German Container Shipping Line Take A Historical Look At Themselves

Bali Shipping – Anyone who happens to be involved freight distribution and who finds themselves in Hamburg in the next few months might be interested in stopping off at the International Maritime Museum for a nostalgic look at a unique glimpse into the history of the Hamburg Südshipping group. Primarily know for container transport the company predates the origin of the ubiquitous cargo box by almost a century.

“140 Years of Hamburg Süd” celebrates the 140th anniversary of the company, founded on 4th November 1871 by eleven eminent Hamburg merchants and ship owners, by way of a host of historical paintings, posters and model ships. The highlights of the show include the original model of the museum freighter “Cap San Diego” from 1961 and a 4.5-metre-long model of the celebrated Hamburg Süd passenger liner “Cap Arcona” from Blohm + Voss. Also on display are oil paintings by the well-known marine painters Hans Ritter von Petersen, Johannes Holst and Leonhard Sandrock, as well as ship posters from the 20’s and 30’s.

The latter convey a unique impression of the glamorous era of Hamburg Süd cruises. Completing the broad sweep of the special exhibition is a film on the history of Hamburg Süd, incorporating numerous historical sequences, and an interactive sea chart showing the current location of all the shipping group’s owned vessels. Dr Ottmar Gast, Chairman of the Executive Board of Hamburg Süd was enthusiastic about the show saying:

“The exhibition is like a living journey through time covering the different epochs of our history. It shows the dynamic development of a shipping company that started out in 1871 with three small steamers sailing to Brazil and La Plata and today links up the continents as one of the world’s 15 largest container lines.”

The exhibition opened this week and will run until the 25thMarch 2012

Freight Forwarding and Logistics Group Turn a Profit

Following our story earlier today commenting on the Q3 statistics of container shipping giant Maersk, the logistics arm of the Danish group, Damco, has now released its own independent third quarter figures. These reveal that year to date Damco’s ocean freight volumes increased 14% compared with the same period in 2010 and airfreight tonnage was up by 23% lifted through the acquisition of China based NTS.

Supply chain activity volumes fell back 3% and net revenue rose to $2,156 million, a 6% jump, whilst gross profits increased to $567.7 million up 8%. The year to date EBIT is static at $73.2 million. Rolf Habben-Jansen, Chief Executive Officer, Damco commented:

“The traditional annual peak season in Q3 was rather muted this year. Our result for the quarter is quite satisfactory given these difficult market conditions and the conscious investments we made in growth. We continue to invest in growth, focused on selected industry verticals and on the high growth markets.

“The response from our customers on this has been very positive as illustrated by the again significantly increased customer satisfaction which reached an all-time high in 2011 and by a large number of new business contracts being concluded. Despite the challenging market we remain very positive about our ability to deliver on our growth strategy in the years to come”

Fatal Explosion Risk Concerns For Shipping Containers At Sea

The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) which represents over 4 million union members associated with the transport industry has expressed fears over the safety of some reefer shipping containers following fatal accidents. In April of this year there were two incidents at a Cat Lai repair yard in the Port of Ho Chi Minh City whilst repairs were under way on Maersk Linereefer boxes followed by another death in Itajai ,Brazil last month.

Maersk tell us that investigations so far lead them to conclude that the three explosions have been caused by a contaminated refrigerant being injected into the cooling system. Incorrect repair processes and procedures would not be able to cause these explosions. Until the exact reason for the incidents is known and a safe repair method has been developed, Maersk Line will continue to ground all reefers that have had a gas repair in Vietnam since the 1st February. This is being done as a precautionary measure the total number of units being involved is 844 whilst the Danish group operate 230,000 reefers in total. Hutchison Ports has also advised its customers to check any containers serviced or repaired in Vietnam recently and there are reports of another similar accident in China earlier this year.

Maersk are in possession of samples from the unit that exploded in Itajai as well as gas samples from containers they have grounded and that have had gas repairs done in Vietnam. Unions are calling for full investigation into the causes and scope of the problem and ITF representative Frank Leys said the unions were pleased to see that big shipping lines like Maersk had reacted so quickly to deal with the situation and urged the US union organisations to ensure companies operating from there acted equally promptly to alleviate any risk. Mr Leys, the ITF dockers’ section secretary continued:

“Where there are possibly contaminated containers still at large, we are calling on port authorities and shipping companies to issue clear guidance on how they should be handled. The health and safety of workers is paramount and in no instance should commercial or productivity issues be allowed to supersede the welfare of workers.”

Seafarers’ section secretary Jon Whitlow added:

“We are extremely concerned for the welfare of those workers on ships who may be unaware that a defective container is being carried on board. Although we acknowledge that the maritime community is moving fast to provide the necessary information and advice on how to handle the contaminated containers in ports, we hope the same approach and priority is given to adequately inform the on board safety officers in order to protect the integrity of seafarers and ships.

“Whilst of course the explosion of a container ashore is a tragic event, we think that a similar explosion on board a vessel could have potentially catastrophic effects on workers, ships and the environment.”

Authorities in Vietnam tell us within weeks Tan Cang will begin verifying the gas quality with a specialist machine before recharging reefer containers. Last week neighbouring Cat Lai port held a meeting to review the situation and the implications for the trade in container repairs and inspections which local sources estimate will cost them up to $20 per box if standard checks are farmed out to other ports en route. A statement said that port bosses agreed to allow the shipping lines to appoint a suitable foreign inspector to oversee repair and inspection procedures.

Vietnam has long provided the essential pre trip inspections (PTI’s) required by refrigerated units. Each reefer is subject to either a 20 minute check which is suitable for empty or loaded containers or an extended test which normally takes around 3 hours and is only suitable for empty boxes. In each case the control system for the fridge unit is checked and that there are no odours, gas leaks etc plus the box is clean and trip worthy

Cargo RI Siap Tembus Ketatnya Pemeriksaan Eropa dan AS

Amerika Serikat dan negara-negara Uni Eropa bakal memperketat masuknya kiriman paket-paket logistik dari seluruh dunia awal tahun depan. Namun regulator penerbangan RI menyatakan telah siap menembus ketatnya pemeriksaan cargo tersebut.

“Kita telah mengimplementasikan pemeriksaan ekspres melalui regulated agents (RA) untuk pengiriman cargo internasional. Karenanya, pengiriman asal Indonesia dinyatakan telah siap dikirim ke seluruh dunia,” kata Dirjen Perhubungan Udara Kementerian Perhubungan, Herry Bakti S Gumay di Jakarta, Jumat (11/11/2011).

Seperti diketahui,  keselamatan dan keamanan kargo menjadi salah satu isu penting di AS dan Eropa. Negara-negara itu bahkan akan memblacklist negara asal kargo yang tidak melalui prosedur keamanan yaitu diperiksa melalui X-ray satu per satu sehingga barang yang akan dikirim jelas telah aman.

Mengenai protes perusahaan jasa pengiriman yang meminta pelaksanaan RA ditunda sudah tidak beralasan, karena sebenarnya seluruh pihak telah siap. Maskapai penerbangan yang mengangkut, jelasnya, telah mendukung langkah tersebut.

“Perusahaan pengirimannya yang belum siap, tetapi itu tidak berpengaruh terhadap implementasi inspeksi barang tersebut,” tandasnya.

Pelaksanaan pemeriksaan barang logistik internasional telah dilakukan awal Oktober lalu dan hingga saat ini tidak mengalami kendala, sementara inspeksi kargo domestik telah dilakukan sebulan sebelumnya.

British Airways World Cargo launches commercial operations in Atlanta

British Airways World Cargo launches commercial operations of the world’s most advanced freighter at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport

The British Consulate-General will be present at a special event at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Thursday marking British Airways World Cargo’s first ever commercial operations on US soil of their newly acquired Boeing 747-8 freighter aircraft.

Mayor Kasim Reed, will join British Airways staff and customers, together with airport officials in celebrating this occasion, in conjunction with the formal launch of the British Airways World Cargo North America  HQ, recently relocated from New York to Atlanta.

The British Airways World Cargo announcement is a further demonstration of the continuing investment by British business in Georgia and the importance of Atlanta as the logistical hub of the Southeast. There are approximately 500 British companies located throughout Georgia providing around 30,000 jobs. The UK is also a major export destination for Georgia and other South East states and the newly launched British Airways World Cargo B747-8F freighter service will bolster this important trade route as well as trade with many other important global markets.

“I am delighted to see the UK’s flagship carrier expanding their North American Cargo activities from their new Atlanta HQ.  British Airways is a world leading air services provider, and their cargo services are known for the high quality service they provide in the air and on the ground.  Mayor Reed visited British Airway’s cargo facilities at Heathrow last year to view their state of the art logistics and handling operations” said British Consul General Annabelle Malins.

Head of UK Trade and Investment in Atlanta, Rebecca Mowat, said “The new freighter is most impressive and its arrival in Atlanta is a fitting way to mark the opening of British Airways World Cargo headquarters in Atlanta – one of several new British business investments in Georgia this year.  My highly experienced team here in Atlanta are in strong demand to support UK and US companies with international business growth on both sides of the Atlantic.