Dear Readers,
It is Thursday and newsletter time! After Easter and before Breakbulk Europe it has been a bit of a struggle to get input for this week’s issue. If there is a will there is a way, as my ex-wife said when I had to do the house cleaning. Today we have some interesting interviews where we geographically move from the Philippines to Egypt and then to Bahrain.
Shipping-wise it seems that there is a real lack of space these days in particular on the trade from Europe to Asia. I have been in touch with some liner agents and in particular out-port agents who are having difficulty getting space. So it seems that shipowners are now taking back part of what they lost in recent years. Furthermore, it may be a lesson for many freight forwarders to do less shopping around / wheeling and dealing and focus on building long-term relationships based on transparency and honesty.
In this week’s issue:
Interview with a local shipping agent in Egypt
Interview with a local project freight forwarder in Bahrain
Profile of a shipping person in the Philippines
Sector news, video and photo of the week
So that’s our issue this week. We hope you enjoy it and, until next time I remain,
Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
bo.drewsen@projectcargo-weekly.com
Agil Freight Logistics & Aqua Air Logistics, Bahrain
Interview with
Mr. Shankarraman KS
Director
Give us some ideas about the location and ports of Bahrain. Which shipping lines regularly calls Bahrain directly?
The Kingdom of Bahrain is a beautiful Island in the Arabian Gulf, just northeast of Saudi Arabia & West of Qatar. We have one major Port in Bahrain called Khalifa Bin Salman Port (KBSP), which is managed by APM Terminals. Bahrain is connected via feeder services to Jebel Ali / Khor Fakkan. In addition, we have direct calls by MSC Line (Cheetah Service) & soon COSCO (Ocean Alliance) will call KBSP Port direct from May onwards.
Egyptian Maritime Consultant Office (EMCO) – Egypt
Interview with
Mr. Eslam El Gazzar
S.C. Chief Operating Officer
Are you more of a shipping agent, or do you also handle freight forwarding?
We are a specialized agent serving all types of vessels and cargo at all major Egyptian ports. We have extensive experience with timber vessels, general cargo vessels, heavy lift vessels and offshore petroleum service vessels.
We handle Suez Canal transit, surveys, and special operations. We are also owner’s protecting agents, freight forwarders, and offshore petroleum services providers.
Profile of a Shipping Person in the Philippines
Interview with
Mr. Paul Viegelmann
Cebu, Philippines
How many seafarers from around the world actually come from the Philippines? Why do you think there are so many Filipino seafarers?
According to the Dept. of Labor and Employment, Filipino seafarers are the most preferred in the world because they are better trained and proficient in English. I would add that it is because they can easily adapt to various ship management practices and, their wages are more competitive than their European counterparts. It is safe to say that today there are close to 500,000 Filipino sailors employed onboard foreign flag vessels.
Renewables
Actis to Build Wind Farm in Egypt
Lekela Power for New and Renewable Energy plans to sign a contract with Egypt to establish a wind farm in Egypt the second quarter of this year. The full cost of this farm is appraised at $350m. Read more…
Automotive
Chinese Company Plans to Build Indiana Auto Parts Plant
BeijingWest Industries announced Thursday it planned to start construction this summer on the new factory in a Greenfield industrial park. The company produces brake and suspension systems for several automakers, including BMW, Ford, General Motors, and Honda. Read more…
Wastewater Treatment
Acciona wins $394m Contract to Build New Waste Water Treatment Plant in Canada
Spanish conglomerate Acciona has secured a CAD$525m ($394m) contract to build a new waste water treatment plant in Vancouver, Canada. Read more…
Enav to Build the Control Tower of Mitiga Airport in Libya
Italian company Enav has been awarded by the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority a contract for the construction and set up of the control tower and technical building of the Mitiga airport in Libya. Read more…
Railways & Mass Transit
Alstom, Bombardier Tap India as Urban Rail Export Center
Drawn to India by an explosion in metro-rail projects, Alstom SA and Bombardier Inc are now poised to use the nation known for being the world’s back-office as a manufacturing export hub. Read more…
Government Contracts
Vote counting machines Korea/Iraq
South Korea’s Miru Systems has signed a $100-million deal to supply vote-counting machines to Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission
(IHEC). Read more…
Events
Industry leading brands converge at LET China
The 8th China International Logistics Equipment & Technology Exhibition (Guangzhou) (LET China in short) is adapting to the developing trend of World Intelligent Logistics, helps to achieve the transition promotion of the manufacture, logistics, and distribution in China and Asia-Pacific area. We have already held 7 exhibitions which are the most professional and biggest in Asia. Pre-register here: http://www.chinalet.cn/
Advances in connectivity and digital transformation creating new opportunities for maritime procurement
Maritime buyers, suppliers, and industry opinion formers stress the commercial opportunity of digital innovation at ShipServ’s annual Smart Procurement conference. Learn more: http://www.shipserv.com/
