Managing Director
Firstly Torsten, could you tell us a bit about the history of Incotrans? I understand that your roots date back to the eighteenth century?
Yes, it’s true that the roots of our company date back to the eighteenth century, when the original version of this company was founded in the Netherlands. Incotrans developed liner services from the continent to both sides of the USA, the US Gulf and Central America. Its own ships were employed but it also co-operated with other carriers, such as ACL, which was part of the group. This led to a gaining strong experience in the container trade as well as in ro-ro and breakbulk shipments. Nowadays, Incotrans is a privately-owned shipping agency offering liner agency services as well as port agency services.
Lower Port Dues in Times of Epidemic
Editor’s Note:
Ports around the world are slashing their tariffs and for some of them arrogance has been subdued – in some ways the covid19 that touches us all certainly changes attitudes. Here is one port message among many recently.
The Ministry of Infrastructure of Slovenia has, at the initiative of Luka Koper and the Slovenian Ship and Freight Agents Association, adopted a temporary reduction of port dues.
Runway To Extinction a Full Report on Wildlife Trafficking in Air Transport
Editor’s Note:
I met ms Hallie Sacks at a FIATA conference in Cape Town last year. She is working tirelessly to awaken our awareness about wildlife trafficking done via sea and airfreight and most likely airlines, shipowners and freight forwarders all could do more to help stop this horrible trade that keeps on due to some superstition about the health benefits of certain animal parts especially in Asia where backwardness coexist along with modern day thinking.
For more info on this important subject:
Hallie Sacks
TRAFFIC – Communications Officer, Wildlife TRAPS & ROUTES
WWF-US, 1250 24th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037
Cell: +1 617-797-5015
Email: hallie.sacks@traffic.org
Website TRAFFIC: www.traffic.org
Website ROUTES: www.routespartnership.org
Runway to Extinction examines the trends, transit routes, and trafficking methods used by wildlife smugglers exploiting the aviation industry in six world regions: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania.
Pirates Board Container Ship in Gulf of Guinea
Editor’s Note:
Mentioned it before it seems you need to be sailing on an Israeli, Russian or American flag vessel to get attention and help in dealing with pirates, no others seem to care about their seafarers and deal with the problem. Perhaps sealing off some of the African leaders swiss bank accounts would help until they deal with the problems around their coastline.
Security company Dryad Global has received a report that the Portugal-flagged container ship Tommi Ritscher has been boarded by pirates at the Cotonou Anchorage, Benin, in the Gulf of Guinea.
The pirates boarded the 4,785-TEU vessel from a speed boat which subsequently left the scene when a naval vessel approached, leaving the pirates stranded onboard. Some of the crew are believed to be in the citadel, but Dryad Global indicates that eight may be held by the pirates. Two naval vessels are believed to be at the scene and assistance had been sought from Nigeria who are understood to have dispatched a patrol boat.
The World After COVID-19
Editor’s Note:
Not directly shipping news but still it involves us all in shipping. WHAT to expect after this COVID-19 crisis? A good article here from the World Economic Forum.
How will the coronavirus pandemic change the world? Lowy Institute experts provide their analysis.
Adani Awards $220m Railway contract for Carmichael Mine
Adani Mining has continued the construction of the Carmichael mine and rail project in Queensland, with employees working under strict coronavirus safety measures.
Bangladesh: Deal Signed with Chinese Firm for Sylhet Airport Expansion
Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) has been awarded to build international passenger and cargo terminal buildings, Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower, passenger boarding bridge, parking apron, taxiway, car parking zone and link roads at the country’s third largest airport within around three years.
Capstone Turbine Expands its Renewable Energy Business with an Innovative Agricultural and Animal Waste Project in Japan
Capstone Turbine Corporation, the world’s leading clean technology manufacturer of microturbine energy systems, announced its first 800 kilowatt (kW) C800 Signature Series order for a new and innovative biogas project in Japan. The project will utilize organic biomass in the form of agricultural and animal waste to generate clean and efficient energy for the Biokurasix Handa biogas power generation facility.
Stockholm Norvik Port is Now Connected to Sweden´s Railway Network.
Editor’s Note:
As you may know from earlier issues Stockholm Norrvik Port has opened for business. 2 new STS cranes arrived from China and last week the railway linking the port to Stockholm Metropolitan area was opened.
Stockholm Norrvik Port Sweden 2020
Editor’s Note:
Video of 2 STS cranes arriving from Shanghai to Stockholm. (Video by Micke Andersson: hello@bydrone.se / Mob: +46704057158)
Editor’s Note:
A very expensive catamaran loaded below deck in Le Havre and shipped to Yantian, China a couple of years ago onboard CMA CGM Christophe Colomb. I was onboard as passenger.
For breakbulk quotes via CMA CGM contact: ho.sberninet@cma-cgm.com
