Dear Readers,
Today is Thursday, and you all know what that means: PCW is back in town.
I was in Hamburg last week as you can see from last week’s PCW, and I returned by flight from Hamburg direct to Stockholm. Traveling in Europe according to a schedule is mostly a hassle nowadays. Many flights are delayed. Security check lines are very very long and you are advised generally to be at the airport 3 hours in advance. For me, besides being at the airport 3 hrs in advance, the flight of 1hr40min was also 2 hours delayed, so it added up to some 7 hrs to get from Hamburg to Stockholm. I could have flown to Dubai in that time – so thankful for the family understanding the situation that schedules are “up in the air”.
I had a fantastic trip in Hamburg though, even though it was only a couple of days. Most of all I enjoyed the port tour of Hamburg where I had chartered a small passenger vessel to take me up close to many of the vessels in port. Enjoy the pictures here.
Project Cargo Weekly will be present at Breakbulk Americas in Houston during the 27-29 of September. My colleague, Mr. Cody Abram will be there. He can be found at the Atlas Heavy booth (No. M42). So do try to meet up with him and have a chat. If you like, you can schedule an interview with him. We are open to interviewing anyone, whether in writing or by video, and we serve no one’s particular agenda. You may email Cody for a specific appointment if you like at: cody.abram@projectcargo-weekly.com. Cody also represents the CLC Projects Group, of which PCW is an integral part.
My next trip will happen during Oct 4-7 when I shall be present at our own Project Cargo Weekly booth (No. A2) at AntwerpXL, and it seems to be the place to be. Antwerp used to be the home of proper breakbulk expos and I, for one, am very pleased to be back, not least because of the excellent food, wine and beer available in Belgium at all times. See the latest press release from AntwerpXL here.
After that, I shall visit Asia from October 14-31 which means Thailand/Malaysia/Australia and Qatar on the return., of course subject to change… AGW and WP as the shipping terms go.
Generally on a shipping note, I should add that during the past week, some interesting news has come to light, mainly about the danger of placing all your cargoes with the so-called one stop shop companies, especially if they are shipowners with only their own tonnage to offer. If you notice our shipping news today (see items 1 and 2), there are now some claims in which some owners promising space and long-term rates, etc. are NOT able to live up to their promises. Similarly, you have other owners who seemingly are thinking that rates can just be increased without any regard to the consequences due to the supply chain trouble worldwide and the post pandemic bottlenecks. However, PCW would advise many owners now to reduce their greed in a timely fashion because the tide is turning, and soon you will need ALL the customers you can get as the trade slows and inflation, energy problems, etc. take hold for real.
The role of the freight forwarder is particularly important here because it is they who know the market and the alternatives out there. By the same token, PCW would also like to remind forwarders alike not to endlessly benchmark rates. Instead, try to build a plate of reliable alternatives, so that you have a traffic light system –red, yellow, green on the choice of carrier that you present to your shipper. Tell your shipper upfront because if you stand together, you ARE unbeatable.
On the political front, I participated in an election here in Sweden on Sunday. For all the “faults” of a democracy, it is still the best system out there, and I am proud to be living in such a country here in Europe. That the left wing media doesn’t like the outcome is of course normal as they are generally politically correct but with little knowledge of actual problems on the ground. So be it. Part of a democracy is that we have a free and open media, and we respect opposite opinions. If you want positive news all the time, read publications from certain countries (you know who and where) no problems there at all!
In our interview list today, we have some quite interesting ones in store.
1. Starting in my native country of Denmark, we speak to the well-renowned company, LEMAN, whose headquarters are in Copenhagen and has an international presence.
2. We then visit a most beautiful but also troubled country currently, i.e., SOUTH AFRICA, and we speak to REDCON PROJECTS in Johannesburg who also are strong into Botswana and other places via South Africa.
3. Finally, we re-publish an interesting interview with a Dutch company but with business in Ghana. With the development of Africa and with West Africa being an important part of that continent, it is interesting to revisit this chat.
We finish off with shipping news, trade intelligence, a featured video, a featured photo and wise words.
Wishing you all well and until next week we remain,
Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
bo.drewsen@projectcargo-weekly.com
Video Interview
LEMAN – Copenhagen, Denmark
Niels Bierbum, Project Manager Special Solutions and Bo Henrik Jepsen, Group COO Air & Sea at LEMAN Copenhagen, Denmark were interviewed by Bo H. Drewsen, Editor in Chief at PCWW
Video Interview
Redcon Projects – Johannesburg, South Africa
Martine Hassen, CEO and Pamela Yerushalmy, Commercial Manager at Redcon Projects Pty Ltd., Johannesburg, South Africa were interviewed by Bo H. Drewsen, Editor in Chief at PCW
Ports Marine Ltd – part of the Portside Group of Companies
Interview with
Mr. Bas de Vaal
Managing Director
Tell me about how you actually ended up in Ghana? You seem to have chosen shipping and freight forwarding at a young age, why was that? Who owns Portside and where is it headquartered? What activities is Portside involved in?
My shipping career started in Lagos, Nigeria where I grew up, from only a 2 months old baby until 8 years old, my father often took me to the vessels in Apapa port. Then I decided that I also wanted to be part of the shipping community. After living in South America and Switzerland I started studying logistics in Rotterdam and then moved to Antwerp for my Master’s Degree where I joined Seatrade Reefer chartering operating a fleet of fruit carriers.
After 5 years there at the age of 29, my family helped me start Portside together with close friends. We chose to make Ghana our base as it is more business-friendly than Nigeria. Ghana is also known as West Africa for beginners!
Maersk Faces Claim for US Shipper Losses in Legal Row Over Contract
Editor’s Note:
As mentioned in our previous newsletters if you, as a shipper, book everything you have with only one solution or one company that profess to have it all then you have also “parked” your freedom there. Freight forwarders thus play a pivotal role in scouring the market for you.
A New York shipper is legally pursuing Maersk for $180m, claiming the carrier failed to meet contractual obligations during the pandemic.
U Shippers Group is effectively a shipper association that entered into a contract with Maersk in June 2020, the carrier expected to provide space for U Shippers’ members.
However, U Shippers claims Maersk failed to provide the contracted space, preferring to sell its services to spot cargo customers instead.
Carriers Brace for More Official Complaints from Emboldened BCOs as MSC Fights Protracted Case
Editor’s Note:
Also here it shows that the exorbitant rates charged by some, if not all, of the major container shipping lines may come to an end… with the tide now turning, many shippers are adamant to fight back and are no-longer in panic due to the COVID supply chain disruptions…
Shippers are likely to feel emboldened to doggedly pursue ocean carriers in the courts as the liner party fizzles out and out of pocket clients seek retribution.
In a sign of this new found persistence, Pennsylvania-based home decor MCS Industries shows no sign of letting up in its battle with the world’s largest containerline.
Belarus’s Lukashenko Eyes Shipping Goods to Asia via Russia’s Arctic route
Editor’s Note:
Not sure if it would be recommended to use this solution nowadays given that transportation is a matter of trust…
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko during a meeting with the governor of Russia’s Murmansk region, Andrei Chibis, on Thursday said the re-routing of Belarusian exports through more Russian ports was of key importance.
“Under the current conditions, a strategic topic for us is the reorientation of part of Belarusian exports, primarily potash fertilizers, to your ports,” Lukashenko said.
Mapped: A Snapshot of Wealth in Africa
Editor’s Note:
Africa is perhaps the last continent where project cargo shipping is still coming in abundance. Thus an infographic here that could be insightful for you to look at.
The continent of Africa contains more than 50 countries, but just five account for more than half of total wealth on the continent: South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, and Kenya.
Despite recent setbacks in Africa’s largest economies, wealth creation has been strong in a number of areas, and total private wealth is now estimated to be US$2.1 trillion. There also an estimated 21 billionaires in Africa today.
Drawing from the latest Africa Wealth Report, here’s a look at where all that wealth is concentrated around the continent.
New Bottling Plant in Nadi to Create more Jobs and Increase Exports
iji’s export markets is expected to be further boosted and more jobs will be created following the re-launch of the locally-produced mineral water plant, 18 Degrees Fiji Mineral Water today.
The company is owned by Fiji-born international business tycoon, Hamid Ali who says that they will soon bring in KFC, Taco Bells and some other franchises here to Fiji to create more jobs.
Empyrion DC announces 40MW green data center in South Korea
Gangnam is currently home to several of the largest Koreanconglomerates, such as Hyundai, Kia, LG, and Samsung. This makes it alocation that is generally in need of significant data storage and spaceto meet the high enterprise demands.
The company says the new development will alleviate the data centersupply shortage in Gangnam and the broader metropolitan Seoul area. Theproject has been announced as shovel-ready, and the team expects tocommence construction before year end 2022.
Chile’s 50-MW/600-MWh LAES Project Wins Approval
UK-Chilean joint venture (JV) Highview Enlasa on Thursday secured the environmental approval to build a 50-MW/600-MWh liquid air energy storage (LAES) facility in Chile’s region of Atacama, according to public records posted on the Chilean environmental agency’s web service.
Canadian Solar Comes Out as the 2nd Winner in Chile’s Power Auction
Canadian Solar Inc on Thursday validated that it was the second of just two winners in Chile’s power auction a month earlier, protecting power purchase contracts (PPAs) for its Zaldivar solar-plus-storage project in the Chilean region of Antofagasta.
mv ONE Crane – Alongside the CTA Container Terminal in Hamburg
Editor’s Note:
ONE Crane which is a very special name for a giant container vessel without cranes….still here you find some wonderful footage of the magenta coloured vessel alongside the CTA container terminal in Hamburg, Germany. Pretty fantastic to sail this close up….The shipowner ONE (comprised of NYK/KLINE/MOL) is also known to be freight forwarder friendly!
Editor’s Note:
Size does matter at least my ex-wife told me so… and here you get it. MV HMM Hamburg alongside in Burchardkai, Port of Hamburg a giant of 24,000 TEU, it is practically brand new and very impressive up close.
