23 minute read
CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY
ROTOR TAKES TO THE SKIES
Urgent Outsized Heavy-Lift Transport Fulfilled by Air BY THOMAS TIMLEN
Ghana has made notable progress with respect to the diversification of its energy grid, motivated in part by climate change and the economic and environmental benefits seen in renewables. Globally, fossil fuel-powered plants still dominate, and this remains true for Ghana’s energy production, where hydropower comes in second.
One consequence of climate change that has impacted Ghana has been the resultant instability of its hydropower generation. To counter that, the government has looked towards other available renewable sources such as solar and wind to further diversify the mix. Of the two, the expansion of Ghana’s wind power production is showing impressive results and could put the country at the forefront of Africa’s wind energy producers.
The progress with wind power in Ghana has not been without challenges. Securing government approvals can be problematic. More than a halfdozen independent power producers, or IPPs, actively lobby to maintain their share of the market, most being oil and gas powerplant operators whose electricity comes at a comparatively higher cost for end users.
Antonov Airlines used loading equipment designed by its in-house engineering team, while the external cranes for loading and unloading at airport were arranged by Rhenus Project Logistics USA. CREDIT: ANTONOV AIRLINES
For the IPPs that utilize wind turbines to provide power to the grid, keeping their equipment online is critical. Any downtime results in revenue losses that persist until repairs are completed and the affected units are back in service. One such situation last year illustrated the related challenges, the underlying factors and the role of project cargo transportation providers, identifying a combination of entities with the know-how and equipment needed to implement timely solutions.
NEED FOR OVERSEAS REPAIRS
In July 2020 a rotor that required repair had to be moved from its location in Ghana to the manufacturer’s facilities in India. There were few options available to the IPP that owned the rotor with regard to where the repairs could be carried out. As Ritesh Nair, global sales director for projects at Rhenus Project Logistics, explained to Breakbulk: “This was proprietary material requiring specialized repair work, which had to be conducted by plants capable of handling the repair.”
Having no domestic Ghanaian repair facilities with the required capabilities that would also comply with the proprietary stipulations, the IPP approached The Heavy Lift Group, or THLG, seeking transportation solutions. The decision to approach THLG was no accident. The rotor owner did so, based on THLG member Rhenus Project Logistics’ past experience of having handled similar emergencies.
By July the rotor was ready for transport, with no shortage of challenges ahead. About 250 kilometers of road had to be traversed between its location and an airport capable of accommodating an AN-124-100 Ruslan aircraft. The rotor itself has a weight of 54 tonnes and dimensions of 10.5 meters long, 3.9 meters wide and 4.1 meters high. Rhenus Project Logistics engaged Bethel Logistics to handle the 250-kilometer road haulage to Accra, as well as the crane procurement and operations.
For the air transport, another challenge arose. Weight was not an issue, as the AN-124-100 can carry payloads up to 120 tonnes, with some modified models capable of carrying 150 tonnes. In this case, size was the challenge. “The rotor was initially on a frame that would not fit in the aircraft,” Nair said. “Rhenus Projects’ in-house engineering team, the Antonov Airlines engineering team, and the client worked together to rework the transport frame to make it fit the aircraft with a few inches to spare.”
Antonov Airlines’ Commercial Executive Vladyslav Ishchuk added: “The in-house engineering team of Antonov have a lot of experience, and since they thoroughly know Antonov aircrafts, they were able to help design exactly what was needed, taking into account all the features and having full access to operational data.”
Of course, transport by sea would have avoided all the weight and dimension issues, however, as minimizing the overall transport and repair time was prioritized in view of the IPP’s revenue loss during the rotor’s downtime, the slower transport by sea option was not attractive. The ocean transport option could have added about two months to the unit’s downtime, on top of the time required for the repair works.
COVID-19 CONSIDERATIONS
Once on board the AN-124-100, the rotor was on its way to India. Rhenus arranged for the crane operations and the road haulage from Mumbai airport to the repair facility. After the rotor’s arrival at that facility, delays with the repair work and consequences stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic arose, both posing new challenges that had to be overcome.
Nair noted that challenges such as customs clearance time in Ghana and India are to be expected, along with the necessary procedures to reexport rotors from India that were imported under a temporary bond. These were complicated, however, by the repairs taking longer than expected. “The challenges of repair work also meant that an extension had to be sought with Indian Customs to permit delayed re-export, in addition to export from another airport in a different Customs district,” Nair said. “Rhenus Logistics was actively involved with Customs, updating it on the status of shipment prior to arrival and prior to departure to ensure it was handled smoothly. Antonov Airlines also made lastminute adjustments to a busy flight schedule to ensure the flight was effected within the extended time, in the middle of the holidays.”
The 54-tonne rotor measured 10.5 meters long, 3.9 meters wide and 1.1 meters high.
CREDIT: ANTONOV AIRLINES
Why was the return flight suddenly required to depart from a different airport? Here is where the pandemic came into play. “Difficulties arose on the return flight from India to Ghana. The Ministry of Civil Aviation of India issued an Open Sky policy for non-scheduled cargo flights to and from India due to Covid-19,” Ishchuk explained. “The operations of foreign ad hoc and pure non-scheduled freighter charter service flights were restricted to six airports, namely Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. The flight was supposed to be operated from Ahmedabad, but due to this policy it operated out of Mumbai as closest to Ahmedabad, which is 500 kilometers away.” In turn, Rhenus had to make adjustments for this change of airport to get necessary permits to meet the flight in Mumbai.
Although the pandemic did impact this move, things could have been worse had the transport taken place in 2021. “The Covid-19 situation was better managed in India during the time of this project and hence we did not have the problems India is having presently,” Nair said. “However, availability of equipment and personnel was still a challenge both of which was expertly coordinated by Rhenus Logistics locally to ensure a smooth operation.”
The reworked transport frame loaded into the hold.
CREDIT: ANTONOV AIRLINES
OVERCOMING HURDLES
Four months after its departure the rotor was back in Ghana in December 2020. Reflecting on the move, Nair summed up the significant challenges that were faced and how they were overcome.
“The shortest route could not be taken due to dimensions, but alternate routes were available. Permits and escorts needed to be arranged. The transport of the repaired rotor during holidays was more challenging than the transport itself, but it was overcome with detailed coordination and backup plans that were already prepared,” Nair said. As part of that effort, among other things, Antonov Airlines developed the required technical instructions.
The role of THLG in bringing together the entities with the necessary know-how paid off for the Ghanaian IPP. “The THLG is staffed by members and works cohesively in the best interests of the members, their projects, and the group itself,” Nair said. “We come together to strategize and take best action forward on projects awarded to any member of the group, supporting such members with the best resources where it is needed. In this case, when we were approached, THLG members Rhenus and Antonov worked together to provide a viable solution to the client.”
The success of this endeavor was no accident, but rather reflects the longstanding professional collaborations between Rhenus and Antonov. Ishchuk concluded: “This transport operation required well-coordinated preparation and actions from both partners to fly such outsized and heavy cargo safely. Antonov Airlines showcased its flexibility by providing the AN-124 aircraft on the required dates during an extremely busy period for the customer to minimize any disruption that could have been faced.”
Nair added: “Rhenus Project Logistics USA and Antonov Airlines have an association going back over 15 years, which has involved multiple charter performances for mutual clients and is a testimony to the strength and expertise members of THLG bring to their clients.”
As wind turbines proliferate in all parts of the word, components will increasingly require urgent repairs, not all of which can be conducted on site. As such situations arise, the owners of this equipment will likely be turning to air transport as long as the aircraft can accommodate the increasingly large dimensions and weight of the units involved. BB
Thomas Timlen is a Singapore-based analyst, researcher, writer and spokesperson with 31 years of experience addressing the regulatory and operational issues that impact all sectors of the maritime industry.
BREAKBULK EUROPE CONNECT 21
Breakbulk Carriers Urge Shippers to Book Early
Capacity, Equipment, Fuel Choice Also Pressing Issues
BY CARLY FIELDS
Breakbulk cargo carriers have wholeheartedly welcomed surging seafreight rates, but a red-hot freight market has thrown up its own problems.
Speaking on a Breakbulk Events Connect 21 panel, Ben Collins, global project cargo manager for MSC, explained that the strong freight market presents a challenge for everybody in the supply chain, carriers included. “The sooner we can get some normalized operations across the world, the better for everyone in reality,” he said.
Laurens Govers, director chartering and projects at the newly formed Jumbo-SAL-Alliance, explained that carriers face a very tight balancing act to be able to deliver. This is not helped by the fact that shippers are only now accepting that they need to come earlier to the freight market to guarantee sufficient and/or available tonnage. While shippers may not consider this as the new normal, they have to accept that this is the current state of play, he said, adding that he had seen some cargo volumes shipped at freight rates that exceed their values.
The turnaround in freight fortunes comes after years of unsustainable rates – what Govers referred to as the “perfect storm on the negative side” – and is not before time. “The industry, the clients and the EPCs all knew that the previous situation with the severe competition was not sustainable,” Govers said. “If you run the risk that there are only three or four players left because the rest have all disappeared, then that is not a bright outlook.”
Container line operators with a presence in the breakbulk market are also enjoying riding this wave. Sarah Schlüter, senior director niche products at Hapag-Lloyd, noted that all trades have increased massively, and some are still increasing. She added that some of the backhaul trades are also currently breaking even.
The freight premium coupled with a shift towards localization – already a feature before the pandemic, but now a political focus of many developed nations – could lead to a faster shift to nearshoring of breakbulk cargoes. Govers said to expect “more domestic, more controlled production from a strategic and cost point of view.”
However, MSC’s Collins noted that a skills shortage might curtail the potential of nearshoring in the short term. The skills needed have, in many cases, shifted to producing countries, and their return to support nearshoring will not happen overnight.
Oskar Orstadius, chief sales officer at Höegh Autoliners, said the carrier had already experienced a huge shift in production through an agile market and quick production schedule changes in the car industry over the past decade. “We are used to these changes and we have a very agile trading pattern,” he said.
A recording of “Carrier Check-In: Business, Environment and the Changing Cargo Base,” is available at https://youtu.be/fxca14GMhO4 QUESTION OF SCALE
Collins said that scale is important in meeting the demands of shippers in today’s market: “From an MSC perspective we have a certain advantage through the scale of our fleet. We have started new services, approximately eight, since the start of the pandemic.” MSC has also reduced some port rotations, particularly on the transpacific route, to minimize port congestion. “The reality of it is that the lack of predictability of what can happen on some ports on some voyages is proving a huge challenge for all carriers at the moment. It’s very difficult to meet the berth slot.”
BREAKBULK EUROPE CONNECT 21
There are also issues related to equipment and in ensuring that the right units are at the right place at the right time. Höegh’s Orstadius said that while the pure car and truck carrier has positioned itself to be balanced in its network, it is experiencing imbalances with cargo-carrying equipment, road trailers and so on. “We need to cope with this and reposition empty equipment,” he said.
One fix to the supply/demand imbalance is to bring in new tonnage; the trick is finding the happy medium between balancing the market and oversupplying it.
Three of the four panelists confirmed that they have either ordered or recently taken delivery of new ships for fleet replacement. HapagLloyd has ordered new ships, but delivery is a few years out. While the carrier waits, it is investing in special equipment to improve its service to customers. MSC is to welcome five new Gülsün class vessels before the end of the year, Collins said, all of which can carry out-of-gauge cargo. Höegh Autoliners, meanwhile, has announced plans for its Aurora class vessels, the largest and most environmentally friendly car carriers ever built.
Jumbo-SAL-Alliance’s Govers, representing the only carrier on the panel that has not ordered new ships, observed that “every carrier is trying to get fat on the bones again.” He added that carriers looking to capitalize on the current market are already too late and with attractive newbuilding prices yards are already filling up. “Tonnage renewal needs to be conducted so there will be newbuilds,” he said. “I just hope it will be more controlled than it was 10 years ago.”
Clockwise from upper-left: Ben Collins, MSC; Sarah Schlüter, Hapag-Lloyd; Laurens Govers, Jumbo-SAL-Alliance; Oskar Orstadius, Höegh Autoliners; Carly Fields, Breakbulk magazine.
delivering carbon-neutral voyages. For its newbuilds it has opted for a flexible design, multi-fuel engine, which can run on biofuel, conventional fuels and which with minor modification can transition to carbon-zero fuels such as green ammonia. Schlüter noted that Hapag-Lloyd already counts LNGready ships in its fleet and is exploring options for alternate fuel sources. MSC is also trialing biofuels, but Collins noted that the biggest challenge is scaling these up.
Govers agreed that availability is far from guaranteed once a carrier moves out of a hub port. He also noted that the conclusion from Jumbo-SAL-Alliance’s LNG trials was that LNG on a breakbulk vessel is “very challenging.” “Normally [the ships] are a smaller size and the LNG tanks are quite large. It’s also impossible to get a hot work permit to secure your cargo.”
Govers prefers to take a whole shipment approach when it comes to assessing environmental impact. For example, Jumbo-SAL-Alliance looks for optimized logistical packages combining, for example, certain load ports into one shipment or reducing the total number of shipments. BB
World Project Expo: Global Project Outlook
View the regional reports, providing overview of the global project landscape:
Europe: Nekkhil Misra, Director Europe, Middle East, Africa & Russia, Independent Project Analysis
https://youtu.be/oHziEcWdrkg
FUEL CHOICE CHALLENGE
The most pressing question for any breakbulk mover looking to order new tonnage is what fuel to burn, especially in light of regulations from the IMO requiring lower carbon and eventually carbon free ships. The panel showcased a mix of approaches to the “which fuel” question. For its existing fleet, Orstadius said that Höegh Autoliners has completed biofuel trials, Asia: Wei Zhuang, Regional Manager Asia, BIMCO
https://youtu.be/g4uHuR1fdbs
Africa: Edward James, Director of Content & Analysis, MEED Projects https://youtu.be/BoyHHqy3vc8
Americas: Alex Azparrent, Director of Logistics, Supply Chain & Commercial Strategies; Andrew Gardner, President of Kiewit Supply Network, Kiewit https://youtu.be/gZnerhh15oA
If They Come, Will You Build It?
Is Supply Chain Ready for Offshore Wind Buildup?
BY GARY BURROWS
Given that Europe’s offshore wind capacity is projected to increase four-fold by the end of the decade, is the industry ready for such a rapid ramp-up?
That’s the question that was posed to industry executives who focus on offshore wind during a Breakbulk Europe Connect21 session on serving Europe’s growing offshore wind industry.
Facing such a major supply chain capacity crunch, session panelists stressed that all players need to collaborate and set priorities to utilize and effectively grow existing capacity to deliver such ambitious goals in Europe and other burgeoning global offshore markets.
Rystad Energy projects the European offshore wind market will more than double to 52 gigawatts, or GW, by 2025, nearly 28 GW of added capacity from the 24.3 GW in operation in 2020, said Alexander Fløtre, vice president offshore wind. The energy research and intelligence firm sees a further doubling of capacity by 2030 to more than 115 GW.
This “flood of projects” will begin to come online starting in 2024 and building through 2030 and perhaps beyond, said Simon Brett, commercial director, Port of Tyne. Despite setting lofty offshore goals, most European markets got off to a slow start and will have to pick up the slack by the end of the decade.
“I think nobody’s ever thought about the sequencing of these projects,” Brett continued. “Everybody wants their projects installed at the same time, and that’s where the challenge is going to come.”
With projects facing such long lead times – anywhere from six months to three years – there are plenty of bottlenecks.
Throw into the mix that original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, are increasing development times and increasingly developing new and larger turbine types and blade lengths, which further complicates adjusting supply chains to meet demand, Sender Mehl said.
“There are few newbuilds that can handle the largest components that we expect,” Fløtre said, with 14 to 15 megawatt turbines being developed by Gamesa, GE with its Haliade-X, and MHI-Vestas.
“It’s a competitive advantage for the OEMs right now. Who’s the best at beating the others,” said Thomas Sender Mehl, global sales and operations planning and supply chain excellence, KK Wind Solutions. OEMs are bidding on “giga-deals where the turbines are not even specified. It’s just a number they commit to.”
COLLABORATION
To resolve the industry’s constraints, panelists called for bringing together the collective elements of the supply chain to collaborate on solutions.
That begins with governments having the “political willingness” to address issues that are largely based on their ambitious – though environmentally necessary – offshore goals,” Sender Mehl said. This would include permitting, laying groundwork for
port and storage capacities and, for markets such as the U.S. East Coast, thinking more regionally than the current state-by-state or even community-by-community focus. Port of Tyne’s Brett noted that as pan-European governments require a reduction in offshore wind costs, their demand for projects requires ever more expensive infrastructure and service vessels, cranes and equipment. “It’s a vicious cycle.” Panelists agreed that one of the largest problems is failing to “sign the contract earlier,” Heiko Felderhoff, managing director of SAL Renewables, said bluntly. “It starts with a signature that we can start our activities, right? And that goes down the line, as simple as that.” Instead, Sender Mehl said the OEMs should “look into end-toend solutions for the operators and owners, because then it would be easier to execute the project. If you have the same interfaces, the same lifting points, you can utilize equipment. But it takes an effort from the OEMs.” BB
The full report of “Servicing Europe’s Growing Offshore Wind Industry: Keys to Success,” is available at https://www.breakbulk.com/Articles/connect21-if-they-come-will-you-build A recording of the session is available at https://youtu.be/QQ8DLfgALoU
BREAKBULK EUROPE CONNECT 21
Sustainability a Shared Logistics Journey
Oil Majors, Supply Chain Partners Work Together
BY CARLY FIELDS
Transparency of carbon options for any user of logistics and being clear on the decarbonization pathways sector by sector will go some way towards shifting the dial on reducing carbon emissions from the breakbulk and project cargo sector, a Breakbulk Connect21 session heard.
Taking part in the “Greening of the World’s Oil & Gas Supply Chain” webinar, Beata Bac, global category manager international and project logistics at Shell, said that while there are answers to decarbonizing that are specific to each industry, there are some common solutions that can be adopted more widely in the logistics space. One, she said, is being more energy efficient and using lower carbon energy products and solutions.
Bac also urged stakeholders to listen to one another. “I’ve been asking myself ‘what is my expectation on sustainability of the partners I work with?’ Being able to collaborate and co-develop that journey to sustainability in logistics and the wider supply chain is truly important. For me, that means creating transparency of options and transparency of tradeoffs across multi-tiered supply chains. Looking at the product life from design to disposal is truly important.”
Martyn Lawns, regional vice president of European operations, industrial projects at Deutsche Post DHL Global Forwarding, agreed that deciding on what to measure when it comes to emissions is critical. “We measure well to wheel at DPDHL, meaning we measure our CO2 emissions from production of the fuel.” DPDHL has created carbon calculators, where users can enter the transport mode into the system and calculate the CO2 emissions depending on the mode, whether that’s air freight, rail or road.
DECARBONIZATION MARKER
Asked to give an indication of where the logistics industry is in terms of its decarbonization target of zero carbon by 2050, the panel gave a banding of 20 percent to 30 percent. The specialists then considered how the industry could speed up its journey to full decarbonization.
Jan Kristian Schønheyder, head of global projects and industry solutions Norway at DB Schenker, said projecting on decarbonization the same attention that the industry currently commits to health and safety could yield promising results. “The lifesaving rules and the HSE focus that we see in our environment have a target and ambition of zero harm during operations. Putting in place policies that bring the same attention into sustainability could from an industry perspective really accelerate the journey.”
DB Schenker is pursuing the goal of reducing its global greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030 compared to 2006. Schønheyder said that sustainability is a “business imperative. It goes beyond one single department. We take a holistic approach to ensure we are resilient and future ready as a company. We have a vision to become the sustainability leader in our industry.”
Lawns, meanwhile, called for greater standardization in terms of measuring emissions, describing a “nirvana” where everyone is measuring on the same basis.
Bac added that for her, it is critical that stakeholders sit down together and look at the “root causes of selection” of one logistics system over another. “I really like to have KPIs and a baseline as this drives change, but I do think that we have to sit down and work out together what do we have to do with these KPIs and then what are the solutions.”
In April 2020, Shell set itself a target to become a net-zero energy business by 2050 if not sooner.
“Achieving our target would mean that by 2030 we are selling twice as much electricity as today, providing enough renewable energy for 50 million households, operating more than 2.5 million charging points for electric vehicles, increasing the number of biofuels in the fuels we sell,” she said.
“Most of the emissions we produce come from the energy, so we must also help our customers cut their emissions when they use that energy. We are taking steps to cut emissions from our existing oil and gas operations to avoid generating more in the future.” BB
A recording of “Greening of the World’s Oil & Gas Supply Chain,” is available at https://www.breakbulk.com/Articles/connect21-shell-brings-dhl-db-schenker-togeth
Women’s Path to Level Playing Field
Connect21 Panel Explores Less Obvious Barriers, Solutions
BY GARY BURROWS
While companies work to remove barriers for employing women in industries including the breakbulk and project cargo sector, paths to career advancement require effort by companies, colleagues and women themselves.
That was the overarching message of the Breakbulk Europe Connect21 closing session, “Women in Breakbulk: Defining the Roadmap to Overcome Barriers Facing Women in the Industry.”
Women in Breakbulk has been developed with the EU Maritime Women Organization and its global women’s research partnership with WISTA International. WISTA is an international organization “combining ladies and shipping” in more than 50 countries, said Claudia Ohlmeier, president, WISTA Germany; head of section class systematics, data and operations center, DNV.
Sue Terpilowski OBE, president of WISTA UK, and director of Imageline, introduced the project with Breakbulk earlier this year. She worked with Maritime UK to set up the Women in Maritime Task Force, which led to co-chairing the Diversity Task Force, “because what we found was, if you change something for women, you’re actually changing the culture within a company for everybody.”
Ingrid Vanstreels, board member of WISTA Belgium, and business development advisor of the Port of Antwerp, said she had spoken with WISTA members in Belgium about the question of barriers to women. “Our conclusion is no; we don’t see barriers today.” She did acknowledge there are different circumstances outside of Europe in terms of openness to the employment of women.
Vanstreels did say that, within Europe, there are factors that “look like a barrier for women” in terms of attracting young people to the industry. Perhaps foremost is that young people are unaware of the shipping employment opportunities that exist.
Though Belgium houses the Port of Antwerp, Europe’s secondlargest port, local young people are unaware of the port or its wealth of employment, she said. At the maritime school within the port, women represent about 15 percent of new starters.
Christel Pullens, president of WISTA in the Netherlands, and managing director of Sea Ranger Service, agreed. Children in school are not exposed to role models in these professions. “We need to educate them about our industry and possibilities for women as a career path,” she said.
While the panelists largely agreed that men and woman share opportunities to begin within the industry, advancing can be a different story.
Pullens recounted times when she “needed someone in a decision-making role” to support her candidacy.” Often, she found herself as the “second candidate” behind a male candidate. The female hire would be considered a risk, with employers fearing how customers or how the rest of the company would respond, so the male was the safer bet, regardless of qualifications.
DNV’s Ohlmeier said she has seen both sides: women who have had support in their career and those who have struggled. She noted that men and women are different, “which is good because that is also diversity and that helps us find different ways.”
One difference is how men and woman approach seeking promotion or advanced responsibilities. Terpilowski noted a PriceWaterhouseCooper study that looked at its international graduate program and the gender split of new employees entering the company. “Males seemed to progress greatly and the women diminished to almost zero, and they tried to find out why.
“It came back … males were going for jobs because they thought, ‘well I can do 50 percent to 60 percent of it and I can learn the rest on the job.’ And the women weren’t,” Terpilowski related.
Mentoring and encouragement is an important part of WISTA’s approach. WISTA and other organizations are developing management training to empower women to compete in advancing their careers. BB
