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JOINED-UP THINKING AND TECH BENEFITS
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DSV’s Mohammad Jaber Wants More Coordination and Collaboration
BY FELICITY LANDON
The past 15 years have seen a large amount of development and expansion in port infrastructure across the Middle East region, from King Abdullah Port in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Khalifa and Mugharraq ports in Abu Dhabi and DP World’s capacity expansions. These developments have catered for some of the needs relating to project and breakbulk cargoes, Mohammad Jaber, COO of DSV Abu Dhabi, tells Breakbulk – but something else is needed.
“There needs to be more coordination on planning and infrastructure projects. Looking at project cargo movements today, there is a higher degree and acceleration of building modules where you need higher weight-bearing capacity in the ports and deeper drafts. You might also need the ability to connect with the onshore part,” he said.
The infrastructure of the ports has to evolve to be able to cope with such cargoes much faster, he said, and ports also need to cooperate more across borders.
However, the major issue highlighted by Jaber is the development of railway infrastructure in the region. More and better rail infrastructure could be a positive when it comes to moving smaller modules by rail. However, there are downsides to improved rail infrastructure.
“These railways are being implemented in a way that has also reduced the limit of loads that can be transported by road because of tunnels under and bridges over,” he said. “So certain projects, especially if onshore, will continue to be limited on modules because of the railway infrastructure.”
Overhead power cables also present problems in the region, he said. “So, these two elements must be looked at when it comes to other infrastructure projects. Consider the port capabilities and the railway, power lines, bridges, and so on, that can limit the envelope for transport. Otherwise, a bigger port can receive bigger items, but those items then cannot move anywhere.
“When moving heavy-lift items, if there is a railway crossing there will be weight limits when crossing a bridge, or an air draft to consider if there is a tunnel. So, it is about planning crossing points; load and air draft must be considered. All of this is needed to avoid paying massive costs for modifications.”
BENEFITTING FROM TECHNOLOGY
There are other items on Jaber’s ‘wish list’, including the implementation of technology to allow the market to obtain services at lower costs. “Inflation is coming, but you can mitigate it by improving productivity through automation, robotics, and higher-tech elements. That will greatly help the whole market to sustain the economy in the right way.
“Another element I think is quite important is that all the ports of a region must look to how integration can be achieved, through one ecosystem across the region. That is important to support economies.
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Think also how these ports can get connected to the railways to move project cargo. Even if it is breakbulk in containers, where is the capability to move by rail?”
The Middle East region, meanwhile, is growing fast on the sustainability and clean energy fronts, Jaber said. “We see Abu Dhabi has nuclear power now, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is planning for nuclear power, and there are talks in Egypt about it too. We are talking a lot about wind generation and a lot of solar as well – our region is rich with sun for long days. We have the opportunity to benefit from the sunlight, but also heat to generate more power that is more sustainable. On all governments’ agendas in the next 30 years is planning for transition into clean energy.”
That, however, doesn’t eliminate oil and gas, he said: “Gas is still much lower in emissions than other fossil fuel resources and you cannot cover the demands 100 percent at present with renewables.”
Low-carbon developments include a focus on power storage: “Whenever you generate, you need to look at how to store in batteries and other forms like molten salt technologies. Going forward, we see that work will be more and more around sustainable energy resources. We see what’s happening with climate change and this is a must for sustainability.”
DSV recognizes that the cargo will change – “we will see more power plants, more solar moving and also more wind turbines” – but also recognizes its own responsibility, Jaber said.
“We are using high-tech trucks with less consumption and double productivity. We are moving into 100 percent electric trucks. We are looking for initiatives in solar panels on our working sites and on our massive warehouses. Also, we are looking at how to deliver the same cargo with fewer kilometers and over fewer hours by using augmented reality and our software to optimize routing.”
PATH TO SUSTAINABILITY
Jaber joined Agility Abu Dhabi in 2006, managing several internal operational departments, and was appointed COO in 2011. In 2014 he also assumed responsibility for leading Agility’s regional project logistics arm in the Middle East and Africa, as vice president for project logistics.
Since the acquisition by DSV, Jaber has been DSV Abu Dhabi COO and managing director for air and sea. The acquisition of Agility by DSV created the third largest forwarder in the world, and the Middle East is a clear growth region for the group, he said.
“DSV is very much driven by sustainability, efficiency and productivity, so our systems and software are providing us with a very clear path for future operations. We are delivering our experience based on clear KPIs and we are increasing the number of people whenever it is needed, as per company policy and KPIs agreed with our clients.
“Our region is seeing a new, very accelerated cycle of projects. Abu Dhabi has announced more than ten mega projects and there are massive developments planned and under way in Saudi. And there are many other projects relating to solar, wind or oil and gas. This region will see a lot of breakbulk and oversize cargo coming in over the next five years. That needs very good planning by ports, forwarders and asset owners to be able to quote for these requirements.
“A lot of these projects need offshore capability, especially offshore drilling and projects in the islands, where you need to be able to cope with requirements for supply vessels and marine assets.”
He would like to see ports cooperating across borders, and the ability to connect port-to-port via rail.
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“At DSV, we are studying the demand coming up and what could be the trade lanes we need to focus on to be able to address these demands in Saudi, UAE, Oman, etc., with so many investment announcements. We believe the market here will be looking to who has the capacity to be able to handle all these projects at the accelerated rhythm that the countries plan for.”
DSV is building up and focusing on how it can put a technological edge into its operations “and the ability to have a giant increase in our capacity through technologies and integrations,” Jaber said.
“We are focusing on a lot of hightech implementation, so that we also maintain our competitive approach.”
For example, in Abu Dhabi DSV is using higher-tech, more sustainable trucks which consume less fuel and have lower emissions. “This is supporting our sustainability beliefs because part of our board discussion every time is how to improve sustainability.”
INTEGRATION IS KEY
Software is also a major focus, specifically “how we are using IT platforms and how to integrate those with the clients and create our own technological edge,” Jaber said. When the customer’s and DSV’s systems talk to each other there is much less human interface for the management of very complex projects and large volumes. “This gives visibility and helps to manage risk rather than manage emergencies. We are able to view historical data and forecast how a situation will develop. So, we reduce communication frequency, help our customers to maintain cost and manage their risk, and help ourselves to do the business with the right number of resources.”
Meanwhile, artificial intelligence, linked with traffic and weather information, helps with route mapping, allowing DSV to “anticipate and plan our day in a much better way using the data.” The aim is to use data and AI not to trigger exceptions but to prevent exceptions, he added – “moving from reactive to very proactive.”
“With our systems and software, you can optimize solutions when you have masses of project cargo to consolidate. You can look at how you manage vessel speed with the required date of arrival and fuel consumption; you can use software to be able to tell the customer, ‘move half of your bulk cargo in ten shipments, or, if you consolidate into five shipments, you save this much money and reduce CO2.’ It is about visibility and the ability to forward plan to optimize your costs, increase efficiency and increase fulfilment levels.”
Yes, shipping has its reputation as a conservative industry, but Jaber sweeps that idea aside. “Survival is not any more about the fittest but about the fastest in adaptation,” he said. “Today, everything is moving into technology, data, IoT, AI, the metaverse; just imagine, today you can do a survey of cargo on a vessel, not by putting five people on board but by using a drone with a surveyor perhaps in another country, thousands of miles away. For us, it is how we can implement and adopt and understand the benefits that technology can bring to us, and how we can manage the risks.
“If we approach breakbulk and project cargo operations with the ‘old mentality’, we will disappear. We have to be up to speed in adapting technology to help us to manage risk, not emergencies. We must be working on a sustainable platform.” BB
Felicity Landon is an award-winning freelance journalist specializing in the ports, shipping, transport and logistics sectors.
