Dear Readers,
Friends, it is Thursday 8th August 2019 and it is (almost) the first Thursday after the July holidays, so hopefully Project Cargo Weekly is back in your inbox. I hope many of you have enjoyed, or perhaps still are enjoying, the summer holiday. For those of you who aren’t, I hope that you’ve had at least some time to take it easy in your jobs. I feel fortunate to have spent the major part of my holiday aboard a container ship sailing from Singapore to Melbourne, together with my seventeen-year-old daughter, on what was was her third trip along with her old man as a passenger on board such a vessel.
The ship, called CMA CGM Georgia, sails in the liner service of ANL between South East Asia and Australia on a thirty-five-day round trip calling the ports of Singapore, Klang, Fremantle, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle and Singapore. We had exactly twenty-one days on board and disembarked at Melbourne. It was a fantastic experience and although we had some rough weather during the transit through the Tasman Sea, with up to eight or nine-meter swells, overall, we had a very memorable journey. CMA CGM is one of the only container ship owners left nowadays offering this style of travel. It’s travel without stress, without shopping malls and without loud tourists flocking to the many restaurants and asking (often in American accents) where in the world Denmark is located.
So, if you want peace, quiet and the ability to read books and enjoy the spectacular ocean views day and night, then this kind of travel is for you. I have compiled a wide range of photos and from the trip and you can enjoy many of them here. The cost is around €110/passenger/day, including all meals. During the trip and the usual stays in ports, which average between twenty to thirty hours, I was able (of course) to meet contacts, business people and others important for my work, so in that way it was a good combination. The vessel had a Chinese captain and chief engineer and there was even a Chinese lady cadet/trainee working in the engine room – now that is not seen every day. Other officers and crew were from Sri Lanka and, thus, we had fantastic cuisine on board with a mix of Chinese/Sri Lankan dishes, much to both mine and my daughter’s liking. Take a look at www.cross-ocean.com and click ‘Ocean Voyages’ to see more videos from the trip and see what other routes are available. Feel also free to write directly to me at any time for tips and guidance on this.
After several stopovers in New Zealand and visiting Wellington and Auckland as well as Hong Kong and Bangkok on the way back, being ashore again reminds me to get back to work in order to earn enough for the next trip (which according to the deal I have with my wife will be is in two years’ time). Being back also bombards me with the daily news trickling in again. It’s the usual stuff about trade wars, explosions, unrest, shooting galleries in the US and political bickering and infighting in the bloated bureaucracy of the EU to get onto the everlasting gravy train there. It almost makes me want to book another trip right away. Still, I guess we all feel that we sometimes need a holiday after the holiday to rest up, right?
We start again with business in this week’s issue and first we naturally interview a project freight forwarder located in Sydney, Australia that I met at La Perouse park, just off the Port of Botany, Sydney. From them we learn all the information on their expertise. We then visit the giant country of Brazil which has a company involved in container trading worldwide. After that, we finish off by visiting my native country of Denmark and the now-defunct shipyard of Lindoe, where Maersk built many of their mega vessels that are well known worldwide for design and durability. We learn from them about the new plans now that the shipyard is no more. We, of course, continue our tradition with shipping news and trade intelligence for the active salespersons in your company. Further, with featured pictures, video and wise words to round off this issue, we hope that you will continue to find Project Cargo Weekly a worthy read in future.
Before I conclude this first editorial after the summer holidays, I wish to notify you all that on the 16th August we will publish our inaugural newsletter called Project Cargo Weekly Leisure. It focuses on interviewing friends of the undersigned, people from the shipping industry and others with stories to tell about their favourite travel destinations, hobbies and activities when they are not at work. Hope you will enjoy this too, so please take note and mark in your calendar to check your inbox (and spam folder) to see if you receive it on 16th August. We will even have stories on the best and worst travel experiences, which are often the most fun to read.
Wishing you all well and until next week, I remain,
Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
bo.drewsen@projectcargo-weekly.com
CTO Global Logistics – Sydney, Australia
Interview with
Mrs. Bronwen Grabe
Project Manager
Tell us about the history of CTO Global Logistics. Where are you currently located worldwide with own offices, and who are the owners?
CTO is a long-standing brand of excellence in the international shipping industry. CTO Group is an International Freight Forwarding Company, which was founded in Milan in 1974 by Mr. Francesco S. Uria with the name of Compagnia Trasporti Oltremare, an exotic Italian name remembering the trades of the old merchant ships.
Since the very beginning, CTO’s DNA is the natural easiness to operate in the world as the only playground, developing international tailormade solutions to our clients, with dedication, passion and flexibility.
CTO Global has developed a complete supply chain solution through years of satisfying customers’ needs for any specialised Projects and General Cargo. Not only does CTO Global provide world-wide multi-modal freight forwarding it also offers Customs Brokerage & Consultancy, Quarantine Services, 3PL, Local Transport including Transparent Technology.
Versibox – Santos, Brazil
Interview with
Mr. Christian Vostoupal
Managing Partner
The buying and selling of containers is a competitive business. What makes you stand out?
We have a worldwide network that allows us to operate in major markets. Also with differentials we can be more attractive, such as the repurchase of containers, where our customers can resell us containers purchased from Versibox, this is useful when the customer has no use for the container after the period of use or shipping.
Lindø – Port of Odense, Denmark
Interview with
Mr. Ole Haugsted Jørgensen
Sales & Marketing Manager
How many ships did the giant Maersk Line build at Lindø and when did the shipyard originally start its construction business? What prompted the closure in 2012?
When you talk about shipbuilding at Lindø, it’s only natural to focus upon the construction of the giant Maersk Line container vessels. However, the true story is that from the beginning in 1918 right up until 2012, the Lindø shipyard group produced an impressive 528 new buildings, comprising virtually all types of vessels in an un-ceased process of renewal.
The closure was finally prompted by the fierce competition from Asian shipyards which, through a combination of cheap labour and public subsidies, were able to construct vessels at a cost which a Danish shipyard couldn’t match.
Invitation to the International Maritime Transport Seminar in Ipswich
Project Cargo Weekly and readers of PCW have been invited to attend this event. Space is limited so please sign up for this informative and VIP event in the UK and learn more about legal issues facing us all in shipping from the professionals.
Trans International Logistiks Wins 2019 Asia Pacific Best Practices Award
Editor’s Note:
Nice to see that some friends of our newsletter were recently prestigiously rewarded for best practices in Malaysia.
Interlegal Lawyers Recover Debt Amounting to 90,000 USD for the Bunkering Company
A foreign bunkering company filed a request to Interlegal on securing debt recovery for lubricant supply amounting to 90,000 USD, with payment delay for over half-year.
Sulphur Regulation Important Customer Announcement – IMO 2020 Low-Sulphur Regulation
The new International Maritime Organization (IMO) Low Sulphur Regulation will be in effect as of January 1st, 2020, with the aim to reduce the sulphur oxide (SOx) released in the atmosphere and all shipping companies and their vessels trading worldwide will have to comply.
We are in the process of preparing the fuel tanks, piping systems and engines of our vessels in order to comply with the new regulation. As a result, significant costs will already incur during the 4th Quarter of 2019, i.e. before the official enforcement of the regulation.
Scotline Marine Holdings Orders Third Vessel from Royal Bodewes
Scotline Marine Holdings Ltd is pleased to announce the order from the Royal Bodewes Shipyard of newbuilding number 750 to be named Scot Ranger with Swedish/Finnish Ice Class 1A.
After the successful delivery of the Scot Carrier in November 2018, construction of the second vessel, Scot Explorer, started February 2019. Scot Explorer is seen here with the aft section leaving the brand-new production facilities at the Royal Bodewes Shipyard site at Hoogezand. The vessel is expected to be launched in October 2019 with final delivery shortly afterwards.
Pacifica Shipping Acquires New Vessel to Meet Rising Coastal Demand
Pacifica Shipping yesterday confirmed that it has acquired a larger 1700 teu vessel for deployment on its premium coastal shipping service in New Zealand. The MV Moana Chief – which is expected to commence operations formally in September 2019 – will meet growing domestic and international transhipping cargo demand.
Containerships Successfully Carries out the First Simultaneous Operations LNG Bunkering on a Container Vessel in Europe
Containerships, an expert in Intra-Europe and a subsidiary of the CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, is pleased to announce it has performed its first simultaneous operations (SIMOPS) bunkering, which allows for the concomitant bunkering of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and execution of loading and unloading procedures.
Canadian Solar Won a 51 MWp Solar Power Project in Brazil
Canadian Solar Inc. (the “Company”, or “Canadian Solar”) (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world’s largest solar power companies, today announced it has been awarded a 51.1 MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) project in the Sixth Brazilian Federal Energy Auction (A-4) held on June 28, 2019.
Canadian Solar will develop and build the project located in the State of Minas Gerais. Construction of the solar project will start in early 2021 and it is expected to reach commercial operation before January 2023.
Systra Wins Contract for Santiago Metro Line 7
The government stated its plans to build line 7 of the metro back in 2017. Running from Renca (northwest) to Vitacura (northeast), it will be almost 25km in length with 21 new stations. Line 7 will run parallel to line 1 for some distance to relieve it of roughly 10,000 daily riders. Once line 7 opens, the Santiago metro network will measure 176km with 163 stations.
POLAND-GE to Equip 220-MW Wind Park in Poland
GE Renewable Energy has been selected as the turbine supplier for the 220-MW Potegowo wind farm in Poland, the subsidiary of General Electric (NYSE:GE) said on Thursday.
The US manufacturer will deliver 81 turbines that will be produced at its factory in Salzbergen, Germany, and will be installed at a site in Slupsk County, northern Poland.
MHI Vestas Inks Taiwan Blade Materials Deals
MHI Vestas has signed a contract with Swancor in Taiwan for the supply of materials needed in blade manufacturing.
The scope of the conditional agreement with Swancor covers more than 50% of the direct materials value of blade manufacturing – including carbon tow, carbon pultrusion, resin and bonding glue.
Editor’s Note:
Port of Auckland. Wuthering Heights indeed!
Editor’s Note:
Approaching the Melbourne skyline to occupy the vacant berth that the approaching container vessel left behind.
Editor’s Note:
Seeing the skyline of Melbourne from CMA CGM Georgia with a containership meeting us is SHIPPING.
