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It is Thursday again and Project Cargo Weekly has arrived. In two days, I am leaving for my Asian tour which will include visits to my favourite city of Hong Kong, then Shanghai to join the Breakbulk Expo there, then finally with a week in Bangkok before heading back to Stockholm, Sweden.
 It turns out that there are now new rules governing Chinese visas enabling you to stay up to 144 hours in China as a business person with an onward reservation. That is indeed good news because we all know how complex it can be to get visas nowadays, in particular when you have to leave your passport for a few days with some obnoxious (often) clerk behind the usual Fort Knox windows that seem to exist at most embassies and consulates around the world. Furthermore, opening hours must of course be designed to cause maximum inconvenience to the people requiring a visa. I wonder if there is a special rule amongst embassies and consulates of the world that their main function is to make it troublesome for people by having very short opening hours.
I lived many years in Beijing and often wondered what actually went on in the Sanlitun District, where embassies were located side by side and the only constant was the occasional limousine going in or out of the compound. I’ll never forget the time I visited the Swedish consulate in Singapore. It was just after Suharto was overthrown in Jakarta and the city was ‘on fire’, as CNN would have said. A Swedish guy was there trying to get a new passport and assistance with a ticket home because his bank account had been frozen.
There was a long discussion and, to no one's surprise, there was no help available. I recall I made a rash decision after listening to his ordeal and brought him to a local travel agent downstairs, buying him a one-way economy class ticket back to Gothenburg. He was a retired ABB worker and I could tell that he was trustworthy. He later refunded the ticket cost to me with a glowing thank you note. Yes, sometimes we should not be too afraid to reach out and help others and what I did was follow my gut feeling. More often than not a gut feeling is the right one!
Changing the subject and regarding my being from a slightly older generation, I came across a very interesting article this week in SCMP about detox. Now, I know a thing or two about detoxing, but I never imagined that I would ever be talking about a ‘digital detox’. However, this is perhaps by far the detox many of us need the most. Quality time with children is being lost - some kids have even drowned whilst their parents are busy on their mobiles at the beach - and we have seen many other scary examples of digitalisation taking over our lives. Read this article for more info. Whilst we are on the subject, I hope and pray that we will never be so digitalised that we are unable to fix problems ourselves in the good old-fashioned ways. I am thinking about the terrible loss of life from the Ethiopian Boeing 737MAX airliner that went down a few days ago, just shortly after a similar airplane in Indonesia did the same. It is said that pilots in the US last year had already warned of the fact that the airplane was too automated and not fully developed, so they had to struggle to take back control of the aircraft. I respect technological developments, but I don’t respect a rushed development jeopardizing safety. Perhaps taking a step back once in a while is sorely needed, more than protecting the ever more important bottom line.
Businesswise this week we start off in Germany and speak to a shipping agent and project freight forwarder in the lovely city of Hamburg, before we fly to Nairobi, Kenya where we interview a local freight forwarder who’s also able to provide transhipment to neighbouring countries. We then cross the Indian Ocean and land in Mumbai, India. After testing their curry of course, we pay a visit to a local transportation company that has inland experience in this vast and quickly developing country. We provide you with shipping news, sector news, wise words and don’t forget our photo and video of the week as well.
Until next time,
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Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
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Mr. Torsten Bender
Managing Director |
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Firstly Torsten, could you tell us a bit about the history of Incotrans? I understand that your roots date back to the eighteenth century?
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Yes, it’s true that the roots of our company date back to the eighteenth century, when the original version of this company was founded in the Netherlands. Incotrans developed liner services from the continent to both sides of the USA, the US Gulf and Central America. Its own ships were employed but it also co-operated with other carriers, such as ACL, which was part of the group. This led to a gaining strong experience in the container trade as well as in ro-ro and breakbulk shipments. Nowadays, Incotrans is a privately-owned shipping agency offering liner agency services as well as port agency services.
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Ms. Jane Njuguna
Managing Director |
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Jane, if you will, please tell us a little about Airwagon.
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Airwagon Cargo Movers Ltd. specializes in clearing and forwarding. It was established in 2007 and its registered offices are located at the heart of Kenya’s largest airport (Jomo Kenyatta International Airport). It’s registered with KRA and KIFWA. Airwagon Cargo Movers Ltd. has a truly professional team from diverse backgrounds and a qualified approach combined with many years of experience
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Ms. Walter George
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) |
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Walter, please tell us about the establishment and history of Neptune. What is your main line of business in shipping & logistics?
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Neptune was conceptualized and created in 1990 by the two brothers Dilip Ahuja and Sanjay Ahuja, when they were running a freight broking company started by their father Mr. Vashdev Ahuja called Vashusons. Vashusons still continues to run as one the leading freight brokers, handling mainly agricultural commodities in breakbulk and containers, including reefers.
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Handling Equipment for wider, longer and higher breakbulk and project cargo
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For wider, longer and higher breakbulk and project cargo, Höegh Autoliners has developed specialised equipment to ensure its smooth and safe transportation. Video link. |
Gold Star Line Introduces a New Breakbulk Service to/from India
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Editors note:
There is now a new breakbulk service available in the trade between the West Coast of India and the Persian Gulf. Looks interesting and always good with alternatives.
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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang Highlights Development Plans for Transportation Sector
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Editors note:
At the recent political conference in Beijing the Chinese premier stated that more developments will take place in the transportation sector.
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The second session of China’s 13th National People's Congress was opened in Beijing on 5 March and Premier Li Keqiang delivered the government work report and stated national plans for several industries in the meeting.
To ease the burden on corporate tax payers, China plans to reduce tax and social insurance contributions of enterprises by around RMB2trn in 2019, and will reduce the current value-added tax rate of 16% in manufacturing and other industries to 13%, and lower the tax rate for transportation, construction, and other industries from 10 to 9%.
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IKEA, CMA CGM and The GoodShipping Program join forces to test sustainable marine bio-fuel oil
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Editors note:
Green is the new buzzword worldwide. Some news here about bio fuel being tested by major shipowners with support of major shippers!
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IKEA Transport & Logistics Services, CMA CGM, the GoodShipping Program and the Port of Rotterdam have today announced they will cooperate in a first of its kind partnership to test and scale the use of sustainable marine bio-fuel oil. The test will commence with a landmark bunkering of the marine bio-fuel oil on a CMA CGM container vessel on March 19th, representing a major step towards the decarbonisation of ocean freight.
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Video: Grimaldi Grande America sinks off the French coast
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Editors note:
Grimaldi RORO ship caught fire in the Bay of Biscay and the latest news regrettably is that the vessel has sunk and it is now at the bottom of the sea. Luckily all seafarers were rescued during night operations by the RAF.
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14th Shipbrokers and Shipagents Dinner 2019, Genoa 28th June
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Editors note:
Genoa is a nice place to visit. Italy is famous for many things not least their wine and food. But Genoa is also a shipping hub so perhaps this event could be interesting for those of you having interests in the Mediterranean.
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World’s First Mega-Container Vessel LNG Retrofit Contracted
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Editors note:
And more green...mega containerships being fitted to run on LNG - state of Qatar must be happy as the market for their giant gas reserves continues to increase...
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The 15,000 TEU Hapag-Lloyd container ship Sajir will be the first mega-container vessel to be converted to dual-fuel operation.
Contracts have been signed, and the conversion will be undertaken by MAN Energy Solutions. The project will entail the conversion of an existing, HFO-burning MAN B&W 9S90ME-C engine to a dual-fuel MAN B&W ME-GI (-Gas Injection) prime mover capable of running on HFO and LNG. The retrofit will be done at the Chinese Hudong/HRDD shipyard.
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Port Sudan Workers Union Angry with Takeover Deal
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Editors note:
Not every day that we hear about the Port of Sudan. Here is the latest involving local arguments about a Philippine/UAE takeover but also good footage from the port itself.
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The surprise foreign takeover of a container port in Sudan has left workers angry and fearing for their livelihoods. It's the result of a deal between the government and a Philippine company headquartered in the United Arab Emirates.
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Amut supplying washing line to Indorama recycling plant in Mexico
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Italian recycling machinery group Amut has been working with Indorama Ventures North America (IVL) on the construction of a new PET recycling facility in Mexico.
The new plant will be located at the site of IVL’s Ecomex recycling joint venture in Guadalajara and is expected to start operation by autumn this year.
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AAK makes significant investments in its China facility
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Eighteen months after inaugurating its production facility in Zhangjiagang, China, AAK has decided on some significant add-on investments to increase capacity and support volume growth for, in particular, its Special Nutrition and Bakery segments.
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Victoria Police order three AW139s
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Australia’s Victoria Police Air Wing service has added three Leonardo AW139s to its fleet. They will be supplied by local seller StarFlight Victoria and used for law-enforcement, patrol and surveillance, and maritime search-and-rescue missions.
Leonardo expects to deliver the helicopters from its Vergiate final-assembly plant in Italy in late-2019
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KONE wins order to equip stages 4 and 5 of the Thomson-East Coast Line in Singapore
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KONE, a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, has won an order to supply elevators and escalators for stages four and five of the Thomson-East Coast Line of Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and pedestrian overhead bridges.
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JV of Ormat and Sacyr win bid for 5 MW geothermal pilot plant in Bolivia
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As announced by Bolivian energy utility ENDE, the consortium of Ormat International and Sacyr have won the tender for the 5 MW pilot plant of the Laguna Colorada geothermal power project in the Andes of Bolivia.
Through the release of a Scope of Works, also published by BN Americas, it is now announced that the consortium of Sacyr and Ormat won the tender. The share in the bid is: Ormat International Inc. – 50%, Sacyr Industrial Bolivia SIB S.R.L – 40%, and Sacyr Industrial SL 10%.
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Chipolbrok MV Qian Kun Aden Project
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Editors note:
Not every day we get project cargo pictures from the port of ADEN in war-torn Yemen. Nice shots here from mv Qian Kun of Chipolbrok discharging at ADEN en-route to ASIA.
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Chipolbrok's MV Qian Kun made a voyage to the port of Aden beginning in Antwerp, half of vessels space was loaded with power station equipment for the ‘Petromasila Aden Project’ including heavy units of 2 x 177mts and 2 x 206mts, the remaining space was filled by general cargo.
This project is the second largest in Yemen after the construction of Balhaf LNG terminal. The cargo receiver is Petromasila which is the Yemeni government's largest petroleum and power company. The cargo enjoyed top priority and all operations including waiting for berth was finalized within 4 days plus a few hours. http://www.chipolbrok.com.pl
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ANEMOI Flettner Rotor System working well on MV Afros Sailing
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Editors note:
Innovative ways of saving fuel are constantly popping up. One of the first trying it was the now defunct Beluga Shipping but it is now again being tried using "wind-turbines" onboard a modern cargo vessel to make use of the (still) free of charge wind energy.
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