Week #05 – 2019

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It is Thursday January 31st and Project Cargo Weekly is here again. In the last few weeks, there has been a lot of writing about the Chinese conglomerate Huawei. Huawei has become increasingly popular with its mobile phones and is already starting to surpass some of the major players in the world in the field of mobile telecoms and communication networks. Now, many governments are beginning to voice concerns regarding Huawei’s background in the Chinese military, but are they doing this from sour grapes or legitimate worry?

Bo H. Drewsen

The Chinese government, like any other government, supports its own companies. They do this via business support whilst some western governments do it in another way. They let government agencies and so-called aid organisations do the job. I would recommend that you read a book called CIA: A Legacy of Ashes, which clearly explains the way in which the US has been involved in promoting their own worldwide influence, even helping to topple legitimate governments.

So the question for all of us is, are we in the West really so much ‘cleaner’ than the new giant rising in the East? We certainly spare no effort to try and gain access to their own market, but once they try to develop overseas, be it in shipping, terminals, mobile networks, construction etc. we immediately start seeing danger. Yes, certainly in the cleanest water, there are no fish (as Mao Tse Tung once famously remarked), but my opinion is that no-one is clean and people claiming to be cleaner or pointing their fingers at others only results in three fingers pointing back at them.

What has France done in Africa? What is Russia doing in their sphere of interest, what did the Dutch do in Indonesia, what did Denmark do in Greenland and The UK in Kenya? So, we don’t need to go far back in history to learn that it repeats itself in various ways. But crying wolf and being overly afraid of China is, to my mind, detrimental and we should look at our own history first, even recent history, before we whip up a storm about the Chinese taking over. I have no doubt that they are, in many ways, taking over, but it also has something to do with mentality, hard work, due diligence and ability to save. All areas where we in the West often come woefully short.

Right. Voicing opinions from my armchair is always easy, so perhaps I had better stick to something that I know a little about and introduce you to this week’s interviews. We start off in a country that has an awful recent history, Cambodia. It is a beautiful country but no one has forgotten the ‘killing fields’ and the havoc that Khmer Rouge wreaked on this country. So, it is a marvel to behold that they are trying to develop and get out of the shadows. Fast forward to the present and we are meeting with a logistics company in Phnom Penh that is trying to make ends meet. They tell us about logistics to and from their country.

We then travel to the UK, whilst our EU passports still make for easy travel there, to speak to a UK based logistics provider that also has aircraft charter experience and has branches established not only in the UK, but also in China. Finally we take a travel break and speak to one half of the Portuguese businessmen duo that have established an online platform to buy/sell freight jobs that you may find interesting in today’s online world.

We provide you with shipping news and, in particular, ask you to take note of SHIPNEXT which should be interesting for you. Also, note news on the development of railways in South East Asia. As usual we provide you with sector news and this week’s featured photo and video both focus on Cambodia. Wise Words round it all off.

On a final note, I shall be present at the Break Bulk Middle East Expo in Dubai on February 11th and 12th and I can be personally found from 13:00-14:00 at the Hoegh Autoliners booth 1003, in case you wish to meet or propose an interview for PCW. I would be pleased to meet up for a coffee or a glass of wine, while talking about life.

Wishing you well and until next week,

Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen

Hoegh Autoliners Video

Pandora Logistics Cambodia Co., Ltd

Interview with Mr. Nhiev Kol
Owner

Nhiev Kol
Pandora Logistics Project Cargo Photo Cambodia
What can you tell us about Pandora? Who chose the name and does it have a specific meaning? Who owns the company?
Pandora was a joint venture between three participants being myself, Ms. Sorn Piyou and Ms. Cathy Heng, to form up Pandora in 2017.
 
We, the three shareholders, decided on the name. Pandora is also the name of an international Danish-owned jewellery manufacturer and retailer founded in 1982, and so we realised that we needed to have a unique logo. This is because, as I’m sure you understand, it is very important to have a well thought out business identity to achieve good market recognition. A logo is a key design that a company puts on each product, so when it’s unique and able to signify our presence in the shipping industry, a strong logo can even turn viewers into customers.
Read the full interview

Brunel Air Cargo Services Ltd., UK

Interview with Mr. Mark Scanlon
Director

 
Brunel Air Cargo Services Ltd., UK
 
Tell us about Brunel Air Cargo. Why the name Brunel? When was the company established and who owns it today?
Brunel Air Cargo are part of the Brunel Group of companies, we have offices in Basildon, Bristol, Heathrow, Manchester & Shenzhen. The name Brunel was chosen by one of our original founders Phil Clayton when he formed the company in 1988, it was adapted by the famous British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who was a revolutionary engineer who designed and built railway lines, bridges and the first propeller driven steamship travelling across the transatlantic in the 19th century.
The company today is still owned by Phil, however day to day operations are handled by our Group Operations Director Michael White.
Read the full interview

CargoBid

Interview with Mr. Carlos Moreira
Co-founder

Mr. Carlos Moreira
CargoBid
What is CargoBid, Carlos?
CargoBid is an online platform offering cargo auctions for air, sea and multi-modal transport. Available in seven languages, it works as an auction marketplace and does not operate as a freight forwarder or carrier. It is a solely an intermediary between companies in the spot market. Its whole purpose is to contribute to green freight procurement and promote trade relationships between companies worldwide.
 
Basically, our customers act as participants in online reverse auctions. Any buyers of transportation (known in CargoBid as shippers) post auctions with freight requests and provide their cargo details. The suppliers of transportation (carriers) offer freight quotes by means of bids in those auctions.
Read the full interview
Shinext Connect

Shipping News

Editors note: ShipNext offers what seems to be an interesting online solution for matching up breakbulk cargoes and ships space.
SHIPNEXT (https://shipnext.com) launches a unique e-mail solution for the transportation and logistics industry, as well as any traders and shippers involved in international trade.
 
With SHIPNEXT Connect – the name this Gmail plug-in bares – Looking for a shipping solution is minimized to seconds. A natural language processing algorithm, big data analysis and Ai allows each user connect to the whole world-wide variety of shipping solutions, calculate and analyze and suggest the best ways to deliver the cargo overseas.
Shipnext
Learn more
SHIPNEXT products:

SHIPNEXT Marketplace – as a digital shipping marketplace, reverse freight-trading platform and an instant Cargo-to-Ship matching system. SHIPNEXT is also a perfect way to interconnect private freight trading platforms, such as TATA Group, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Uralkali and others to Carriers/Brokers/Shipping companies with most suitable ships in position. SHIPNEXT also allows automated Charter party and Electronic Bill of Lading printing.
 
SHIPNEXT Freight Index – is an instantly generated freight index on any incoming cargo. It comes in addition to every Cargo to allow comparison with the freight offers received from Carriers/Brokers/Ship Owners.
 
SHIPNEXT Connect – an email plug in for Gmail and other emailing software, that allows instant email processing and a solution matching. The best suitable shipping solution is then seen in every incoming Cargo/Freight Request. And vise-versa, every incoming ship position would allow brokers see the best Cargo matches. 
 
SHIPNEXT Supply Chain (coming in 2019) – a solution for instant evaluation of the most time and cost- efficient mode of transportation – with a conventional, dry-bulk vessel or in containers.
This would resemble Google Maps, where every time you need to get somewhere, you receive routing and price evaluation and a comparison between different modes of transport.

African Experience

Editors note: I am always amazed about people who have done a lot, tried a lot and been unafraid to take chances. Compared to armchair generals and people with theoretic skills nothing beats going in the bush. I found experience of this PCW reader so interesting that I wanted to share his impressive CV with all of you.
AFRICAN EXPERIENCE
Frank Duffau

Decisive, action-orientated and result-focused professional, offering over 20 years of experience in high-end logistics, with at least 10 years of project management experience. Outstanding aptitude in project mobilisation (Mining and Oil & Gas); remote locations supply-chain management; specialist logistics for humanitarian projects, defence industry and United Nations major cargo movements. Driven by new challenges and the desire to be successful.

SAL Heavy Lift delivers bridge sections from China to Norway

SAL Bridge project
Hamburg, 28 January 2019 – SAL Heavy Lift delivers 12 bridge sections for the Beitstadsundbrua bridge from China to Norway. The final bridge is part of the largest road construction project in northern Trøndelag, will measure 580 m in length and will connect the municipalities of Steinkjer and Malm, crossing the Beitstadfjorden. The bridge will make travelling between northern parts of Trøndelag county considerably safer, as well as reduce travelling time significantly.
Read more…

Chinese firm completes US$1.4 billion land reclamation works for Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port City project

Chinese firm completes US$1.4 billion land reclamation works for Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port City project
The project was agreed between China and Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, one of several to raise fears that the strategically important island had become unduly influenced by Beijing.
Read more…

Why China is determined to connect Southeast Asia by rail

Editors note: China continues its push unabatedly to develop railway transport to/from the mainland.  South East Asia is also getting linked up and in a not too distance future you can travel from Kunming to Singapore by train. Interesting article here from Nikkei.
Chinas Rail connect to SEA
When Japanese trading house Itochu and train maker Hitachi withdrew from a soon-to-be-decided $7 billion tender for a high-speed rail project near Bangkok, it appeared to be another victory for China and its grand plans to connect Southeast Asia with railways.
 
Thailand has for decades been the centerpiece of Tokyo's strategy for Southeast Asia, and long-discussed plans to build extensive shinkansen-style rail lines in the country's east and north were meant to cement the relationship between the two nations.
Read more…
Ship-log Denmark

Sector News

Hitachi suspends production, favours Enercon

Hitachi will stop producing its own turbines and instead focus on distributing Enercon machines in Japan and overseas, expanding a 20-year-old collaboration agreement with the German manufacturer.
Read more…

Germany’s Homanit to invest EUR 115 mln in wood fiberboard plant in Lithuania

Germany's wood fiberboard manufacturer Homanit Holding, which a year ago dropped plans to purchase a subsidiary of Lithuania's wood processing group Grigeo, is planning to build a production facility close to Vilnius.
 
Homanit is set to invest 115 million euros and create 440 new jobs in the first three years of operation, Invest Lithuania said on Wednesday.
Read more…

FLSmidth signs contract for large cement plant in Ethiopia

24 January, 2019 FLSmidth signed a contract for a greenfield cement plant with Abay Industrial Development Share Company. The plant will be located near the city of Dejen in Ethiopia. The contract is valued at around EUR 100 million.
Read more…

Vedanta to invest USD 1.6 billion in South Africa

Vedanta Resources Executive Chairman Anil Agarwal Wednesday committed to invest about USD 1.6 billion more in South Africa for mining minerals as he looked to deepen engagement in the African nation. 
 
At Gamsberg, Vedanta Zinc International has already invested USD 400 million (Rs 3,000 crore) since it bought the zinc mining project from Anglo American in 2011. The company now plans to make an additional investment to build a greenfield smelter and refinery, he said. 
Read more…
Brunel Air Cargo

Featured Video

A video introduction to the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, Cambodia

Editors note:
I am very pleased to see the development of Cambodia progressing. The country suffered a horrendous and horrible past but hopefully the country is moving forward now and in the future.
Sihanoukville Autonomous Port

Featured Photo

Ferries on the mighty Mekong River, Pnomh Penh, Cambodia.

PCW Week 05 Featured Photo

Quote and Proverb of the Week

Overcoming obstacles
Anger is a stone cast into a wasps nest