Dear Readers,
It is Thursday the 18th of March and we are back again.
This past week has seen very little movement from my side, even around my home here in Stockholm, Sweden but I did manage to pay a visit to the Port of Sodertalje today which is also known as the gateway to Stockholm. Rules have been tightened in some places recently whereby meetings can be accepted but they are only allowed to take place outside – so having a coffee and freezing outside was the “experience” today. Still, it is what it is and hopefully we will be getting an easier ride soon, although the vaccine circus seems to continue in particular, with EU and its citizens being the victims of the slow roll-out, not to mention countless other countries around the world. Solidarity always sounded good when spoken but has a rather hollow sound to it in reality whether it is words uttered by businessmen, politicians or others wanting to grandstand towards Joe and Joanna public! Tomorrow I will take the train and visit the port city of Gothenburg and I did manage to get some face to face (with distance) meetings, so at least there is hope at the end of the tunnel concerning meeting someone outside teams/zoom/skype and you name it.
A huge “rescue” package was passed through the US congress and I think my screen is not big enough to hold all the zeros that are in the sum that is now being printed as another “giveaway”. Now, I am by no means an economist, my ex wives (or their lawyers) always seemed to be better at being “economists” especially with “my” money ? but still, even to my untrained brain, surely if you print that amount of money won’t it impact the value of money overall and won’t inflation happen in its wake? Here in Stockholm the property market is at an all-time high, nobody seems to have a problem paying a million us dollars for a property and the banks are clamoring to be the preferred lender. Is the value of what we produce really equal to the amount of denominations we have printed ? Well, I do need to read up on “economics” and perhaps on economies of scale which seems to be the issue these days.
Well, back to shipping and what is in store for you today. We start off with a visit to a holiday destination, a place in the Caribbean with seemingly endless beaches but also shipping. We interview Sparber Group’s office in the Dominican Republic and they tell us about island logistics. We then remind you of an interview we had with Globetrans in Guinea, a country that, due to the Simandou Iron Ore Project and massive bauxite reserves, is very interesting from a project cargo perspective. Finally, we serve you up with an interview with renowned RORO carrier Höegh Autoliners, which are famous for accepting breakbulk and RORO cargoes worldwide.
We finalise our newsletter with the usual condiments; shipping news, trade intel, featured video and photos and so on. We do hope you will enjoy and again don’t forget to download our free mobile app available via the Google play store or the Apple app store..
Until next week, we remain,
Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
bo.drewsen@projectcargo-weekly.com
Sparber Dominicana SRL – Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Interview with
Mr. Jon Arevalillo Urquiaga
Branch Manager
First of all, what can you tell me about the Sparber Dominican Republic branch? When was it established? Is it wholly owned by Sparber Group in Spain?
Sparber Dominicana was founded in 2001, continuing a plan designed by the owners to have their own strategic offices in Latinoamerica. Later, Sparber Group set up the Sparber Chile and Sparber Mexico offices.
Sparber Dominicana SRL is part of Sparber Group. The headquarters are located in Bilbao, with 8 offices in Spain, Germany, Hungary, China, Chile, México and Dominican Republic.
Globetrans S.A. – Conakry, Guinea
Interview with
Mr. Alexandre Camara
Managing Director
Your country is rich in resources. Does this mean that you regularly have a lot of project related shipments to/from Guinea?
Guinea is a wealthy country located in West Africa, bordered by a 350km coastline against the Atlantic Ocean and surrounded by six bordering countries (Guinea Bissau, Senegal, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone).
Video Interview
Höegh Autoliners – Mr. Stian Omli
Stian Omli, Head of Sales Americas & Global Business Development Breakbulk at Höegh Autoliners AS – Oslo, Norway was interviewed by Bo H. Drewsen, Editor in Chief at Project Cargo Weekly.
www.hoeghautoliners.com
Intermarine and SAL Heavy Lift Say “Olá Brasil” and Establish a New Joint Office in São Paulo
Editor’s Note:
Intermarine (that has been involved in various mergers, acquisitions and management shake ups in recent years) just sent us their latest newsletter, and they seem very much to continue being on the ball when it comes to handling project cargoes. They also recently entered into a strategic cooperation with well-renowned carrier SAL.
Intermarine Brazil and SAL Heavy Lift Brazil opened their doors in the great South American country. By establishing a joint office, the two heavy lift shipping & logistics companies are set to strengthen their operations in South America and expand their activities within the project cargo and breakbulk sectors.
Keeping Crew Connected
Editor’s Note:
For seafarers in the best of times and particularly in the worst of times, below is good news for them… that is IF the owners will spend the money required to upgrade the internet access onboard for their seafarers. It’s about time that this gap is closed, and we may then also avoid more captains sailing too close to shore in order to pick up a phone signal with disastrous consequences as a result—most recently in Mauritius if you recall.
Fleet Hotspot powered by Fleet Xpress allows crew the freedom to access a dedicated Wi-Fi portal and manage internet access on their own devices.
Video: Pirates Board & Loot German Container Ship
Editor’s Note:
Yes, pirates are increasing their activities. I was, in fact, in Guayaquil myself in 2012 onboard mv Lutetia, and we were explicitly warned by the local agent to run for our lives between the taxi and the ship and not to get out of the taxi for any reason. Surely someone must have money in a rich country such as Ecuador, but perhaps it’s the old usual story….it’s not shared and hallelujah…corruption is there, too… big “surprise”!
Container feeder PACORA left Guayaquil, bound for Balboa, and was boarded by armed men when the ship was passing buoy 66.
Air Freight Conference March 2021 – Connecting COVID-19 Vaccines to the World
Editor’s Note:
Well, it ain’t really shipping news since this is an airfreight conference, but since COVID-19 has impacted all of us for better or for worse, we are ALL keen to know when vaccines and enough of them will arrive where needed. Perhaps the below conference could give us all a clue?
Vaccine supply chains are speeding up. Still there are a number of challenges: air freight capacity, last mile distribution, production of vaccines and delivery to developing countries. During the second edition of the Air Freight Conference – COVID-19 vaccine distribution – on the 23rd of March high-level expert speakers will share and discuss their ideas and insights.
Calix Electric Reactor to Heat Salts in Energy Storage Pilot
Industrial process technology company Calix has joined with Sweden’s SaltX and Sumitomo SHI FW to further develop a salt based energy storage system with potential to speed decarbonisation of the economy.
Ammunition Manufacturer Orders Dual-Chamber Furnace
L&L Special Furnace Co. Inc. shipped a dual-chamber heat-treating and temper furnace, along with an oil-quench tank, to an eastern European ammunition manufacturer.
Oji Group to Build New Corrugated Container Plant in Malaysia
Oji said Tuesday its wholly owned local subsidiary, GS Paperboard & Packaging Sdn. Bhd., will build the new plant in the western coastal state of Selangor at a total investment cost of about 5 billion yen ($47.7 million).
IFC Seeks to Issue Financing To Ethiopia’s Leading Poultry Company Ethiochicken Group
The two new breeding farms will be built in SNNPR region and Amhara region, while the new hatchery will be built in SNNPR region.
Incoterms® 2020 Explained for Import Export Global Trade
Editor’s Note:
Let’s face it. We sometimes need to backtrack in life, refresh our knowledge, and remind ourselves what we should know. So for those of you who are in the same boat as me, see today’s video about Incoterms 2020…again.
Editor’s Note:
Last year around this time, a semi sub from China operated by COSCO arrived in downtown Stockholm with a piece of equipment (or rather a bridge section) for Slussen weighing 3500 tons and 140x45m in dims, and it was indeed an impressive sight. A high visibility jacket helps to get closer and take a few pictures—which I did.
