Breakbulk Magazine Issue 1/2017

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BETTER WAY TO PAY FORWARDERS?

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CHINA’S COST CRISIS

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RECOVERING FROM DISASTERS

ISSUE 1 / 2017

OUTLOOK |

2017

STAYING ALIVE Consolidation May Boost Recovery Prospects


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contents

Cover Story

08

26 INTERMEDIARIES

A BETTER WAY TO PAY?

Forwarders Envision Equitable Compensation

32 ENERGY

BLENDING THE ENERGY MIX Russia Takes Tentative Renewables Step

37 REGIONAL REVIEW

CHINA’S COST CRISIS Ticking Time Bomb of Infrastructure Overruns

08 STAYING ALIVE

Consolidation May Lift Recovery Prospects

40

37

40 LOGISTICS PERSPECTIVE RECOVERY MODE

Running the Post-disaster Cargo Gauntlet

48 EMERGING MARKETS

AFRICA’S SLEEPING GIANTS

Dormant Infrastructure Projects Need Rousing

54

SPECIAL SECTION

BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW

06 Editorial n 54 GCC Countries Focus on Future Strategies n 58 Thought Leader: Proactivity and Strategic Overhauls Triumph All 60 Navigating the Amazon n 64 Newcastle Eyes Port Diversification n 66 Breakbulk Index n 70 Dusk to Dawn Photo Contest 4  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

ISSUE 1 / 2017


Project & Heavy Lift Liner Services


editorial

A FACE IN THE CROWD

W

ithin the crowded conference theater at Breakbulk Middle East in Abu Dhabi last fall, no one in the audience noticed the 800pound gorilla sitting with Ken Long. As a conference session on operational uncertainty was wrapping up with questions for the panel, the Panalpina executive rose and introduced his imposing companion through a statement about forwarder comGary Burrows pensation. Simply put, Long said it was time for freight forwarders to be compensated for their expanding role in the supply chain equation for heavy-lift and project cargo moves. “Pricing is a huge issue in our business and it’s not usually talked about,” Long later said in an interview for a story in this issue (“A Better Way to Pay?” page 26). Many freight forwarders characterize themselves as the Rodney Dangerfields of the industry; they get no respect. In their defense, their role in the business is hardly easy money, making pennies on the dollar as transport intermediaries – travel agents for cargo is the common analogy. They coordinate the complexities, file the paperwork, ensure documentation, work the transaction, wipe the windows, check the oil, for plus or minus a dollar per freight ton. That’s a fraction of what forwarders say it costs them to provide services. From outside and across the freight industry, forwarders have been characterized as penny-pinching mom6  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

and-pops, whose value-added services include checking the sofa cushions for spare change. While history marks some colorful exceptions, dedicated freight forwarders prove themselves sophisticated, resourceful and intimate with their customers’ needs. Asset-light, forwarders have also become adept at plugging voids in the supply chain. Starting with simple functions such as tracking and tracing, they’re reaching out beyond customers’ core needs and becoming more integral wherever freight handoffs may occur. When times are good, carriers may see forwarders as a thorn in their side, competing for aspects of the business that they already have the staff and resources to service. But during a downturn, such as the current deep trough, when carriers and other asset holders are forced to cut back staff and resources to ride it out, forwarders step in and plug the gaps. And in the process, they’ve expanded their repertoire of supply chain services for cargo owners. The problem, Long points out, is that the current system of compensation doesn’t cover these costs. He suggests that engineering, procurement and construction management firms pay forwarders man-hour charges for the various personnel engaged in providing services, those rates being set by classifications, such as manager, supervisor, coordinator and HSE engineer. The EPC would also compensate the forwarder for actual transport costs. Befitting such a game-changing proposition, the conference theater – and those EPCs and most carriers contacted afterwards – were largely mute. Not only are they stilled by their own bottom lines, they’re averse to wading into a sea change that attempts to apply fiscal continuity to an incongruous industry vertical. Geodis’ Steen Christensen rightly points out that forwarders must provide value-added services to support such a revised pricing structure. But the industry payoff is to give them the resources to provide the innovations that have made them invaluable in the logistics equation. Regardless of perceptions, the freight forwarding industry has proved its mettle to the freight industry. And while Long’s proposal is a highly complex proposition and hazardous to wrestle with, it’s worthy of notice.

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Gary G. Burrows / +1 904 535 5460 gburrows@breakbulk.com NEWS EDITOR Carly Fields carly@breakbulk.com HEAD DESIGNER Catherine Dorrough DESIGNER Mark Clubb REPORTERS Paul Scott Abbott Kerry Dimmer Iain MacIntyre Lori Musser Lara Shingles VL Srinivasan Mark Willis BREAKBULK EDITORIAL BOARD John Amos Amos Logistics

Ed Bastian BBC Chartering

Murray Cooper McDemott International Inc.

Dennis Devlin DB Schenker

John Hark Bertling Project Logistics

Dennis Mottola Bechtel Corp.

William Moyersoen ArcelorMittal Antwerp Logistics

Albert Pegg Antwerp Port Authority

Dirk Visser Dynamar D.V.

Grant Wattman Agility Project Logistics

MANAGING DIRECTOR Alli McEntyre / +353 21 477 3808 amcentyre@breakbulk.com ACCOUNT MANAGER Robert Janusauskas / +353 021 477 3808 rjanusauskas@breakbulk.com SUBSCRIPTIONS To subscribe, email bb.breakbulk@adsg.info, or call from inside the US +1 855 613 8186 between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm CST. A publication of ITE Group plc Transport & Logistics business 105 Salisbury Road London NW6 6RG, UK.

ISSUE 1 / 2017



outlook 2017

STAYING ALIVE

Consolidation May Lift Recovery Prospects

8  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

ISSUE 1 / 2017


I Credit: Shutterstock

t’s a new year, but the same challenges remain: unsustainable freight rates; oil prices that are unsupportive of oil and gas projects; overcapacity in this and competing sectors; and political and economic uncertainty in too many countries for comfort. You would be forgiven for wondering if you are reading the outlook for 2014, 2015 or 2016, rather than one for 2017. But there has been one important change that could finally lift the breakbulk and project cargo sector out of the doldrums in 2017: the urgently needed consolidation that many predicted finally found its teeth in 2016. We saw births, deaths and marriages as companies came together in new joint ventures aimed at controlling costs, while others

finally raised the white flag and bowed out of the industry once and for all. Overcapacity has been a bugbear of the industry for many years, and while the consolidation at an owner level will not necessarily fix that particular problem, new regulations promise to draw some of the pus out of that wound. That more than one of the contributors to this year’s Breakbulk outlook feature spoke of silver livings and pockets of growth adds to the cautious air of optimism. But no one is gushing about recovery – tempered and measured sums up the overall feeling, both adjectives the industry should be using in spades in 2017 if any of that longed-for recovery is to stick.

Edward Osterwald, CEG Europe, p. 10; Dennis Devlin, DB Schenker, p. 10; Roger Strevens, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, p. 12; Jake Swanson, CB&I, p. 12; Thomas Gimbel, Hansa Heavy Lift, p. 14; Dirk Visser, Dynamar, p. 16; Grant Wattman, Agility, p. 16; Kyriacos Panayides, AAL, p. 18; Marco Poisler, UTC Overseas, p. 22; Mohammad Jaber, Agility Abu Dhabi, p. 22; David Collett, Collett Group, p. 24

www.breakbulk.com  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  9


outlook 2017

A FEW MONTHS AGO, there were reasons for

CHANGE sometimes

those active in the oil and gas business to feel somewhat optimistic, following two years of turbulence triggered by a global surplus intentionally created by Saudi Arabia. It appeared that investment would finally begin to rise, followed by higher trade volumes in crude oil, LNG and fuel products. A damper has now emerged, however, on such optimism. As we all know, the international shipping industry – and not just breakbulk – depends on many things. Perhaps most importantly, it requires trade. Since the end of World War II, increasing economic integration and multilateral agreements have facilitated mechanisms and agreements to enhance commercial exchanges, delivering benefits for all parties involved. These factors include reductions in tariff barriers, wider customs unions and standardization of technical and environmental regulations. But it now seems that some of BY EDWARD the world’s largest economies, OSTERWALD most notably the U.S. and Senior Partner, the UK, are about to radically CEG Europe “reverse course.” Key members of the new Trump administration have never been friendly to multilateral institutions or trade agreements. Whatever Brexit “strategy” eventually emerges from the British government in London, it will inevitably be anti-migration towards use of workers, skilled or otherwise, that are not UK citizens. This same government is also quite determined to remove the UK from the single market and customs union of the EU – the largest consumer market in the world. The global distribution industry has billions of dollars of assets and employs thousands of people. It needs to use its influence to oppose policies that could lead both the developed and developing world back into the murky world of protectionism and trade wars, where there are few winners and many losers.

comes slowly. The UK’s surprising (and unfortunate) vote to leave the European Union is sure to drag on. Upcoming elections in Germany and France may result in changes in government in those countries, but the economic fundamentals in those countries will not change quickly. And despite a change in the U.S. executive branch, change there will also come slowly. For those of us in the field of breakbulk, heavy-lift and project cargo transport, 2017 will likely be a continuation of 2016, characterized by weak markets all around. There’s weakness in the oil and gas and commodity markets, with new investments in large-scale oil, gas and mining projects likely to be few and far between, and with decisions on capital spending likely to be deferred. Similarly, low demand will make for continued weakness in the ocean shipping industry, despite some predicted improvements on the breakbulk side. While the price of oil has improved over this time last year, it is still too low to support significant investment. Changes in supply may help, but ultimately, only strong demand will have a significant impact on the oil price. The same is true of natural gas, which is oversupplied. Alternative energy, specifically solar and wind power, are bright spots, and will continue to grow. And globally, and maybe even in the U.S., infrastructure projects will be further bright spots. Although it would have been far better to have invested in improving the crumbling U.S. infrastructure immediately following

IT NOW SEEMS THAT SOME OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST ECONOMIES, MOST NOTABLY THE U.S. AND THE UK, ARE ABOUT TO RADICALLY ‘REVERSE COURSE.’ 10  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

BY DENNIS DEVLIN Senior Director/ Head of Business Development – North America, Global Projects/Oil & Gas, DB Schenker

the Bush Recession – when interest rates were low – and the investment would have had a simulative as opposed to an inflationary impact (as it will now have) on the U.S. economy, the need to invest remains. Although the timing is not perfect, under its new president, the U.S. may finally begin to invest in the outdated infrastructure in our country. However, the likelihood that this investment will have a major impact on the project cargo market is small. Unlike infrastructure projects in other parts of the world, U.S. investment is likely to focus largely on highways and bridges – it will be very interesting indeed to see if any new bridges are built with Chinese steel in the new U.S. political environment, as was the Bay Bridge in California. Things are improving, but change won’t happen overnight. And 2017 will see gradual improvement in most of the markets which drive breakbulk, heavy-lift and project cargo transport. One hopes that by the end of 2017 the forecast for 2018 will appear far rosier. ISSUE 1 / 2017



outlook 2017

“LIVE HORSE AND YOU’LL GET GRASS” is an Irish expression which means “if you can just manage to survive for long enough, you’ll get the one thing you need to survive.” For many stakeholders in the industry, it sums up current market conditions. In our reading of the tea leaves, overall breakbulk volumes will continue at relatively subdued levels in 2017. The oil and gas segment is not expected to see much improvement, although the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ recent agreement to cut production may change that. In the mining segment, the Purchasing Manager’s Index is above 50, which, coupled with a favorable earnings outlook for the big players, suggests capital expenditure conditions are finally improving there. Other segments such as power generation equipment and rail rolling stock are expected to continue at BY ROGER STREVENS more buoyant levels. Vice President, Global The supply side of the Head of Key Accounts, equation indicates excess Wallenius Wilhelmsen capacity will continue for the Logistics foreseeable future. This is reinforced by the fact that breakbulk cargo can, to varying extents, be carried by four different vessel types (roll-on, roll-off; lift-on, lift-off; container and bulk carrier), each of which is dealing with its own overcapacity issues. Reducing supply through early retirement of vessels is not an obvious choice either. On the one hand, the low steel rates from vessel recycling make scrapping a particularly unattractive option. But on the other it does have the benefit of being able to avoid costly new regulatory requirements for ballast water treatment systems and sulfur emissions. For shippers, the demand and supply dynamics are highly favorable and some may even be hoping for further rate cuts. That may happen, but it would be prudent to also keep in mind that there is a point where good rates go bad, meaning that the risk of another Hanjin situation starts to increase as rates decrease. One response to oversupply and the margin pressure it creates is to achieve savings through increased

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economy of scale, or, in a word, consolidation. Obviously, this is a trend that has already begun, but I believe it has not yet run its course. Large parts of the carrier and forwarder sides of the breakbulk logistics industry are highly fragmented; in short, there’s a lot of scope for further deals. Risks abound in a consolidation phase, not least of which is that there can be loss of customer focus and hence a failure to meet their everevolving needs. One customer trend of note is the increasing number of original equipment manufacturers that are opting for a time-based, rather than project-based, liner contract. Many are finding the stable, flexible and industrialized liner option that ro-ro offers fits perfectly with their modern supply chain needs. Finally, one last area to keep an eye on in 2017 is the digital developments at the industry’s periphery. The concept of digital disruption has been touted for quite some time now, but has had limited impact so far. It is tempting to view its proponents as creating new dot-com bubbles. However, a more measured approach is advisable. To quote Bill Gates: “We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next 10.” This industry is not inherently immune to digital disruption. As Gates continued: “Don’t let yourself be lulled into inaction.”

BY JAKE SWANSON Global Logistics Director, CB&I

HOPEFULLY, the biggest trend that we will see in 2017 will be the steady increase of the price of oil. Unfortunately, on the negative side, we will see the continual struggle of ocean carriers, which may lead to more bankruptcy reports and the exit of a few more carriers from the industry. I believe the issues that the carriers are facing will force shippers to take a hard look at their carrier base and ensure that they are working with the right players. This means improved vetting processes, open discussions between shippers and carriers and strong partnerships. The role of technology will continue to increase, with shippers, freight forwarders and carriers paying more attention to improved transportation management, material management and supply chain systems. Additionally, there has been an increase in the number of online tools that are available to help shippers find carriers quickly and transparently. However, technology alone will not move the industry to the next level in 2017; financial and employee investment is required to propel the industry forward.

ISSUE 1 / 2017


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outlook 2017

BY THOMAS GIMBEL Chartering Director, Hansa Heavy Lift

THE GENERAL market outlook is still slowly recovering from a period of overcapacity. Difficult market conditions for the project and super-heavy-lift markets remain, and low oil prices are not helping the situation. We believe ongoing consolidation will be needed to help the market to recover. That said, we see a lot of potential in the offshore transport and installation market, and we believe the decommissioning market will grow over the next few years as well as the market for renewables. Hansa Heavy Lift is moving away from commodity and standard project trans-

portation, and increasing our investments in transport and installation in the subsea oil and gas markets as well as in the offshore windfarm sector. We are operating two offshore construction vessels, and we see a lot of potential in the decommissioning market over the next few years. Customers often ask for a single-source solution and we can offer the combination of transportation and installation due to our dynamic positioning DP3 offshore construction vessels and our P2-1400 types which ensure a high degree of flexibility as well as complete end-to-end heavy-lift solutions, which is of a growing demand in this industry. Infrastructure developments, including floating units, are also important in driving demand for heavylift vessels from the Europe, Middle East and Africa, or EMEA, region to developing countries. The EMEA region is very important to us, as even though production is predominantly moving into regions like Asia-Pacific and India, most engineering, procurement and construction companies still act out of

14  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

THE OPERATIONS MARKET WILL REMAIN BUOYANT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS. WE SEE OIL AND GAS OPERATORS ENTERING THE RENEWABLES MARKET, WHICH IS CERTAINLY A SHIFT FROM THE TRADITIONAL MODEL.

Europe, and as such the nexus of commercial control on projects and transportation is expected to remain in Europe. There are a number of significant projects and expansions slated for 2017 that could signal little improvements by the end of 2017 or the beginning of 2018 for the industry. However, many of these projects are still subject to finance or final approval, and weak commodity prices means some investors and decision makers still feel cautious, so we will have to wait and see. There was a steep drop in investment in 2016 and very little activity going forward for new projects. However, the operations market will remain buoyant over the next couple of years. We see oil and gas operators entering the renewables market, which is certainly a shift from the traditional model. That said, the market environment is still difficult with an unhealthy freight rate level, postponed projects due to weak oil prices, and the overcapacity of tonnage. The freight rate level needs to recover and this will occur only when the market is no longer oversupplied. However, carriers need to resist the temptation to pursue the purchase of newbuilds once again, when any recovery starts to naturally occur. Ongoing consolidation is also necessary to overcome these challenges and support a recovery of the market. Already last year, we saw a number of new partnerships, as well as mergers and acquisitions. We see a positive development in such collaborations, as it reduces the players in the market and at the same time adds dynamic to an otherwise rigid industry.

ISSUE 1 / 2017



outlook 2017

I SINCERELY REGRET not being able to

2016 HAS BEEN a transition year. Agil-

give Breakbulk readers much consolation on the state and direct prospects of the multipurpose, project and heavy-lift shipping segment. Since around 2010, the breakbulk, project and heavy-lift markets have been characterized by a somewhat seasonal pattern. When there was an, albeit limited, upturn towards the end of 2015, optimism abounded at the start of 2016. However, this quickly became muted by poorer-than-expected results by the half-year mark, and the market limped on until the end of the year. The real slump kicked in with suspensions and cost-cutting of major projects. On top of that was ever-increasing capacity and price competition from the dry bulk and container segments, as well as a rising market presence from pure car and truck carriers. The latter will not be so quick to leave the breakbulk sector, as their ships have been outfitted with additional reinforceBY DIRK VISSER ments and higher Senior Shipping decks to accomConsultant, Dynamar modate heavy-lift cargoes. 2016 was, in short, simply dreadful with respect to rates, although cargo offerings were not so bad in every niche, save for the oil and gas segment. Hence, and ignoring the effect on their bunker bills, all eyes are on an ongoing recovery of oil prices: at about US$80 a barrel a deluge of investments in new projects is expected. However, if that happens, these will not appear overnight, except for those projects that were postponed at a late stage in the process. And while there are signs that the worst is over in the container and bulk segments, it will be a slow recovery. Heavy overcapacities will take time to eliminate, and in the meantime they will continue to compete for breakbulk cargoes to fill space. A true recovery will require ongoing consolidation – continuing the trend of 2016 – additional scrapping, financially strong backers, stomach, patience and a healthy optimism to withstand another three meager years. Ultimately, the future will be bright for the breakbulk/multipurpose survivors.

ity Project Logistics outlook for this year is positive over 2016, with oil prices moving either side of $50, significant cost being carved out of international oil companies’ balance sheets, improved productivity in non-revenue producing areas and new technology reducing cost of upstream operations. We have the U.S. election behind us, with apparent optimism, commodity prices relatively stable in range bound trading and U.S. consumer strength building. However, anticipate inflation inching up, validating improvement, but needs to be watched, and there is certainly geopolitical uncertainty. Expect a slow roll into 2017 with opportunities surfacing in the first half and real work hitting the ground in the latter part of the year. Many in the industry have gone through consolidation, bankruptcy, selling assets, pulling back from certain market segment and downsizing personnel. Agility has weathered the industry downturn well, balancing our team globally and repositioning strong talent where we see our growth. But, the health and sustainability of the carrier and service provider sectors is a reality. We will see increased cost from providers and declination in quality. This will impact overall performance, schedules and in some sectors, lead to a weakening in health, safety and compliance. Professional, skilled and trade labor is the next big hurdle. There will be a shortage because reductions have been deep; many do not want to return to this business sector because of its cyclical nature and aging resource pool. This will impact availability and cost, which will trickle down to project schedules, funding for these projects and operational efficiency and quality. Added to which, we are truly a global economy facing geopolitical uncertainty in every hemisphere. There is a strange dichotomy in that emerging markets, which have typically been where this risk has been considered highest, are now over-

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BY GRANT WATTMAN President and CEO, Agility

shadowed by perhaps more volatile uncertainty. We have, and continue, to work through events that have disrupted our industry and fundamentally changed it going forward. To quote Essa Al Saleh, our CEO: “What has earned us money in the past 10 years is not how we will earn money in the next 10 years.” Whether you are an international oil company, engineering contractor or servicing these market segments, you are a part of this supplier ecosystem. Failure to recognize this will, and has, impacted exploration, capital projects, production and fabrication supply chains. Agility is confident in its strategy as part of this value network to deliver success. This requires an organization with strong balance sheet and values, that is agile with an entrepreneurial spirit. How will you respond to disruptors in the industry?

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outlook 2017

2016’S WINNERS AND LOSERS

Breakbulk industry consolidation was vivid in 2016. It was perhaps not as spectacular as the machinations in the container sector, but still no less than 16 operators and 10 non-operating owners were involved in mergers, takeovers or similar consolidation. Another four filed for bankruptcy. Dynamar compiled the following timeline exclusively for Breakbulk.

JANUARY FAILURES: CARRIERS

Restructured multipurpose/heavy-lift operator OXL and its parent Flamar BVBA of Zeebrugge fail; both declare bankruptcy.

MARCH CONSOLIDATION: CARRIERS

Safmarine is taken over by NileDutch, to be operated separately as NileDutch MPV.

FEBRUARY CONSOLIDATION: CARRIERS

Safmarine sells its conventional Southern Africa/West Africa multipurpose service to Fairseas International of Cape Town. The deal excludes ships.

MAY CONSOLIDATION: CARRIERS

Peruvian Amazon Line, operating between the Amazon and Mexico, faced bankruptcy, forcing it to sell its single vessel, a 22,500 dwt/1,300 20-foot-equivalent-unit multipurpose ship.

NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers, or NBP, and logistics operator Licvem Shipping & Trading set up a 49/51 split joint venture Licvem NBP ApS, or LBP, operating three to eight multipurpose ships between Europe and Africa.

JUNE CONSOLIDATION: CARRIERS

Rickmers acquires Nordana projects, keeping the unit separate under the name NPC. It plans to deploy six vessels in January 2017. Speculation mounts that “K” Line is to put its 100 percentowned heavy-lift operator SAL Heavy Lift of Hamburg up for sale. Interest was reportedly high, but “K” Line chose instead to undertake drastic structural reforms of the company.

OCTOBER CONSOLIDATION: CARRIERS

Gearbulk (65 percent) and Grieg Star (35 percent) combine forces in G2 Ocean, operating about 130 ships. Tonnage operated with others, and terminals and transshipment activities are excluded from the deal. CONSOLIDATION: NON-OPERATING CARRIERS

The Hartmann Group and Schulte & Bruns announce their intention to consolidate their multipurpose short-sea business, effective January 2017. The partners hold a 50-percent share each in Schulte & Bruns Chartering, a subsidiary of Schulte & Bruns Group.

DECEMBER

JULY CONSOLIDATION: NON-OPERATING CARRIERS

Zeaborn scales back part of its newbuilding program, takes over the commercial management of Carisbroke’s smaller multipurpose ships and buys the fleet of Hanse Capital.

SEPTEMBER CONSOLIDATION: CARRIERS

Thorco Shipping joins forces with United Heavy Lift, taking over all breakbulk and heavy-lift ships. The merged company is to be renamed Thorco Projects. CONSOLIDATION: NON-OPERATING CARRIERS

Briese, parent of BBC Chartering, becomes a large minority shareholder in Auerbach Schifffahrt.

NOVEMBER FAILURES: NON-OPERATING CARRIERS

Dutch Abis Shipping loses bank support and is forced to sell its 15-strong multipurpose fleet through an Internet auction. Peak Norway buys six ships of 3,800 deadweight tons. Abis functions as technical manager for Amasus Shipping, Ocean7 Projects and Peak Shipping. It is not known if it will continue with those activities.

CONSOLIDATION: CARRIERS

COSCO Shipping Co. (Coscol) is renamed COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers Co. Ltd., operating some 60 multipurpose vessels, as well as heavy-lift, ro-ro, timber and asphalt carriers. COSCO Heavy Transport (CHT) is a 50-percent subsidiary. CONSOLIDATION: NON-OPERATING CARRIERS

Thorco Holland (21 ships), Navigia (20 ships) and Feederlines (32 ships) form a joint venture, House of Groningen, for the joint technical ship management of their parents’ own fleets and those of third parties, including Peak Norway.

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Dutch Flinter Shipping is declared bankrupt. Thorco buys nine of its ships at €42.7 million on bloc. Briese and Duoship (MF Shipping Group) agree to operate 12 ships on behalf of the banks. Sweden’s Transatlantic AB is to wound up by its owner Viking Supply Ships, a process which could take up to 12 months. Five roll-on, roll-off ships plus six multipurpose ships are to be sold. CONSOLIDATION: NON-OPERATING CARRIERS

Carisbrooke and Switzerland’s Nova Marine Carriers agree to set up a joint venture capacity pool, Nova-Carisbrooke, effective January 2017. All charter and operational activities of the about 60 5,000-15,000 deadweight-tons multipurpose vessels will be handled from Lugano. ISSUE 1 / 2017


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outlook 2017

BY KYRIACOS PANAYIDES Managing Director, AAL

2016 SAW THE PRICE of crude oil drop to below US$45 a barrel, which readjusted to a year-end price of US$53.70. This is still not enough for most majors to secure capital financing for some of their larger projects. About US$620 billion of projects through 2020 have been deferred or cancelled since the price downturn started in 2014, and appetites for long-term and complex major capital projects have waned. Having said that, conservative estimates indicate that the average price for a barrel of crude in 2017 could be anywhere between US$54 and US$58. Supply

and demand imbalances are tightening and an adjustment is surely required – especially with production cuts from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Focus is also on the U.S. and Iran – two huge markets which have made lots of noise recently about increasing their drilling programs in 2017. Short-term indications are also that new shortercycle oil and gas projects might now be in play – driven by global demand to fill the supply gap. Plus, redevelopment and possible expansion of existing production facilities are forecasted, as oil companies learn how to operate in a lower price environment, returning to a healthier focus on capital and operating cost discipline. Looking at other commodities, steel cargo and the wider capital investments they represent are extremely important drivers for the MPV sector. The global demand for steel in 2017 is expected to grow by up to 1 percent, to reach 1.51 billion tonnes. This forecast comes despite an uncertain global geopolitical climate, and is on the back of better-than-expected

20  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

forecasts for China, which could see a 4 percent growth in steel demand in 2017; a much-lauded domestic infrastructure development strategy for Trump’s U.S.; and the forecasts of various emerging economies, whose stable macroeconomic policies are linked to consumption-boosting reforms and infrastructure growth. There looks to be another bright spot related to dry bulk carrier pricing. It’s been a rough few years for dry bulk carriers, with recessions among the leading global economies and oversupply driving down commodity prices and trade – especially base metals and industrial commodities. With the outlook now improving and dry bulk prices forecasted to rebound – albeit slowly and towards the end of 2017 – dry bulk carriers will be keen to refocus on their core heartland, capitalize on any growth and profitability and hopefully draw their attention away

from our sector. Potentially good news for the multipurpose market, which has seen freight rates reduced to unsustainable levels for both carriers and shippers who value safety and service quality above all else. Thankfully, the global MPV fleet is at its most sustainable level for quite some time, with newbuilding orders under control, and age and water ballast measures increasing the scrapping of older tonnage. That said, the trend for consolidation will continue and we can see strong opportunity for further partnerships and merger and acquisition activity among multipurpose operators in 2017. Of course, such activity would not just be for space and tonnage sharing, but also to strengthen and optimize teams, networks and resources. The best and most sustainable partnerships will be between carriers who share business philosophies and service cultures.

ISSUE 1 / 2017


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outlook 2017

WHILE SOME analysts may say the outlook

FOR 2017, I foresee that the

for 2017 is a dark and cloudy one, we see it as one with several silver linings. Even though other industry players have lost jobs and made deep cuts during 2016 – and more specifically within recent months – UTC Overseas Group has been fortunate to have a wide and varied range of projects in our portfolio, which has allowed us to maintain steady growth in 2016, with growth forecast to continue through 2017. At the end of 2016, we saw a clear uptick in inquiries from manufacturers, suppliers, engineering, procurement and construction companies, and oil and gas BY MARCO POISLER project owners to Executive Vice President, secure future projects UTC Overseas Inc. slated for mid-2018 to 2020. This indicates that the volume of cargo for 2017 may still be tough as the industry begins to pick itself back up. But while it will take time to recover fully from such a long period of lethargic market growth, we foresee and predict a positive shift in the near future. Traditional energy production and renewable energy are areas in which we feel there will be steady growth in 2017. While recovery of the oil price looks promising, the gas contracts needed for the multiple liquefied natural gas projects to come to fruition seem more of a challenge. We have seen an increase in requests for budgetary in the various sectors of power, oil and gas (both downstream and upstream), and cement so we expect to have turned a corner.

market will continue to be challenged by oil price fluctuations, which will directly impact fuel prices and sea freight rates. Most carriers will keep pushing back based on rates that were sold when oil price levels were lower. Some of the carriers, however, are driving their offering rates towards more realistic levels. The forwarders; engineering, procurement and construction companies; and other companies within the rest of the industry’s verticals need to have a better understanding of the carriers’ critical situation, as they cannot continue accounting losses even with higher utilization of their own assets. Agility will continue working with our strategic carrier programs focusing on quality of services, project schedule efficiencies, and optimizing our volumes and consolidation among the carriers based on trade lanes, type of services and carrier capabilities. We will continue offering unique services to our customers at realistic prices, while adding value to the carriers and our customers, delivering their material timely as per project schedule. This will have a positive impact on the overall project financials by meeting construction timelines and delivery schedule. Furthermore, the recent mergers between carriers will help improve the quality of services in the overall logistics market by strengthening service consistency levels, space availability and rate stability. Regionally, the Middle East and Africa market continues to offer opportunities in cargo, mainly imports. But the region is also exporting increasingly to the rest of the world, helping carriers improve their space utilization and boosting their margins. Local industries will therefore be able to offer world materials at a more realistic logistics cost, ultimately delivering a more positive economic outlook. China and India remain our major import origins for project

WHILE IT WILL TAKE TIME TO RECOVER FULLY... WE FORESEE AND PREDICT A POSITIVE SHIFT IN THE NEAR FUTURE. 22  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

BY MOHAMMAD JABER COO, PL - Regional Director MEA, Agility Abu Dhabi

cargo, and we will see growth from the European markets due to the currency exchange rates outlook. Africa will continue to grow and Agility will continue to develop capabilities in the continent. With regards to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, there are increasing volumes moving within the region, especially towards Kuwait which has many megaprojects ongoing. In terms of trends for 2017, I foresee the construction, oil and gas, renewable energy and food security sectors increasing their volumes, leading import and export dynamics. However, oil price fluctuation, currency exchange rates, risk of war and political instabilities might yet disturb trade. Technology innovations are improving cost optimization and operational efficiencies, balancing the fuel price impact and ensuring positive cash flow. The dip in oil prices can be balanced out by providing verticals with new services in sectors that are relatively unaffected. These verticals include healthcare logistics, data and information logistics, contract logistics, domestic logistics services, innerregional services, petrochemicals, construction logistics, valueadded services and renewable energy logistics. » ISSUE 1 / 2017


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outlook 2017

Oil price fluctuations aside, managing increasingly complex customer relationships is a challenge going forward. The industry is battling fast-changing cost structures, and escalating labor and property prices amid complex bureaucratic processes and dense and ambiguous regulations. Strong understanding of local regulations, in-house customs relationships, steady infrastructure investment, continuous productivity improvement and succession planning are all helping to mitigate rising costs and red tape. For Agility in 2017, we will continue to invest and expand our owned assets and infrastructure, such as expanding our warehousing activities in Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, and renewing our asset fleets with technologies that consume less fuel and provide better productive outcome with lower carbon emissions, reflecting our commitment towards the environment.

BUSINESS NEEDS STABILITY and

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24  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

there is a lot of political and economic uncertainty in the air. Having said that, I am cautiously optimistic about prospects for 2017, and I think that goes for many of ESTA’s members. My gut feeling is that the market is steady. Talking to my colleagues across Europe, the infrastructure, power generation, construction and rail sectors are looking buoyant, as is the wind energy sector – although from a UK perspective I think the wind market is softening. The one major proviso is that increased security and border controls – necessary as they may be – can create bureaucracy, restrict the movement of goods and people, and have an impact on the time taken to do a job. Also, some of my colleagues have been expressing concern about the lack of project finance from the banks. Into 2018, I think the market will strengthen further as more major projects

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come to fruition and the construction and housing markets expand. As for the oil and gas markets, they remain a major cause for concern. There looks to be a lot of scheduled maintenance work coming through, but upstream work is in real difficulty. There is also huge pressure on rates across the board, driven by overcapacity and fierce competition. Rates that are too low restrict the industry’s ability to train and invest – which in turns affects our long-term efficiency and productivity. I don’t see the situation changing in the short term, although we might see some limited market consolidation. A real concern will be if we see costs such as wages and fuel prices rising, against a backdrop of stagnating rates. There is no doubt that the technological developments that are driving huge changes in all industries will have a major impact on heavy-lifting and transport. The only questions are how and when. Personally, I think the heavy transport industry will be a late adopter of major developments such as autonomous vehicles, in part because every job we do is different. We are not going on a regular route from factory to warehouse, for example. Also, safety concerns will mean we are going to be

RATES THAT ARE TOO LOW RESTRICT THE INDUSTRY’S ABILITY TO TRAIN AND INVEST – WHICH IN TURNS AFFECTS OUR LONG-TERM EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTIVITY.

cautious about being at the cutting edge of new developments. Having said that, we see incremental advances all the time – especially in telematics – leading to improved servicing, maintenance,

fuel monitoring, emissions and so on. In 2017, we will see continued incremental developments – but we will be watching other sectors carefully to see what lesson there may be for ESTA and its members. BB

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www.breakbulk.com  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  25


intermediaries

Credit: Shutterstock

A BETTER WAY TO PAY? Forwarders Envision Equitable Compensation BY PAUL SCOTT ABBOTT

S

ome forwarders believe they might be more fairly compensated for the services they provide the project cargo sector, but whether an alternative way for getting paid will gain acceptance in a highly competitive market is questionable. Panalpina’s Ken Long and Geodis’ Steen Christensen, speaking for themselves and not their companies, see another way – perhaps based on man-hour charges as opposed to markups and nominal transaction fees – as more equitable, particularly as their firms furnish expanded services. However, it doesn’t seem to be a subject that executives of engineering, procurement and construction management firms, or EPCs, even want to discuss. 26  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

Long and Christensen broached the topic in sessions at the Breakbulk Middle East conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, making it clear they were talking personally and not on behalf of their respective forwarding firms. They expounded on their thoughts in separate interviews with Breakbulk magazine. “Pricing is a huge issue in our business, and it’s usually not talked about,” said Long, who is Panalpina World Transport Saudi Arabia’s country head of energy solutions for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. “We don’t use the proper mechanism for compensation in today’s market,” said Long, who has been in the energy logistics business for 40 years. “I think the industry is due a discussion.” ISSUE 1 / 2017


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MARKUPS NOT ENOUGH

Traditionally, project forwarders are compensated by way of a markup on unit prices for actual transport services, augmented by a transaction fee that is usually between 75 cents and US$1.25 per freight ton. “No forwarder is making money on those fees,” Long said, estimating that it can cost a forwarder as much as US$7.50 to US$15 per freight ton to provide services. His alternative proposition is for EPCs to pay forwarders manhour charges for the various personnel engaged in providing services, with agreed-upon rates Ken Long based upon classifications such as Panalpina manager, supervisor, coordinator, and health, safety and environmental engineer. The EPC also would compensate the forwarder for actual transport costs, perhaps with a nominal agreed-upon markup. Steen Christensen, a Christensen 30-year industry Geodis veteran currently serving as Geodis Freight Forwarding’s Houston-based director for industrial projects for Eastern Europe, Middle East and India, said he believes an alternate methodology certainly merits consideration. But he was quick to say that forwarders must furnish value-added services to justify such a change. “I’m all for finding another way to compensate the services we provide the industry,” Christensen said, “but I don’t want to compromise the services we provide and do not want to stop innovating. “I don’t think changing the model and forcing the customers to pay more 28  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

for the same service is the right way to go,” he said. “If we want to charge more, we have to create more value and we have to operate our companies in the most efficient, cheapest possible way.”

PROFITS REMAIN ELUSIVE

I’M ALL FOR FINDING ANOTHER WAY TO COMPENSATE THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE THE INDUSTRY, BUT I DON’T WANT TO COMPROMISE THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE AND DO NOT WANT TO STOP INNOVATING.” – Steen Christensen, Geodis

Christensen, without naming names, said a couple of the most efficient forwarding companies, focused on a specific market segment and/or geographic region, may make earnings before interest and taxes of between 7 percent and 10 percent on projects, while the remainder of forwarders are gleaning EBIT of about 3 percent. Whereas forwarders decades ago began offering value-added services such as tracking and tracing, Christensen said forwarders today “are kind of in a rut” when it comes to providing innovative value-adds. “We have to do more to charge more, and we have to be more valuable to the customer,” he said. “We all keep doing the same old, same old; we just want more money for it. We have to continuously renew ourselves. We focus a lot on surviving and not enough on getting better.” Christensen said the low-profit nature of the forwarding business does make it difficult to find money for research and development of valueadded services, calling this dilemma “the curse of the industry that has to be figured out.” Meanwhile, Panalpina’s Long said he believes the spectrum of services offered by companies such as his – with comprehensive shipment management from origin to destination, transport engineering, document preparation, customs clearance and line-item-level visibility through a material management system interfacing with that of the client – nonetheless justifies calling the firm a “capital project supply chain logistics provider,” not simply a “forwarder.”

PRICE STILL PARAMOUNT

But, whatever the providers call themselves, the fact remains that standard industry practice of EPCs, international oil companies and other project logistics procurers is to award contracts to those offering the lowest price. And across-the-board use of ISSUE 1 / 2017


HEAVY LIFT LEADERS.


intermediaries

the traditional method of compensation allows for the easiest apples-to-apples cost comparisons. Long said Panalpina does have the man-hours-based compensation method in place for a very limited range of clientele, including one major multinational corporation, but it is very far from gaining broad acceptance. Forwarders (or capital project supply chain logistics providers) are in part responsible for this, according to Long, who said such firms typically are reluctant to relinquish an opportunity to potentially “catch lightning in a jar” and make big money by resourcefully combining cargoes and securing an extremely low rate from a carrier. On the other hand, particularly in this era of ocean rate volatility, the forwarder retains the risk that it could lose money if it locks in a rate too soon. Long said he sees the alternative compensation methodology offering advantages to clients, with forwarders opening their books and showing the clients the actual costs for transportation. “The total cost to the client will be less than it is now,” he said.

PROCURERS KEEP QUIET

Even if that might be the case, it’s a proverbial can of worms EPCs apparently would rather keep tightly sealed. Not one of more than a dozen EPC executives approached for comment by Breakbulk agreed to offer a thought. Most carrier executives from whom comments

“That model has, for the most part, been unable to protect the industry from very difficult years; however, this is likely more related to cyclical markets than of pricing strategy,” he said. “That being said, the exercise has value. There are always direct and indirect benefits in the process of seeking innovation and new methods to any process.”

CLICHÉS WITH TEETH Fernando Maruri

Roger Strevens

Intermarine

Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics

cost-cutting environment like the one we have been in, and where supply clearly exceeds demand, companies must look to counteract attempts of commoditization of their services. “Forwarder services are not the only sector in the supply chain being asked to provide more services for less,” he said, “and it is not surprising that there should be a reaction from that segment to reassess compensation. Maruri, who has been with Intermarine since 1994, said he thinks the advantage a company would seek in changing the traditional model would simply be to look for a better pricing model that more fairly compensates it for the services it is providing. “However, moving to that model puts a lot of pressure on tracking and the efficiency of people and how they spend their time. Not every company is set up

“IN A COST-CUTTING ENVIRONMENT LIKE THE ONE WE HAVE BEEN IN ... COMPANIES MUST LOOK TO COUNTERACT ATTEMPTS OF COMMODITIZATION OF THEIR SERVICES.”

– Fernando Maruri, Intermarine

were sought remained quiet as well, with a couple of exceptions. Fernando Maruri, director of sales for the Americas for Houston-based Intermarine, said that he thought alternative methods of forwarder compensation are worthy of consideration. “At some point, all businesses struggle with being properly compensated for their services,” Maruri said. “In a 30  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

to move toward this type of approach. There will be natural resistance as there is with any change. Clients may not have the stomach for it in this market.” He said that the model in place is “fairly straightforward and fairly easy to understand and track on both sides,” adding that he sees it as working best in growth environments when pricing is positive and stable.

Roger Strevens, vice president and global head of key and liner accounts of Norway-based Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, said he sees the examination of compensation alternatives as tied to digital disruption that is increasingly impacting supply chains. “Digital disruption is fast becoming a business cliché, but it’s a cliché with teeth,” said Strevens, who has been with Wallenius Wilhelmsen since 2006. “At least that seems to be the case for the freight forwarding industry. The signs of disruption are growing by the week. “With that in mind,” he said, “it’s wise for the incumbents to be questioning the established business model. After all, achieving a favorable outcome when the winds of change are blowing is more likely when you do the disrupting yourself rather than taking a wait-and-see approach.” Strevens said he is, in fact, encouraged that the notion of new ways for forwarder compensation is being discussed. “Given the generally difficult breakbulk market conditions, there is a temptation to focus on the immediate challenges at the expense of those which may have an impact further down the line,” he said. “The fact that this topic arises now is a good sign that some players are keeping an eye on the horizon.” Thus, the questions, according to Long, remain: How open is our capital projects logistics industry to fair compensation between owners, EPCs, freight forwarders and carriers; and does the current method of unit pricing deliver that, or are there better ways? BB A veteran transportation writer for the past 40 years, U.S.-based Paul Scott Abbott specializes in maritime topics. ISSUE 1 / 2017


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energy

Russia Takes Tentative Renewables Step

BLENDING THE ENERGY MIX BY MARK WILLIS

B In this 2011 file photo, a wind farm operates in the village of Kulikovo, in Russia’s Kaliningrad Region. Credit: Yelena Nagornykh / ITAR-TASS 32  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

etter known for its substantial hydrocarbon reserves, and heavy carbon emitting oil and gas production, recent signals tentatively suggest that Russia is inching towards diversifying its energy mix by expanding development of alternative renewable energy sources. While Russia has long been a global leader in hydropower production, the nascent move towards alternative renewable energies should principally be viewed in the context of a concerted governmentled drive to create sustainable, domestic wind and solar power industries, with state and semi-state-backed corporations so far accounting for the vast majority of recent investment. With a broad diversity of environmental conditions and natural resources emanating from the country’s expansive geography, Russia’s capacity to become a global powerhouse in renewable energy production has long been recognized. ISSUE 1 / 2017


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“Russia is endowed with a considerable potential for the development of large amounts of diverse renewable energy sources across the whole territory,” said a report produced by the International Energy Agency, or IEA. “The potential is particularly large for wind, biomass, small hydro, geothermal and solar, depending on the regions.” The IEA went on to describe Russia as a potential “green giant.” At present, however, it remains a case of potential unfulfilled, with public investment overwhelmingly focused on developing the rich hydrocarbon reserves that remain a vital source of foreign currency and fiscal revenues, and non-nuclear sustainable energy production highly concentrated in large hydropower projects, which account for more than 90 percent of total renewables output. “The share of renewable energy in the total installed capacity of the Russian Federation remains very low, not exceeding 0.5 percent if Sergey Dayman large hydropower plants, responsible EY Russia for 20.3 percent of total installed capacity, are not counted,” said Sergey Dayman, senior manager of Cleantech and Sustainability Services at EY Russia. Unsurprisingly, Russia’s domestic renewables sector has lagged the progress taking place within the neighboring European Union, where meager hydrocarbon reserves, environmental concerns, and political momentum towards increasing regional energy security and self-sufficiency have paved the way for development of alternative, lower carbon dioxide emitting energy sources.

BOOSTING INTEREST AND INVESTMENT

Encouragingly, recent events suggest that Moscow is gradually moving in the right direction towards boosting private and public sector renewable energy investment through a combination of direct intervention by state-backed 34  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

RUSSIA’S ENERGY MIX IN 2016 FOSSIL FUEL RESERVES

COAL: 110 billion tonnes

OIL: 14 billion tonnes

GAS: 29 billion tonnes

RENEWABLE INSTALLED CAPACITY HYDROPOWER: 50.6 GW

SOLAR: 407 MW GEOTHERMAL: 386 MW WIND: 103 MW

NUCLEAR CAPACITY 25.4 gigawatts

Source: World Energy Council

corporations and fiscal incentives for private sector groups. Notwithstanding lingering uncertainty over the government’s commitment to creating a genuine, competitive domestic renewable energy market, the extent of progress required to meet new official output targets, and adhere to international climate change treaty obligations, punctuate its potential to provide opportunities for international project cargo operators. Highlighting its new intent, the Russian government introduced the first working policy instrument for procurement of renewable projects in 2013,

including the introduction of auction tendering for new projects to boost sector competition, and announcement of an ambitious set of future renewable energy output targets. “The Russian Energy Strategy for the period until 2035 expects that electricity production from renewable energy sources could increase more than twentyfold by 2035, reaching up to 29 billion to 46 billion kWh compared with 2.3 billion kWh in 2015,” Dayman said. “The amendments of the Russian legislative framework of power industry have significantly strengthened the position of renewable energy projects, providing substantial basis and favorable environment for new generation facilities and localization of equipment production.” The principle changes implemented by the government have focused on creating conditions for the implementation of a special mechanism for power capacity qualification of renewable energy generating facilities, he added. In addition to this legislative program, the fresh participation of several large state and semi-state backed corporations in a series of major new wind and solar energy projects over the last 12 months also point towards the government’s new commitment to cast off its environmental laggard status and drive forward the next generation of renewable energy production.

BACKING RENEWABLES DRIVE

Of significance was last year’s strategic move into renewable energy by state-owned nuclear energy behemoth Rosatom, which corresponds with the government goals to ramp up wind power energy production. “This decision represents an important step in the strategy of diversification of low-carbon technology, which Rosatom follows, being confident that the future of energy is a diversified balance of nuclear power and renewable energy, providing affordability, security of supply and minimal environmental impact,” the company told Breakbulk. Since diversifying its operations into renewables in mid-2016, JSC VetroOGK, the Rosatom subsidiary responsible for developing and managing the firm’s non-nuclear energy assets, has successISSUE 1 / 2017


fully tendered for the construction of 26 new wind generation facilities with total capacity of 610 megawatts. In conjunction with three additional wind farms planned for Southern Russia, planned investments in domestic wind powered energy infrastructure now total more than €1 billion. According to Rosatom, the firm’s diversification into the renewable energy sector is representative of Moscow’s commitment to adhere to recent international climate change agreements, and the global drive to lower carbon dioxide emissions. “This confirms the fact that Russia joined the Paris Agreement (COP21), under which it planned to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 70 percent by 2030. In addition, Russia’s government has taken the initiative to achieve the 2 percent share of alternative energy in the total Russian energy generation by

Cis4435_CSAL_Ad_Breakbulk_124x178_p.indd 1

2024,” said the company. In addition to already agreed projects, Rosatom will further expand its non-nuclear energy output over the next five years, and will continue to concentrate investment within the domestic wind power production industry. “The current plans are to invest primarily in wind power generation projects. Rosatom plans to put the first 150 MW of wind power into operation for the domestic market by 2018 with the further introduction of new wind power capacity of 200 MW in 2019 and 260 MW in 2020,” a VetroOGK spokesperson said. “Wind farms at the initial stage will appear in the south of the country, where necessary wind measurements have already been made, in the Republic of Adygea and Krasnodar region. The very first wind farm will be launched in 2018 in Adygea,” she added.

SOLAR GAINS

In addition to wind-generated energy, encouraging developments have also taken place within Russia’s solar power sector over the last several years, with the participation of state-backed corporations highlighting government efforts to reduce its excessive reliance on heavy CO2 emitting hydrocarbon natural resources. Established through a partnership formed in 2009 between private sector conglomerate Renova and state-backed venture capital fund, Rusnano, Hevel LLC has substantially increased its solar energy project investments over the last two years, and in 2015 established Russia’s first full-cycle solar production project. “The Hevel Group brings together three key competencies in solar energy. We have our own solar module production facility in Chuvashia, an in-house engineering division – which both

2016-01-15 2:43:55 PM

www.breakbulk.com  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  35


energy

ABOVE AND RIGHT: Mortrans handles a wind

turbine shipment from Germany to Russia. Planned investments in domestic wind powered energy infrastructure total more than €1 billion. Credit: Mortrans

builds large grid-connected stations and designs standalone renewable energy systems – as well as an R&D center that develops advanced solar power technologies”, said Igor Shakhray, CEO of Hevel. “We currently have a portfolio of projects to build large gridconnected solar power stations under capacity supply contracts totaling 364 MW, of which 100 MW has already been built,” Shakhray added. With a sanguine Igor Shakhray outlook towards the renewable sector’s Hevel future development prospects, Hevel’s plans include investing 45 billion rubles (US$758 million) on building solar generation plants during 2015-20, 10 billion rubles of which has 36  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

already been invested. “Plans to build renewable generation facilities in Russia are still quite modest compared to the global pace of development. But even though Russia joined the global shift towards renewable energy later, we are optimistic on the prospects for renewable energy in Russia,” Shakhray said. According to Shakhray, the greatest prospects for renewable energy production is in Russian regions lacking central power supply or grid infrastructure, and areas with an energy deficit, including southern Bashkiria, where industrial production is expanding rapidly and requires additional generation capacity. Highly isolated regions, such as southern Russia and parts of Siberia, also represent particularly solid prospects for renewable energy development, he added.

CONSTRAINED BY POLICY

Notwithstanding rising confidence in future renewable energy prospects, and new government legislation aimed at improving operating conditions, the sector has not experienced a meaningful increase in overall investment or output levels over the last few years, while recent renewable energy license auctions have also attracted few bidders. The IEA’s renewable energy team attributed this to the weak underlying

performance of the Russian economy, currency instability, and correspondingly uncertain investment conditions since 2014. Additional factors discouraging overseas investors and identified by the IEA are a reduction in government subsidy payments that have effectively lowered guaranteed project rates of return, as well as high levels of local content requirement, which demand that operators purchase Russian-made equipment, even when components may not be readily available. The legislation has placed constraints on developing onshore wind and smallscale hydropower plants, but less so for solar power due to the opening of more manufacturing plants in recent years. “Underdeveloped local equipment production for certain technologies combined with high local content requirements and currency exchange risk can be important factors in keeping foreign investors out of Russia’s renewable energy market,” said the IEA. The analysts conclude that, should recent weak growth rates persist, the Russian government is unlikely to meet its future renewable energy targets. However, “given the high potentials, renewables growth could speed up quickly if suitable policy and economic conditions were created,” it said. While uncertainty remains over the short-term growth trajectory and the efficacy of current government policy, development of Russia’s renewable energy sector still has undoubted potential to provide opportunities for international investors, and the project cargo industry. BB Mark Willis is a Dublin, Ireland-based freelance journalist specializing in politics and economics. ISSUE 1 / 2017


PREVIEW

BREAKBULK EUROPE 2017: 24-26 APRIL, ANTWERP EXPO

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PRODUCT PLACEMENT

PRODUCT PLACEMENT

www.breakbulk.com/bbeu2017  BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW  EU3


WELCOME

DEAR INDUSTRY COLLEAGUES: As Europe’s must-attend event for project cargo, ro-ro and heavy-lift transportation and logistics, we strive to always improve and develop Breakbulk Europe. I’m very happy announce that the 2017 event is the largest to date! We look forward to hosting more exhibiting companies than ever before this April, showcasing the widest variety of project cargo specialists, packing out all the halls at the Antwerp Expo.

GET IN TOUCH No matter where your company is located, we have a global staff available to help with questions about exhibiting, sponsoring and just about anything else related to Breakbulk Europe. We want you to meet your business objectives and are happy to discuss your ideas - just reach out!

I’m also looking forward to all the new features Breakbulk Europe has to offer this year. We return with a new and challenging conference programme, including a series of micro-seminars, providing a platform for the industry’s key stakeholders to give insight and guidance into the challenges and opportunities facing our industry. For the first time we also have a VIP Shippers Loungethanks to sponsor Geodis, a Breakbulk Bar, Food Truck Alley and TechZone, showcasing the latest in innovative and disruptive technologies. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Ann De Smet and the wider team at Port of Antwerp for all the amazing support they provide as Host Port. I’d also like to thank all of our returning sponsors, exhibitors and delegates for their continued support, whilst also extending a warm welcome to our new attendees, exhibitors and sponsors who are participating for the first time. I extend an equally warm welcome to all of our VIP Shipper Club members, new and existing-I trust you will have an informative and productive event! With so much going on at Breakbulk Europe, please utilise the Breakbulk Europe Preview to its fullest. It really will help you make the most of your three busy days. I look forward to seeing you soon in Antwerp! Sincerely,

Mark Rimmer Event Director Breakbulk Europe EU4  BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW

Christian Blair Thompson Event Director - Americas +1 281 416 4672 cthompson@breakbulk.com

OTHER CONTACTS ADVERTISING Robert Janusauskas +353 87 414 3737 robert@breakbulk.com

WORKSHOPS Elizabeth Wetzel +1 281 298 5442 ewetzel@breakbulk.com

MARKETING Leslie Meredith +1 801 201 5971 lmeredith@breakbulk.com

VIP SHIPPER CLUB Mark Jakobsen +44 (0) 207 596 5078 mark.jakobsen@ ite-exhibitions.com

CONFERENCE Janet Nodar +1 251 473 2742 jcnodar@breakbulk.com


Mark Rimmer Europe - Director mrimmer@breakbulk.com +44 (0)20 7596 5260 +44 (0) 7717 848 953

Lyndon D Baptiste Key Account Manager lbaptiste@breakbulk.com +44 (0) 207 596 5215

FINLAND, GREECE, CYPRUS, ITALY, PORTUGAL, SPAIN, POLAND Julia Wocka-Gowda Country Manager julia.gowda@iteexhibitions.com +44 (0) 207 596 5188

AUSTRIA, GERMANY, SWITZERLAND, FRANCE, LUXEMBOURG, DENMARK, NORWAY, SWEDEN Elly Shirkhan Country Manager eshirkhan@breakbulk.com +44 (0) 207 596 5152

NETHERLANDS, UK, BELGIUM Charles Ramirez Country Manager charles.ramirez@breakbulk.com +44 (0) 207 596 5085

RUSSIA & CIS Vladislav Pisklov Country Manager +7 (495) 935 73 50 ext. 4142 vladislav@breakbulk.com Gary Tang Event Director - China +852 2132-9698 gary.tang@ite-asia.com

TURKEY Hale Çorbacı Country Manager hale@breakbulk.com 90 5325220952

MIDDLE EAST, INDIA & PAKISTAN Rafiq Sayyad Country Manager +971 568083029 rafiq@breakbulk.com Colin Ho Sales Manager - Southeast Asia +603 7842 9863 ext. 8186 colin.ho@ite-ap.com www.breakbulk.com/bbeu2017  BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW  EU5


PREVIEW

Bring together 9000 industry professionals, including 500 shippers and 400 exhibitors, and what do you get? Unarguably, the most productive-and fun-exhibition of the year.

EU6  BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW  www.breakbulk.com/bbeu2017

ISSUE 1 / 2017


www.breakbulk.com/bbeu2017  BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW  EU7


CONFERENCE PREVIEW

ASK AN EXPERT

RHETORIC VS REALITY: How Will Brexit and Trump Affect Trade?

What once appeared to be political rhetoric, now looks like genuine change in approaches to global trade by the US and the UK, Breakbulk Europe keynote speaker Ann Stanič, said in an interview with Breakbulk’s Content Director Janet Nodar. Here she offers insight into what lies ahead and what companies must do to adapt. If we take Brexit as the watershed in terms of a change from political rhetoric to reality, we are definitely heading for what we call a “hard Brexit” so the discussions in the UK and in the European Union are about what kind of trade relations will the UK have with the EU going forward. The UK is insisting upon not being subject to the European Court of Justice, having its own immigration policy and adopting its own tariffs and quota systems. Therefore we are looking at trade barriers appearing where there were none before.

CHERRY-PICKING?

TUESDAY, 25 APRIL, 11:00 – 11:30

KEYNOTE BREXIT, TRUMP AND TRADE: FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS - BUMPY RIDE AHEAD Ana Stanič, Founder and Director E&A LAW

The media has been completely unable to interpret facts and events that have been going on, including the rise of Trump and Brexit. We can no longer be passive readers of the news because we don’t know which sources we can trust. Having access to alternative media, or more importantly to experts, will help guide companies to understand what is really going on, which is not reflected in the headlines of CNN. This will be vital for how businesses will position themselves going forward. EU8  BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW

It’s possible that the UK is trying to push for an arrangement with trade deals for specific industries where some industries would be exempt or tariff-free. This sort of cherry-picking arrangement would depend entirely on the EU agreeing to it, but even if they did—and that’s a big if—the question is how quickly can these trade deals be put in place?

BECOME A CHERRY OR LOOK ELSEWHERE There are various things that companies ought to be doing. If they are in the European Union there are actions they can take that are obviously different than those outside the EU. The key is to identify whether they are likely to be within the sectors that will get the cherry-picking deals or exceptions. Get involved in lobbying your own government, or if you are British, lobby the British government to ensure these kind of deals are struck. Otherwise, consider setting up alternative places of trade. So many companies that primarily trade in the EU but use the UK as the first port of entry are looking to relocate at least part of their business to take advantage of the existing tariff arrangements that they may lose out on if no deal is struck. It’s crucial to look at your legal structure and the value chain to identify what you can redirect to where, so you can take advantage of different countries of origin rules.

IT’S COMPLICATED

Developing countries that have trade deals with the EU could benefit from direct deals with the UK under deals that offer better terms. But that still means trade barriers with the rest of the EU. The EU has 53 free trade agreements with third party countries. What is going to be required is a quota under those agreements so these countries will be active in negotiations, both those that are party to these agreements and members of the World Trade Organization. The UK will have to re-establish its position within the WTO and has to adopt the EU positions under that as its own. All countries in the WTO will have to agree as well. It’s really, really complicated!

IMPOSSIBLE DEADLINE

The UK’s insistence that this will all be worked out within the two-year timeframe, is highly unlikely. And while Trump and the UK announced their intention to sign a trade deal, we know from past deals that these negotiations take quite a long time. Whatever the political will is of the two heads of state, the reality is that it’s quite a detailed process and it’s questionable whether this can be done within two years. That legal document will have to be significantly different from any trade agreements we’ve seen over the past 40 or 50 years. Being proactive is going to be key to business strategies going forward. You can’t wait to see what the government is going to do and then respond. Businesses will have to look at possible scenarios for what’s going to occur in six months, a year and beyond. The businesses that will survive this challenging time are the ones that take the most proactive approach and think outside the box.

ISSUE 1 / 2017


event preview

HOW TO COPE WITH A VOLATILE MARKET WEDNESDAY, 26 APRIL, 14:00 – 14:50

HANDLING CHARTERING RISK IN A VOLATILE MARKET Moderator Peter Svensson will be joined by Robert Drew, Global Logistics Manager, TATA INTERNATIONAL, Susan Oatway, Senior Analyst, DREWRY MARITIME A conversation with Peter Svensson, Senior Vice President and Head of CLIPPERS AMERICA CHARTERING

ON A CHANGING RISK LANDSCAPE

You’ve got to be very cautious about who you do business with. There are different ways to check that and everybody seems to have their own way- some companies have excel sheets that when you fill in you get a score. It’s a little bit like the American credit rating system. But how to get credit? Somebody has to have faith in you to begin with.

THE RUMOR MILL - CHECK YOUR FACTS

Everybody talks, everybody seems to know something. Just like with any other market, shipping news travels at the speed of light, and it might not always be fact-checked. We have seen in the last year and the year before, fairly sizeable companies in financial trouble. People get scared and that’s when the rumor mill starts. It’s a shame, but it happens.

TO SCRAP OR NOT TO SCRAP

Scrapping is linked to the market. If you can’t earn the operating cost, that’s when you are more likely to scrap your ship. That’s what we saw 2016-we had a month of negative fleet growth, which is something we clearly need to see more of. But if the market jumps to $10,000 a day, your ship is paid for and operating costs are say between $5,000 and $6,000 a day, all of a sudden you have an asset that makes you $5,000 a day. Would you scrap that? Probably not.

ONE DOOR CLOSES, ANOTHER OPENS

You have to always be on the alert for new opportunities. You might be in a specific business or trade that’s been going fine for a number of years, so you tend to sit back and relax, and that’s when you’re going to lose out. We spend a lot of time at Clipper looking at new businesses, maybe a cargo we never looked at. There’s a lot of talk between the offices, “Have you seen that?” Have you seen this?” Interoffice communication is crucial in today’s climate.

REASONS FOR OPTIMISM While market recovery won’t happen until the end of 2017-early 2018, we can look forward to a much better supply and demand balance.

TUESDAY, 25 APRIL 14:00 – 14:30

HL/MPV FLEET ANALYSIS Susan Oatway, Senior Analyst, DREWRY MARITIME

Susan Oatway, Senior Analyst, DREWRY MARITIME

It’s true the fleet is in over supply. But most of that is over-age vessels below 5.000 dwt, so they have very little impact on the deep sea trades and the higher value cargoes. We forecast more opportunities for cargoes for the multipurpose fleet.

For large project cargo, it’s likely that as rates improve with the container market, the time taken to load a bit of project cargo onto a container vessel will be outweighed by the fact you can get a lot more for the eight containers that you would have put in that space. Project cargo will become less of an incentive for container ship operators.


WORKSHOP & CONFERENCE PREVIEW

GET THE KEYS TO PROJECT FREIGHT MANAGEMENT SUCCESS INTERVIEW WITH PETER BOUWHUIS

1

PROJECT PLANNING

Shippers and service providers are not spending enough time on project planning. Not spending enough time on the planning will result in losing focus during the project execution and losing focus means the project will run into issues that will end up costing them more money. Schedules are slipping — deliveries are too late on the projects and that means more costs. PRICING VS. COST

2

I often hear it from service providers that shippers are focusing on the pricing and pricing only. In fact, this is not entirely true. The core focus of the project is to stay within the budget and this means that the cost of a project is more than just pricing.

Parties need to see the bigger picture. They should not waste too much time on price negotiations. When you bring the rate of shipping down to an absolute minimum, what happens is the quality of service goes down. If the timeframe is affected as well, say the chosen ocean liner has less frequent sailings, that also means that the deliveries will be late and the risks are higher.

3

Meet Peter Bouwhuis, Managing Director of iBrabble and instructor for Project Freight Management Workshop at Breakbulk Europe.

FULL CONTROL

Having full control on the project during logistics execution means you can change the project deliveries and risk can be mitigated. Many companies still think that giving their suppliers responsibility for the delivery will give them less work and risk and the opposite is the case.

MONDAY, 24 APRIL, 08:30 – 17:00

PROJECT FREIGHT MANAGEMENT: THE SHIPPERS’ PERSPECTIVE

For EPCs, cargo owners and project forwarders, this one-day course will cover the keys to managing major projects.

USE CODE BBEU25 TO RECEIVE 25% OFF COURSE FEE MORE INFO AT WWW.BREAKBULK.COM/BBEU2017-PFM

The less control you have, the more likely you will get the goods onsite when you least expect them and when you do not need them yet, or when it’s too late. In either case, it will increase your costs. It’s important to stay in control of the deliveries and their associated costs.

The Project Freight Management course gives people the know-how and the tools they need. And with more project know-how, the more a company will say, “Saving money means more jobs can remain in place.”

+ FUTURE-PROOFING YOUR JOB As we look ahead, it appears our industry will face another tough year. People are thinking about job security and competitiveness. This course can help. In this program, we talk a lot about how to manage the cost of a project instead of spending too much time negotiating and lowering rates. The course will teach you how to stay efficient and competitive whether this is from the shipper’s perspective or from a service provider’s perspective.

EU10  BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW  www.breakbulk.com/bbeu2017

ISSUE 1 / 2017


NO ESCAPE: HOW TO COMPLY WITH 2020 IMO FUEL REGULATIONS

Ocean carriers and their customers must brace for a looming and potentially massive cost shock. As of 2020, IMO regulations will require that sulphur limit in the heavy fuel oils used as bunker fuel worldwide be reduced from 3.5 percent to no more than 0.5 percent. This expensive change will reverberate across an already distressed global shipping industry. How will it be met, and how will it be enforced?

TUESDAY, 25 APRIL, 11:40 – 12:30

SULPHUR SHOCK: COUNTDOWN TO 2020

“Shippers, it’s not a moment too early to start asking your carriers about their plans to comply.” Roger Strevens, VP and Global Head of Key Accounts, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics

“I will put up these scenarios at the conference and we will be able to see them in a quantifiable way.” Robin Meech, Managing Director, Marine and Energy Consulting

IMPLICATIONS

WEIGHING THE OPTIONS

STREVENS: This is regulation that will apply to all vessels everywhere and all the time once it comes into effect—the project and breakbulk sector will be no exception. Compliance with the regulation will bring a 50 to 100 percent increase in the cost of bunker fuel. It’s a level of cost that most carriers won’t be able to absorb and there’s going to be a pretty significant pass-through cost.

1. Switch to using diesel fuel. It’s a fuel we’re all familiar with, but there is not enough of it in the world at the moment and there’s a big question over whether there will be enough.

MEECH: Nobody has ever tried to switch so much product over night. We’ve had a country change and we’ve had even part of the EU change, but never the whole world.

3. Scrubbers, a downstream solution where the sulphur is dealt with in the engine rather than removing it from the fuel. This is a very expensive retrofit for vessels, if that’s even possible—it’s like open-heart surgery for a ship. There is also a regulatory risk because they involve wash water to the sea, and that is a lightning rod for further regulatory attention.

In our analysis, we see a $450 differential between residual fuels, which people will be using on the 31st of December, 2019, and the price of the 0.5 percent fuel they should be using on the first of January. Things won’t happen that dramatically, but it’s a huge increase in their cost. There will also be the cost of trying to enforce the whole process. There are an awful lot of countries that haven’t signed up to it and an awful lot of flag states that haven’t. We will end up with a very unlevel playing field with operators who comply and those that don’t. So the costs involved in operating the ships and enforcement will put huge pressures on this and other shipping sectors.

2. Switch to a new product: a kind of hybrid. Similar to the first option, there are questions surround scale-up and availability of these new hybrids.

4. A mixed bag of solutions with everything from biodiesel to LNG where the challenge is you need a completely different fuel infrastructure for your ship, so it’s extremely unlikely to be a retrofit solution. These scenarios will be weighed at the conference session. This discussion will be of interest to not just carriers, but to shippers as well because compliance is going to be costly and involve varying degrees of risk across their supply chains.

www.breakbulk.com/bbeu2017  BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW  EU11


VIP SHIPPER CLUB DEAR VIP SHIPPER CLUB MEMBERS, 2017 is speeding by and that means Breakbulk Europe will be here before we know it. This year the event takes place in late April so please hold 24-26 April on your calendars now and join us at the Antwerp Expo. In order to provide more value to our VIP Shipper Club members, we are pushing ahead with ideas and initiatives for you and your staff members in 2017. Our goal is to make the club benefits stronger and more relevant to you on a year-round basis. This includes expanding your benefits onsite at our events as well as developing benefits that can be utilized throughout your year. At Breakbulk Europe 2017, we are introducing a new Hosted VIP Programme. We understand, given the market conditions, that travel budgets are stretched. To provide assistance, in order that you and more of your staff members may attend, our events will be hosting VIP guests by providing travel and accommodation services. Hopefully this will make the process of attending much easier and more cost-effective. If you are interested in attending Breakbulk Europe in 2017 via the Hosted Program, please contact Audrey at acantillon@breakbulk.com to register your interest. When you arrive onsite in Antwerp, you will receive a red carpet welcome including full event access and access to the VIP Shipper Lounge. In the lounge, you will be able to enjoy food, beverage, wifi and good company while relaxing for five minutes and preparing for your next steps at the busy conference and exhibition. Hopefully you have received an email notifying you of the enhanced VIP website, www.vipshipperclub.com. Here you can take the Shipper contacts you make from the show and keep the connection going. In addition, once fully launched, www. vipshipperclub.com will be an industry hub of information including data, analytics and research. Advice Clinics will also be added to the site soon. The Advice Clinics will provide you with access to experts within specific fields like law, customs, accountancy and engineering. Should you require impartial advice from a third party regarding a project that you are working on, the Advice Clinics should help.

NEW MEET APP for VIP Shippers and Exhibitors Breakbulk Europe Meet app lets you find the right people to meet with at the world’s largest exhibition for the project cargo and breakbulk industry. Login with your badge ID and immediately start connecting with the people you want to meet. Based on your business profile, BBEU Meet will show you the best attendees to meet your show objectives. Swipe to accept or reject suggestions. Confirmed meetings will be added to your schedule providing you with a full calendar for when you arrive onsite. The app will be available from late March.

GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE

FROM RICCARDO TIPPMANN Executive Director, Board Member FAGIOLI SpA Problem: It’s more and more difficult to meet who you need to, with all that people attending. Solution: A suggestion could be to create a drop box on the website or a physical one at the exhibition. Everyone who wants to meet someone drops his name, address, phone and email and indicates with whom he wants to meet. The company or the person gets a short automatic advice mail. With that the contact is created directly between the persons who can then agree time and location to meet. Could be very helpful if managed through the app operated during the exhibition.

The VIP Shipper Club is a club to serve you and your staff members. To ensure we provide as much value as possible, please let us know what services and benefits you would like to see this year and we will get working! Thank you, as always, for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Mark Jakobsen EU12  BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW  www.breakbulk.com/bbeu2017

ISSUE 1 / 2017


SEE THE FUTURE

This new feature will showcase some of the latest technology that will forever change manufacturing, shipping and project logistics in the next decade. UAVs , virtual reality, augmented reality, 3D printing, self-driving vehicles-where will the sea change come from? View demos, experience the tech firsthand and hold meetings in this open presentation zone. Position your company as an innovation leader. Find out how you can participate in the TechZone at Breakbulk Europe, 24-26 April, 2017: Mark Rimmer | mrimmer@breakbulk.com PHOTO: ZHUHAI FABRICATION YARD / FLUOR


EUROPE EXHIBITORS

[SEE MORE PHOTOS & VID

FAST INSTALLS SMALLEST ENERGOPROFIN EVER PLACED ON A VESSEL ON ITS COASTER FAST JEF Wärtsilä’s EnergoProFin helps reduce energy losses and increases overall propulsion efficiency for average fuel savings of 2%. Photo by Fast ship manager Piotr Stawski AAL LIFTS ESP USING LAMPSON 2600, ONE OF THE LARGEST LAND-BASED MOBILE CRAWLER CRANES IN EXISTENCE AND ONE OF ONLY FOUR IN THE WORLD One of the largest single units AAL has lifted and loaded in 2016, the 530MT ESP unit is part of an innovative Off Gas System that will draw sulphur dioxide rich gas and fumes generated from the Top Submerged Furnace and ‘electrostatically’ charge them, removing solid particles and enabling ‘clean gas’ to continue into the Acid Plant process. The system is part of Nyrstar’s Port Pirie Redevelopment Project in Southern Australia. SAL HEAVY LIFT DESIGNS CUSTOM SEAFASTENING SYSTEM BASED ON HYDRODYNAMIC CALCULATIONS New for 2017, SAL used the system on MV Svenja to transport oversized monopiles in Rostock. This seafastening arrangement works without additional lashings, leading to utmost efficient and time-saving loading procedures. GOLDHOFER EQUIPMENT HYBRID TO SAVE TRANSPORTATION COSTS Goldhofer’s ADDrive combines the characteristics of the THP heavy-duty module with its PST SPMT. Cargo is transported on a THP combination with ADDrive axles. On arrival, the tractor is uncoupled and the trailer is operated as an SPMT to move the cargo into position. Solution reduces logistics complexity and transport costs.

NOTES Tractor Axle Line Trailer Axle Line Tractor/Trailer Swept Area

ALLELYS APPLIES SWEPT PATH MODELLING FOR TIGHT TRANSPORT To calculate precise clearances on the route through a nature park, for a 200MT Alstom-GE quad booster, Allelys engineers turned to Goldhofer’s Swept Path Analysis software. The computerized modelling program calculates the path taken by each wheel during the turn and the space needed by the vehicle body during the turn. The project was almost three years in the planning, and one of the keys to Allelys success was the use of engineering software and technology in the critical pre-works engineering.

Girder Frame Swept Area

APPROX. 10m FENCE TO BE REMOVED

HEDGE AND TREES TO BE TRIMMED BACK TO FENCE LINE FROM PUBLIC ROAD TO BRICK WALL

PC10 OR 1

HEDGE AND TREES TO BE TRIMMED BACK TO FENCE LINE FROM PUBLIC ROAD TO BRICK WALL

SEPARAT

OR10

PC4

SEPARAT

PC1

Drainage Channel

PC11 Drainage Channel

1.0m

PC14

ALL SIGNS AND PHONE TO BE REMOVED TO ALLOW CLEAR PASSAGE UPTO FENCE

PC3

PC2

GATE & POST TO BE REMOVED UPTO BRICK PILLAR

SEPARAT

SKIP HARDSTANDING AREA. NOTE ONE SKIP IS FOR DISPOSAL OF OILY RAGS

ALL ITEMS TO BE REMOVED FROM INSIDE OF TURN

0.8m

Ø150

PC5

PC15

GATES TO BE OPENED TO FULL WIDTH END OFFICE CABIN TO BE REMOVED

GATE & POST TO BE REMOVED UPTO BRICK PILLAR

OR 3

SEPARAT

OR 2

DIRECTION OF TRAVEL

0

19/04/13

Issued for comment.

DIRECTION OF TRAVEL

LOCATION ON SITE

Rev.

Date

Ammendments Revisions

Allelys

Heavy Haulage

The Slough, Studley, Warwickshire, B80 7EN

Tel: 01527 857621 Fax: 01527 857623 e-mail: enquiries@allelys.co.uk

This drawing has been produced by Allelys Limited in accordance with the instructions of the client for their sole and specific use.

Client:

Client

Allelys shall not be liable for the use of any information contained on this drawing for any purpose other than that for which it was specifically prepared and provided. Should there be any doubt regarding the interpretation of any information given on this drawing, enquiries should be directed to Allelys at the address given below before executing such part of the works.

Project:

Title

Scale (A3):

318Te Transformer 20Axle LGF Trailer Tracking

Project

Copyright © Allelys Ltd.

EU14  BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW  www.breakbulk.com/bbeu2017

Clockwise

Drawn by:

DNS Drawing status:

PRELIMINARY

Dwg. No:

Checked by:

MJS Sheet:

N/A

1 OF 1

DJA Rev:

O

ISSUE 1 / 2017


S LEAD INNOVATION

DEOS IN THE TECHZONE]

INTERMARINE UNIFIES OPERATIONS WITH PROPRIETARY PLATFORM iSHIPS At Industrial Terminals, Intermarine’s technical, traffic and operations teams converge around the iShips platform to coordinate weekly services in and out of Houston. iShips integrates operations, chartering, sales, documentation and traffic functions. HÖEGH NEW HORIZON DESIGNED TO MINIMISE IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT Optimal hull and rudder design reduces drag, which in turn lowers energy consumption. Its main engine has NOx-monitoring and an online engine performance system. During a sea voyage, the auxiliary engines can be turned off, when the most efficiently produced electricity comes from the shaft generator. COLLETT DEVELOPS 3D SWEPT PATH ANALYSIS Using the expertise in their Consulting Division Collett & Sons Ltd now offers 3D Swept Path Analysis to accurately create transportation simulations. The software, built in-house using the latest AutoCAD, allows Collett to accurately identify height limitations, predictably evaluate vehicle movements and give an accurate representation of a vehicle and load’s movement throughout any chosen transport route. DEUGRO EMPLOYS CAD-BASED 3D SIMULATION FOR YAMAL LNG PROJECT The biggest item that deugro moved for the Yamal project was an 860-ton heavy heater module measuring approximately 39 x 18 x 35 meters. The 3D simulation showed the client exactly how this cargo could be transported, the risks involved with each option and—most importantly—allowed the team to immediately rule out any impractical solutions. BIGLIFT OVERCOMES TRANSPORT BARRIER WITH STEEL CONSTRUCTION STS container cranes are not designed to be transported by sea. To withstand the accelerations and forces of the sea voyage, BigLift collaborated with Altius to construct supports using 80MT of additional steel for the cranes. MARTIN BENCHER ROLLS OUT NEW CARGO SERVICE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM In 25 offices in 19 countries, new online system provides clients with a global platform to offer the best possible performance overall. Martin Bencher sees technology and innovation as the cornerstones to finding new ways to develop business and secure a lean project management process.

www.breakbulk.com/bbeu2017  BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW  EU15


NETWORKING

20 WAYS WA

TO NETWORK AT BREAKBULK EUROPE The Antwerp Expo will be filled hall-to-hall and wall-to-wall with more than 9000 participants expected at this year’s event. To boost your networking power, we’ve gathered 20 tips to help you meet the people you want and make the most of your three days at Breakbulk Europe 2017.

1

MAKE A PLAN

“Prepare a list of the top 20-25 people and/or companies you really want to meet with at Breakbulk Europe. Once you have prepared the list, prioritize it in descending order from “most important” to “least important” customer/ company to see. Starting 10 days before the event, schedule meetings to take place at the event or outside the event (lunches, dinners, etc.) with your top 15 “must-see” customers, carriers, sub-contractors, etc. If you are able to have meaningful meetings with 15 - 20 of your top targeted customers attending the conference, over a 2 - 3 day period, in my opinion, you should consider it a successful conference.” Steve Drugan, Sr. VP - Sales & Business Development, deugro

2

Arrive early to the Welcome Reception to mingle with Port of Antwerp officials and others.

3

Introduce yourself to speakers after a conference sessionhave your business cards ready.

4

Use the new Breakbulk MEET app to schedule meetings ahead of the event. (More info on page 12) Attend a microseminar where the groups are smaller and the session is an easy conversation starter.

5

6

Drop by Breakbulk Studios in Hall 3 to see who’s on camera. Introduce yourself! (Speakers arrive about 10 minutes after the end of their sessions.

EU16  BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW  www.breakbulk.com/bbeu2017

TARGET BY GEOGRAPHY “My system is to review my upcoming projects at a geographical level then search out people who I think can help me in those territories.

7

AP’s current customs broker in India came into the fold exactly that way a few years ago. I knew I had a project coming up, saw them on the exhibitor list, went looking for them, and we’ve been doing business ever since. Same with some Turkish sea/river ship operators I met a few years ago who then supported a project in southern Russia. Apart from those targeted meetings I also stop by stands of people I have never heard of just out of curiosity.” Tony Ball, Shipping Manager, Air Products

8

Wear your name badge to and from the event, during the event and at offsite gatherings to make it easier for others to say hello and see who you represent.

9

Coffee and conversation is always a great combination. Take a break in our Coffee Bar in Hall 1.

10

Look for Breakbulk Europe attendees on the tram heading to the Antwerp Expo and strike up a conversation.

11

Take it outside! Use the new covered walkway through the parking lot and stop at Food Truck Alley. Meet someone new over lunch! ISSUE 1 / 2017


12

SEND YOUR REQUIREMENTS IN ADVANCE

“Contact the exhibitor and try to make an appointment to ensure the right persons are there as needed. Send the exhibitor your requirements in advance so they can be prepared.” Henrik Alsing, General Manager Logistics, Procurement Denmark, FLSmidth

DON’T BE SHY

13

“We have occasionally experienced customers that appeared to be too “shy” to just enter our booth; in particular when we were busy and they did not have a known contact. Gerhard Janssen, Director Global Sales + Marketing Rickmers-Linie

14

LAST MINUTE MEETING REMINDERS

“Make sure that you remind the people you’ve booked meetings with at the event because at such events everyone is always caught off guard by someone randomly walking up. Since many of the best serendipitous meetings are had in such a way, it is easy for visitors to get caught up in interesting, yet unplanned conversations. Thus, you will have to remind them else you will be wasting your time waiting for them.”

WHEN IT’S OK TO USE A TEMPLATE “Have a ‘good to meet you’ follow up template ready for the event. I know that emails should be genuine but after a good exhibition where you might have one hundred cards or more you will at least get your first follow-up out. After that, scrap the template for a genuine conversation.

15

Gary Dale Cearley, Executive Director, XLProjects Network

16

Head over to the TechZone in Hall 3 to vote for your favorite photo and video in the Wonders of Technology contest. Make it a joint decision by asking other voters who they are voting for. Thirsty? There’s no better place for conversation than the Breakbulk Bar located in Hall 3.

18

17

Take five minutes between meetings. Allow yourself time to reflect on the meeting and make any final notes for follow-up before starting the next one. Adopt the right mindset for your meetings. Don’t go in with a selling mindset, but rather with one of relationship building.

DO IT THE OLD FASHIONED WAY

19

20

“I like to network the old fashioned way: Talk to people over the phone and meet them in person. Everybody is relying too much on computers these days, using LinkedIn and email. People’s personalities can’t always come through on a screen. Face-to-face is the way to do it and that’s what Breakbulk is all about.” Simon Homer Sales and Marketing Manager – UK & Europe Allelys Group

CELEBRATING 30 YEARS The Heavy Lift Group was founded in 1987 by a number of West European heavy lift operators in anticipation of the single European market and has since then expanded into a worldwide group having members in North and South America, Asia, Middle East, Africa, CIS and Europe. With the united know how, skills, experience and equipment of its membership THLG can cover any movement or transport requirement from a single domestic job to the largest international multi-modal project with excellent quality at realistic prices. All of the members are vetted through the application process. In doing this we can say with confidence that the members are strong and have the capability to perform and provide services without fail. Members can: • Use the THLG website for distribution of news and promotion of their company. • Discuss issues of interest to them in the “members only” section of the site. • Meet at conferences held twice a year (spring and autumn) around the world in member locations. • Elect an Executive Committee who handles the Group’s business matters. The group has attended Breakbulk Europe in some form since the exhibition started. Today, THLG has one of the largest areas within the event. We also have members with their own stands surrounding the main THLG exhibit. The group’s DNA is diverse and contains long time professionals in the shipping, forwarding and equipment industries.

The Heavy Lift Group 60th Conference Antwerp 21 April, 2017 For more information, visit https://www. theheavyliftgroup.com www.breakbulk.com/bbeu2017  BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW  EU17


WORKSHOPS & CONFERENCE AGENDA MONDAY, 24 APRIL 2017

TUESDAY, 25 APRIL 2017 (CONTINUED)

WORKSHOP 08:30 – 17:00 HEAVY-LIFT TECHNICAL WORKSHOP: LAND & BARGE TRANSPORT For engineers and other operations specialist involved in the movement of project cargo by land and barge. Dirk Verwimp, EPCM Adviser, Oceania, SARENS GROUP

10:40 – 15:40 CONFERENCE SESSIONS

WORKSHOP 08:30 – 17:00 PROJECT FREIGHT MANAGEMENT: THE SHIPPERS’ PERSPECTIVE For EPCs, cargo owners and project forwarders, this one-day course will cover the keys to managing major projects. Peter Bouwhuis, Managing Director, iBRABBLE WORKSHOP 08:30 – 17:00 PPG CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT IN PROJECT CARGO FORWARDING DAY 1 ISO accredited, this two-day workshop is for project forwarders seeking to fast track skills and knowledge. » Rodger Hall, F​ ounder of SUN COMMUNICATIONS » Kevin Stephens, ​Founder of 3PL heavy-lift network PROJECT PROFESSIONALS GROUP NETWORKING 17:00 – 20:00 OPENING WELCOME RECEPTION On the exhibition floor for shippers, exhibitors and delegates. NETWORKING 21:00 – 24:00 PORTS AMERICA HAPPY HOUR Café “Den Engel” Sponsored by

TUESDAY, 25 APRIL 2017 WORKSHOP 08:30 – 17:00 HEAVY-LIFT TECHNICAL WORKSHOP: OCEAN TRANSPORT For engineers and other operations specialists responsible for moving project cargo by sea. Loading plans, lashing, crane simulations and more will be covered in this comprehensive course. Cornelis “Cees” Coppens, Heavy-lift Ocean Transport Lecturer & Consultant WORKSHOP 08:30 – 17:00 PPG CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT IN PROJECT CARGO FORWARDING DAY 2 NETWORKING 10:00 – 10:45 MEETUP EUROPE Special gathering for shippers and first-time Breakbulk Europe exhibitors and delegates. VIP registration and guided tour. Leslie Meredith, Marketing Director, BREAKBULK EVENTS & MEDIA

EU18  BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW  www.breakbulk.com/bbeu2017

CONFERENCE SESSION 10:40– 11:00 WELCOMING REMARKS Port of Antwerp and Government Officials Janet Nodar, Content Director, BREAKBULK EVENTS & MEDIA KEYNOTE 11:00 – 11:30 BREXIT, TRUMP AND TRADE: FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS BUMPY RIDE AHEAD How will Brexit, rising populist sentiment in Europe and Trumpian nationalism affect the global project logistics industry? Can pro-business sentiment outshine anti-trade bluster? Our expert, who regularly advises states, energy companies and international institutions on dispute resolution, high-level strategy and international law, will share her insights. Ana Stanič, Founder and Director, E&A LAW MICRO-SEMINAR 11:30 – 13:00 FOCUS ON OPERATIONS Whether packing onshore or lashing and stowing aboard, good procedures are essential. Make sure cargo arrives safely. Learn the key elements of these processes, and the consequences of deviation, from the perspectives of a shipper, freight forwarder, ocean carrier and marine surveyor. CONFERENCE SESSION 11:40 – 12:30 SULPHUR SHOCK: COUNTDOWN TO 2020 Ocean carriers, and their customers, must brace for a looming and potentially massive cost shock. As of 2020, IMO regulations will require that sulphur limit in the heavy fuel oils used as bunker fuel worldwide be reduced from 3.5 percent to no more than .5 percent. This expensive change will reverberate across an already distressed global shipping industry. How will it be met, and how will it be enforced? Moderator: Roger Strevens, VP and Global Head of Key Accounts, WALLENIUS WILHELMSEN LOGISTICS Robin Meech, Managing Director, MARINE AND ENERGY CONSULTING

12:30 – 14:00 NETWORKING BREAK CONFERENCE SESSION 14:00 – 14:30 HL/MPV FLEET BEAT: THE LATEST FLEET ANALYSIS The multipurpose market may see some signs of recovery by year’s end, as oversupply finally seems to be leveling out. However, competition from bulkers and container vessels will continue to hold rates down until their own sectors improve. Susan Oatway, Senior Consultant, DREWRY MARITIME

SIGN UP FOR EVENT ALERTS ISSUE 1 / 2017


EVENT ESSENTIALS

TUESDAY, 25 APRIL 2017 (CONTINUED)

WEDNESDAY, 26 APRIL 2017 (CONTINUED)

CONFERENCE SESSION 14:40 – 15:30 THE INTERNET OF BREAKBULK THINGS: WHEN CARGO TALKS How will the traditional, perhaps even stodgy, world of breakbulk, project and ro-ro cargo join the ‘internet of things’? One global OEM, Caterpillar, is moving ahead rapidly in this quest, as the company experiments with proactively tracking goods during ocean-based moves using cutting-edge technology. Dieter Degryse, General Manager - Transportation Operations EAME, CATERPILLAR Tom France, Director, Global Transportation, CATERPILLAR 15:30 – 15:40 CLOSING REMARKS John Amos, Programme Adviser, BREAKBULK EVENTS & MEDIA

Part II: Port and Terminal Facilities Modern information technology is an effective resource management tool for breakbulk facilities. Let us show you how it’s done. Maria Skrivitskaya, Marketing Specialist, SOLVO LLC

WEDNESDAY, 26 APRIL 2017 11:00 – 15:00 CONFERENCE SESSIONS 11:00 – 11:10 OPENING REMARKS Janet Nodar, Content Director, BREAKBULK EVENTS & MEDIA KEYNOTE 11:10 – 11:40 CAPITAL PROJECTS OUTLOOK: PROJECT PIPELINE & TRENDS Volatile oil and commodity prices and geopolitical turmoil have strongly suppressed capital investment, causing painful aftershocks throughout the project transport industry supply chain. What can the project industry look forward to in 2017 and beyond? Capital projects expert Allison Aschman will provide a quantitative outlook for capital investment over the next few years, by global region and industrial sector. The presentation will also address the important role that procurement and logistics play in capital project success. Allison Aschman, Director of Capital Solutions, INDEPENDENT PROJECT ANALYSIS

CONFERENCE SESSION 11:50 – 12:30 STRATEGIC SUPPLY CHAIN

12:30 – 14:00 NETWORKING BREAK 14:00 – 14:50 CONFERENCE SESSION HANDLING CHARTERING RISK IN A VOLATILE MARKET What is the new normal for assessing risk when moving breakbulk and project cargo? Vessel owners, forwarders and cargo owners must grasp key liabilities and strategies for mitigating risk, even as the global fleet deals with new pressures in a lean market. Moderator: Peter Svensson, Senior Vice President, Head of CLIPPER AMERICAS INC. Robert Drew, Global Logistics Manager, TATA INTERNATIONAL Susan Oatway, Senior Consultant, DREWRY MARITIME 14:50 – 15:00 CLOSING REMARKS John Amos, Programme Adviser, BREAKBULK EVENTS & MEDIA

MICRO-SEMINAR 11:30 – 13:00 BREAKBULK TECHNOLOGY BREAKTHROUGHS New technology done right leads to new efficiencies. Our experts provide insight into the effects of new technologies on two key project industry segments.

Part I: Project Logistics Management Use the right processes, and the right technological tools, for the modern project logistics industry. Email and spreadsheets are the past: the future of logistics lies beyond these oldfashioned methods. Peter Bouwhuis, President and CEO, XELLZ

www.breakbulk.com/bbeu2017  BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW  EU19


EVENT ESSENTIALS

EXHIBITOR LIST 3T A.Henriksen-Shipping AAL AARAS Shipping Line ABA ABB Asia Breakbulk Singapore ACC Logistics Access World ACL Aertssen Agility Ahlers ALE All Seas Tunisia Allelys Group Almajdouie AMA Laser Amasus Shipping Aneka Antonov Airlines APDL APM Aqua-Dragon International Logistics Limited Arijus UAB Ark Shipping Assan Port & Assan Lojistik Associated British Ports AsstrA Associated Traffic Atlantic RoRo Carriers AtoB@C Shipping Bahri Baltkonta Barnhart Crane & Rigging Basque Country Logistics Bati Group of Shipping Company BBC Chartering Bedmet Benchmark Bertling Group BigMove Blue Water Shipping BNSF Logistics BOCS Boeckmans Bolk Transport Bolloré Logistics Breadbox Shipping Lines BreakBulk Services Bremenports Bristol Ports Broekman Logistics Burger Liner Group C. Steinweg Cargo-Levant Schiffahrts-gesellschaft Cargow Caribbean Line Carl Polzin

B

601H2 414H3 713H4 417H3 213H3 333H4 137H3 220H1 101H1 120H4 408H2 316H4 736H4 628H2 906H4 131H4 105H3 512H3 904H4 211H1 126H2 124H3 405H3 209H2 115H2 625H2 610H1 523H2 923H4 514H3 228H1 416H2 113H1 336H4 217H2 706H4 201H2 212Н2 909H4 124H1 531H1 903H4 1014H4 133H4 219H4 722H4 314H4 516H3 912H4 528H2 121H4 108H1 1002H4 536H4 410H2 428H2 823H4

Ceekay Shippping Services Central Oceans CERTEX Peter Harbo Chandler GmbH Chapman Freeborn Airchartering Charterama Chipolbrok CMA CGM CNAN Collett Comark d.o.o. Cometto Conceptum Logistics GmbH Conti-Lines (Conti-7) CORE Industrial Logistics Services COSCO Shipping CTS ITALY- Heavy Transport & Lifting Dako Worldwide Transport Damen Shipyards Danir 19 De Keyser Thornton Group Dealex APS Denholm Wilhelmsen deugro DFDS Dr. Shrink Dunkerque Port Eastern Shipping Edwards Moving & Rigging Egypt Trade Maritime Services (E.T.M.S) Egyptian International Shipping Agencies & Services -EISAS EGYTRANS Ekin Heavy & Project Cargo Elebia Empros Lines EMS Chartering Enerpac Eukor Car Carriers EuroAfrica Services Euroports Expeditors International Express Global Logistics Fagioli Faymonville FedNav Belgium Felbermayr Transport- und Hebetechnik FESCO FILOG Finnlines Flinter Shipping B.V FLOGIS International Corp Forth Ports Ltd. FRACHT Group France Cargo International FREJA Friderici Special FTE - Logistics GAC GEODIS Global Projects & Heavy Lift

D

EU20  BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW  www.breakbulk.com/bbeu2017

831H3 114H4 208H3 1029H4 605H3 626H2 515H4 228H2 115H3 602H1 407H3 224H3 302H2 306H4 223H3 506H4 426H4 421H1 430H3 317H4 127H1 629H1 619H2 804H4 230H3 1040H4 331H4 309H2 606H2 423H3 123H3 1028H4 623H1 418H3 1037H4 127H2 531H3 1018H4 316H4 731H4 208H1 727H4 413H2 518H4 315H4 429H1 412H3 815H3 101H1 428H4 509H2 113H3 310H2 624H1 420H3 622H1 137H4 931H4 423H1 227H3

Globalink Logistics Group GMB MLS GN Gurkan Nakliyat International Heavy Transportation Goldhofer Aktiengesellschaft GP Shipping GPLN Limited Grand Port Maritime de Bordeaux Grieg Star Grimaldi Group Hacklin Oy Hafen Hamburg HANSA HEAVY LIFT GmbH Hanssy Hapag-Lloyd AG Hareket Heavy Lifting & Project Transportation Hartel Shipping Hecksher Henry Abram & Sons Herfurth Group HLI HMT Höegh Autoliners Holleman Special Transport & Project Cargo S.R.L. Holmatro Houcon Hugo Stinnes Schiffahrt Hyundai Heavy Industries Europe i3-Distribution Ikonship Ilya Shipping Ltd. IMS Shipping Instar Project Logistics Intermarine International Lashing Systems International Shipping Agencies Intris Ipsen Logistics Itasba Consortium Ivens J M Baxi Group JAS Projects – Oil & Gas Katoen Natie Terminals Keen Mark Group Keystone Logistics Klaipeda Container Terminal Kuehne + Nagel Lantenhammer LASO Transportes LC Volgo-Baltic Logistic Legioblock Liburnia Maritime Licvem Shipping Liebherr-MCCtec Rostock - Liebherr-Werk Nenzing Lift and Shift Ligurian Ports Alliance - Italy Longship LPL Projects & Logistics LS International Cargo Lyon Terminal

H

L

116H1 719H4 613H2 729H4 129H1 300H4 831H4 328H4 101H1 1024H4 512H4 733H4 726H4 401H2 131H2 417H1 414H2 516H2 719H4 107H2 818H4 205H1 135H4 425H4 121H1 215H4 221H3 821H3 220H4 102H2 910H4 208H2 716H4 1023H4 115H3 524H3 112H1 830H4 124H4 120H3 934H4 105H1 431H3 317H1 513H3 430H1 131H1 607H1 623H2 509H3 527H4 107H1 200H1 521H3 419H2 410H2 832H4 534H4 525H4

ISSUE 1 / 2017


MACS Maersk Line MAG Magdenli Transport Mammoet Mann Lines Limited Marsh Marine Belux Martin Bencher Group Maxx Arabia MBM Consultancy Meriaura Ltd Mersin International Port (MIP) Mexx Global Misje Rederi MLB Manfred Lauter Jung Befrachtung Modul Mol (Europe) Montrose Port Authority MSC Mukran Port Multiport Ship Agencies Network Mund + Bruns Nanjing Pangu Rigging Nantes Saint Nazaire Port Navingo Neal Brothers NEK Group Neptune Lines Shipping NHS NileDutch Nirint Shipping BV NMT Projects International NMT Shipping Nordic IT Normed Nortrop Novaedes International NS Trans NYK Group Europe - RORO Division OceanTeam Solutions Onego Shipping & Chartering Overseas Project Cargo Association Ox Worldwide Oy Blomberg Stevedoring Oy M. Rauanheimo PD Ports Peel Ports Perez Torres Maritima Peter - Star Sp. z o.o. i Sp.-Sp.K. Plant Speed Limited Polytra Port Atlantique La Rochelle Port de Sete Port of Algeciras Port of Amsterdam Port of Antwerp Port of Constantza Port of Duqm Port of Ghent Port of Gothenburg Port of Halifax Port of Haminakotka Port of Marseille FOS

N

P

1011H4 600H4 231H1 606H1 928H4 231H3 209H3 109H2 134H1 828H4 301H2 229H2 117H1 119H1 520H4 133H3 411H2 118H3 431H2 409H3 113H4 930H4 104H3 831H4 324H3 130H1 118AH1 210H2 320H4 326H4 621H1 406H2 531H4 209H1 528H4 118H2 601H1 112H2 500H4 422H2 413H1 807H3 518H3 119H2 119H2 1006H4 135H3 118H1 322H2 618H2 1030H4 533H4 631H1 223H1 218H4 402H1 621H3 114H2 408H1 600H2 618H3 120H1 418H4

Port of Monfalcone Port of Oulu Port of Pori Port of Port-La-Nouvelle Port of Rotterdam Port of San Diego Port of Sunderland Port of Tyne Port of Venice-Venice Port Authority Port of Virginia Port of Zeebrugge Port Paldiski Ports Haropa Ports of Normandy Authority Ports of Spain Project Logistics- Gold Star Consulting Project Partners Protranser International Logistics PWL Pyramid Quick Qingdao Yuedasite Rigging Quality Cargo Networks Rad/Comm Europe Ravestein Red Hook Terminals Rhenus Rhenus Logistics Alsace Rhine Europe Terminals Rickmers-Linie RiverSea Management Roll-It Royal Wagenborg Group RTL Rubb Buildings Safe-Trans China Safecargo Limited Safiport Derince Saga Welco Sahil Freight SAL Heavy Lift Santini Export Packing Corporation Sarjak Container Lines Schmidbauer Schulte & Bruns Seacom Seaports of Niedersachsen Seatrade Shanghai PortStar Rigging Shanghai Shineway Int’l Forwarder Shanghai Victory Shipping Shenzhen Huayuan International Logistics Logistics ShipNEXT Shipping-dk Silvasti Oy Silverburn Shipping Sloman Neptun SNS International Transport Solar Shipping Solvo Soreidom Sosersid Soyuztranslink

S

203H3 205H2 1024H4 103H2 310H4 813H3 225H2 527H3 110H1 202H2 822H4 413H3 236H1 524H1 223H1 329H2 112H4 109H3 235H4 132H3 416H3 123H1 523H3 620H2 205H3 522H4 525H4 525H4 202H1 122H2 120H4 103H4 211H3 226H3 409H2 429H3 614H3 728 H4 613H1 710H4 207H3 420H1 426H1 213H2 427H3 916H4 219H2 106H2 101H2 405H2 526H4 313H4 301H4 629H4 632H1 810H4 129H4 503H4 417H2 428H2 316H2 216H1

Spliethoff Group (Spliethoff & BigLift) St. Lawrence Seaway- Hwy H2O Stalenrijplaten Steder Group Stena Line Freight Steveco Oy Strang Systems Suvari Shipping & Trading Swire Shipping TAG -SPEZIALTRANSPORTE & PROJEKTLOGISTIK Tallship Tehran Rahvar Int’l Freight Forwarders Ter Haak Group Terex Port Solutions TGS The Heavy Lift Group (THLG) Time World Freight Titan Cargo Titan Containers TLSC UAB Tork Industrial Logistics Solutions TRANSANNABERG Wiesiollek J.M. Sp. Jawna TransInterService Frankfurt Tranvast Holding Tuscor Lloyds UglyCargo Ultrabulk MPP Services Ultrabulk Steel Uniatlantico Navegacao United Heavy Lift Universal Africa Lines Universal Forwarder LLC Universal Transport Michels UTC Overseas Van Ameyde Marine Van der Vlist Transport Group Verbrugge Terneuzen Terminals Vertom Shipping & Trading Vertraco Shipping Viktor Baumann Volans Logistics Volga-Dnepr Group Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics Abnormal Load Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics WCA Projects WECO RORO Wijngaard Natie Wilh Loesch India Wilson Eurocarriers World Wide Shippingagencies Association (WWSA) XLProjects Yangtze Navigation (Singapore) Zeeland Seaports ZTE.PL Zuidnatie Breakbulk Zwatra Transport

T

W

323H4 919H4 132H1 1016H4 603H2 120H1 635H1 522H2 728AH4 102H4 216H2 421H3 422H1 1004H4 800H4 214H1 130H4 302H4 222H2 134H3 114H1 807H4 922H4 104H2 403H4 628H4 1013H4 1013H4 335H4 103AH4 818H4 918Н4 214H3 214H2 424H3 925H4 217H1 331H1 432H1 412H2 226H2 630H3 1020H4 703H4 124H2 409H4 1035H4 507H3 625H1 427H4 403H2 1031H4 411H1 617H2 303H4 627H4

www.breakbulk.com/bbeu2017  BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW  EU21


EVENT ESSENTIALS EXHIBITOR PERSPECTIVE “I know that some people think that it is better to walk around because you can see all stands, and if you are manning a stand you might not get such an opportunity. Maybe so, but the odds are in your favor if you actually take a stand. I get three to five times more cards when manning a stand than when walking around. The math is simple. More people are going to pass your stand than there are stands on the floor. Plus, people who really want to see you will make sure to come to your stand, so your leads are even hotter.” Gary Dale Cearley, Executive Director, XLProjects Network

EU22  BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW  www.breakbulk.com/bbeu2017

ISSUE 1 / 2017


#BBEU2017 FLOOR PLAN

www.breakbulk.com/bbeu2017  BREAKBULK EUROPE PREVIEW  EU23


Industrial Solutions Feel the power

Lifting, pushing, pulling, lowering, weighing, tilting or horizontal movement; whatever direction your project moves in, we move with you. With Industrial Solutions we present you with a selection of results-oriented custom made high-pressure hydraulic solutions for industrial use. Challenge us! Allow us to inspire you and challenge us to come up with a solution for your specific problem. Contact our office or visit us at Breakbulk Europe, booth 302H2. We look forward to hearing from you!

Holmatro | Industrial equipment www.holmatro.com


regional review

CHINA’S COST CRISIS Ticking Time Bomb of Infrastructure Overruns BY JAYA PRAKASH

F

or all its hype, boasts, charm offensive in Africa, and even its taunts in the South China Sea, China could well be sitting on a ticking debt time bomb. Massive cost overruns in China’s infrastructure investment regime were recently highlighted by a scathing report from Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, which mocked China’s “choreographed” regime of mismanagement, ineptitude, audit lapses, shoddiness and a lack of oversight. “For over half of the infrastructure investments in China made in the last three decades, the costs are larger than the benefits they generate, which means the projects destroy economic value instead of generating it,” Atif

Ansar, program director of the MSc in Major Program Management at the business school, said in the study. The report analyzed 95 large Chinese road and rail transport projects, and 806 transport projects built in rich democracies. Ansar found an ally in the International Monetary Fund, which in October 2016 faulted Beijing for the tide of excessive corporate credit growth in recent years. The global financial body noted that, “investment efficiency [in China] has fallen and the financial performance of its [corporations] has deteriorated steadily, affecting asset quality in financial institutions.” At the core, there is little of the quality and transparency familiar to

ABOVE: In this 2015 file photo, a worker with China Railway Group Ltd. walks over rails being laid at a construction site of the Hami-Ejina Railway in Hami, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. / Credit: Imagine China/Newscom www.breakbulk.com  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  37


regional review

DEBT-TO-GDP (%) KEEPS RISING

2000 2007

Actual costs were on average 30.6 percent higher than estimated costs. 7 out of 10 roads went over budget.

Q2 2014 0

50

Corporate

100 Government

150

200 Financial

250

300 Household

9 out of 10 rail projects went over budget.

PROJECT OVERRUNS

75 percent of China’s transport projects suffered a cost overrun in constant local currency terms.

Source: Does Infrastructure Investment Lead to Economic Growth or Economic Fragility? Evidence from China, Atif Ansar, Bent Flyvbjerg, Alexander Budzier and Daniel Lunn, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, September 2016; Debt and (not Much) Deleveraging, McKinsey Global Institute, February 2015

the West governing the audit process in China. A large part of the infrastructure shortfall is in the large-scale subcontracting of work projects, said Zhao Hong of Singapore’s Institute of South East Asia Studies. “Quality is poor in some places because most works are subcontracted, if the projects are built by large companies,” he told Breakbulk. This can lead to a significant disconnect between planning, prioritization, implementation and the eventual realization of profits.

AUDIT TRAIL

There is also the question of oversight. There are no known reputable bodies willing to audit, give recommendations or grant consultations in the country before massive projects are undertaken. Additionally, there are no nationally recognized audit boards willing to recommend and regulate financial payouts for projects. Such deficiencies confirm the lack of administrative integrity, and this has cost China dearly. Estimates from the Saïd Business School say the cost overruns have set the nation back by some US$28 trillion – a figure that dwarfs the combined gross domestic product of the U.S., Japan and Germany. Entrenched cultural practices have influenced how businesses and huge commercial contracts are transacted in China today. The practice of “guanxi” – a system of patronage where large opaque networks of ethnically and commercially leaning guilds (often called clans in China) band together to undertake transactions on behalf of their brethren – still holds true. Guanxi also means working with people who will not take advantage of a person with whom they have guanxi, similar to the Western-style “old boys” network. The danger of corruption and mismanagement 38  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

is not just real in China, but is magnified by the lack of any credible rule of law and independence judicial mechanisms. “It may not be serious now,” Hong said, but “even as recently as five years ago, the system of patronage was largely responsible for shoddy work” seen today. Even after the stellar results of the last few decades, the World Bank still calculates that some 160 million Chinese are below the poverty line. All the same, China has to its credit identified some critical priority infrastructure areas such as urban transit, including subway, light rail, and bus rapid transit; and city pipe networks, including water supply, rainwater, fuel gas, heat supply, telecommunication, power grid, drainage and water-logging prevention, flood control and utility tunnels, among others, as highlighted by Zuo Kun, executive vice president of China Development Bank Capital, in a McKinsey & Co. report. But a larger issue has always been a reluctance to co-opt market private investment.

INTRA-REGIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

None of this bodes well for project cargo moves in the country, especially those that have found themselves victim of substandard workmanship. Then there is what China has in its sights – a further blow to the prospects of project cargo movers in China. In the words of a Communist Party official speaking on condition of anonymity, China’s future economic plans will hinge on government plans to cut infrastructure developments. China’s aim for now, he said, is to maintain a 6.6 percent GDP growth projection. The only reason for more infrastructure development over

the next five years is to consolidate intraregional developments. A key plank of China’s newly unveiled 13th five-year plan will be the introduction and promotion of innovation as a means of soaking up surplus capacity in the Chinese economy that resulted from the huge investments preceding the 2008 global financial crisis. Meanwhile, the thrust of the One Belt, One Road initiative over the next five years is primarily to redirect domestic capacity for regional infrastructure development to improve trade relations with ASEAN, Central Asian and European countries, according to the party official. One goal that has not changed is that of China’s central planners to eradicate poverty: China is the only country in history to have lifted some 700 million people out of poverty. In 1980, China was one of the poorest countries in the world; fast forward some 35 years and it has morphed into the second-largest economy with a US$11 trillion GDP. Under its autocratic system, a single party or leader sets the direction for the country, but beneath that veneer is enormous improvisation and creativity flowing through from local grassroots initiatives, according to Ang Yuen Yuen, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Michigan writing in an op-ed to Singapore’s widely distributing broadsheet, the Straits Times. But there is no sweeping the massive infrastructure cost overruns under the carpet. It is a dilemma that China must tackle and quickly, or risk it morphing into a much greater problem in the future, a problem that may crush international project cargo under the weight of it. BB Jaya Prakash is a Singapore-based journalist who can be reached at prakruby@hotmail.com. ISSUE 1 / 2017



logistics perspective

BY LORI MUSSER

RECOVERY MODE Running The Post-disaster Cargo Gauntlet

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he disaster has blown through, early damage and needs assessments are complete, and relief is flowing in via whatever transportation infrastructure remains. Government and humanitarian organizations are working on short-term recovery. Security, debris removal, temporary shelter and management of disaster assistance and donations dominate workloads. The world’s supply chains have geared up their contingency plans, and most of them will route around the devastation. Some logistics and transportation companies, those with assets within the swath of destruction, are activating recovery plans, securing personnel and assessing damage. Some supply chain colleagues are graciously triggering their humanitarian logistics efforts and will send help. And some in-touch

expeditors are already consulting with government agencies and EPCs for the eventual mobilization of cargo to rebuild failed infrastructure. Time and time again, catastrophes strike, but is the logistics industry making progress in providing timely, efficient service after disasters? Tragedies that ruin lives also wreck infrastructure, and can destroy cargo in transit or impede its mobility. They impel an influx of relief supplies, and eventually, project and other cargo for recovery. Technology advancements are addressing many post-disaster challenges to logistics, including communications, safety, security, documentation and assessments. Gary LaGrange, port director at New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, said there have been remarkable strides in the last decade. “In 2005, we were all still learning how to text, which at the time was our only consistent means of

In the wake of 2016’s Hurricane Matthew, which made landfall in the Caribbean and along the U.S. East Coast, aid cargo bound for Haiti is loaded onto a plane at London’s Gatwick Airport. As of Jan. 7, 2017, the United Nations’ World Food Programme reported 2.1 million people were affected in Haiti and 1.4 million still required humanitarian assistance. Credit: Rusell Watkins / DFID via Flickr 40  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

ISSUE 1 / 2017


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logistics perspective

The Port of New Orleans’ Esplanade Avenue Wharf, damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Credit: Port of New Orleans

communication. Even our military-grade satellite phones were useless,” he said. The task of timely, efficient logistics is one of the most important aspects of disaster relief and cargo and infrastructure recovery. Companies involved in this sector run cargo through an intimidating gauntlet of obstacles. Identifying recovery logistics and transportation challenges Gary LaGrange and answering with innovative solutions Port of New Orleans is an evolving skill and one that continues to be largely aided by experience, expertise, technology, team work and goodwill.

A LOGISTICS SPECIALTY

Humanitarian logistics is a complex but still budding specialty. Many global forwarders have designated for-profit humanitarian logistics divisions, but forwarders confirm that few are regularly active, due largely to the capricious nature of disasters. As a token of goodwill, many transportation infrastructure managers forgo 42  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

charges, fees and tolls in the lead up to and wake of a disaster. Port Everglades Port Director Steven Cernak said: “Port Everglades will routinely waive charges in emergency situations. It is the right thing to do.” Private transportation entities also respond broadly with donations and innovative efforts to address electrical outages, routing closures, government services failures, fuel and warehousing shortages, warehousing or other tribulations. Maersk, for example, in a bid to act faster and make informed decisions about sourcing and routing of relief items, has developed Cluster Response Preparedness Mapping, documenting measures for six disaster-prone countries to help identify the closest source port or transportation point, Maersk feeder, and/or alternative routing options to be used in case of disaster. Humanitarian agencies are supported by the private sector through logistics emergency teams, or LET. Three of the largest global logistics and transportation companies – Agility, UPS and Maersk – have been working together since 2005 to support the Logistics Cluster led by the United Nations’ World Food Programme, or WFP, and elevate its efficiency and effectiveness.

They provide pro bono support and deployment for the humanitarian sector during emergency response to large-scale natural disasters. In Haiti, for example, LET has deployed logistics expertise, staff and in-kind services during largescale natural disasters, including ocean freight and airlift, customs clearance support, warehousing, and other assets such as trucks, refrigerated containers and forklifts. Yet, the diversity of disasters and the sheer mass of organizations and individuals involved – from victims to aid organizations, and from governments to private sector communications or logistics groups – can be overwhelming, and will continue to jeopardize effective and timely logistical response. The U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs confirms that the U.N. offers consultative status to almost 4,000 non-governmental organizations alone. Additionally, the flow of money, whether from aid dollars, insurance proceeds or government and private coffers, can be sporadic and slow to appear. Fortunately, the resulting high employee turnover rates, fragmented processes and lack of institutional learning at humanitarian logistics entities, is now recognized and being addressed, according to Anisya Thomas, past managing director of the San-Francisco-based Fritz Institute for humanitarian logistics. The relief work followed by recovery work can overburden every supply chain participant still standing. Closed banks and offices, safety and security breaches, impassable rail and roadways, silted channels, electrical and chemical hazards – LaGrange said transportation entities must be prepared for the worst case. Disasters follow no rules, but one of the few fortunate commonalities across the continuum of disasters is that transportation capacity does build as time passes. ISSUE 1 / 2017


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logistics perspective

HAITI’S PLIGHT

When conditions change dynamically,

of in-country supply routes can be critical. Luk Van Wassenhove, director of the Humanitarian Research Group in Fontainebleau at the business school INSEAD, said private logistics companies must Luk Van consider numerWassenhove ous factors when Humanitarian Research managing the Group delivery of materials to rebuild roads, bridges, plants and other important infrastructure. But those factors all boil down to having a good understanding of the local context and remaining flexible. “Since the infrastructure has been at least partially destroyed, security may be a concern, and social structures may be weakened. Local context understanding comes with having operations and experience in the country and being close to local partners who know the communities and can appreciate the situation,” he said. “Flexibility is necessary since access may be difficult and therefore being able to switch between transportation assets is useful. Similarly, when conditions change dynamically, the skill to be flexible in finding alternative solutions is essential. Call it agility if you like.”

the skill to be flexible in finding alternative

COPING AFTER KATRINA

In the weeks following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, humanitarian agencies came under fire for slow response. But even before the earthquake, the povertystricken nation’s roads, airports and ports were compromised from previous disasters. The new damage, plus a government in ruins, limited the relief effort and led Red Cross FACT coordinator Steve McAndrew to say: “There’s a limit where you just can’t go any faster.” The situation deteriorated yet again when Hurricane Matthew made landfall on Oct. 4, 2016. As of Jan. 7, 2017, the WFP reported 2.1 million people were affected in Haiti and 1.4 million still required humanitarian assistance. Under WFP, the Logistics Working Group continues to transport and store relief items, using cargo helicopters, a fixed-wing passenger aircraft, road transport managed through a WFP fleet of 4x4 cargo trucks, and a WFP-chartered vessel, Princess Sam, moving cargo between Portau-Prince and the heavily damaged Anse d’Hainault. After initial relief efforts, the need for warehousing, cranes, vehicles and equipment, and a wide variety of other containerized, breakbulk, roll-on, roll-off and over-dimensional cargo, can be urgent.

Security Global Business Unit, and has worked for Bechtel for almost 33 years. He is widely recognized for his geo-technical expertise, having been elected as a Bechtel Fellow, an ASCE Fellow and an ASTM Fellow, among other honors. Bell’s career spans projects and assignments on six continents. His projects have faced their share of natural disasters, political upheaval and other landmark events. He approaches disaster preparedness and recovery with measured thought and teamwork. Bell said Bechtel teams take pride in anticipating worst-case situations and putting precautions in place beforehand: “We always plan for these things.” In its work licensing new nuclear plants, for example, “Every plant is designed for an extraordinary natural disaster.” The preplanning is meticulous.

MULTITUDE OF CHALLENGES

Bell said a multitude of factors challenge project engineering and design, procurement, logistics and construction in disaster zones. One of the first things projects often require is a “construction jetty” located as close to final site as possible. “Large pieces of equipment which are fabricated elsewhere must be moved in by ship,” said Bell. Once landed, the transfer to and around the project site can be difficult.

solutions is essential. Call it agility if you like. – Luk Van Wassenhove, Humanitarian Research Group

In Yemen, for example, the security situation has made the city of Aden hard to access by air and road. The WFP, as lead agency of the Logistics Cluster, said that with limited alternatives, it established its own vessel service, chartering the VoS Apollo in April 2016. As of December, the vessel had crossed between Djibouti and Yemen 60 times, transporting international aid representatives and cargo to Aden, including all the equipment needed to sustain and scale up the humanitarian response in the region. Kenneth Bell is technology manager for Bechtel’s Nuclear, Environmental and 44  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

Specifying those components can be a long process. “It starts from Day 1 for every one of our projects or it wouldn’t work in the end. The project team includes engineering, procurement, expediting, construction and others, with the common goal of delivering the project to the client on time and always accounting for the safety of our colleagues,” Bell said. Logistics is brought in early. “We have to know the logistical limitations before design of equipment and site facilities such as the construction jetty.” Following a disaster, detailed knowledge of the workings and idiosyncrasies

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused US$100 billion in damage from Florida to Texas. Because of widespread breaches in New Orleans’ hurricane surge protection, eventually 80 percent of that city and many neighboring areas were flooded. The Port of New Orleans sustained roughly US$160 million in damage and lost about 30 percent of its capacity, mostly at facilities along the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal. With flooding and wind damage, no people and no power, looting, a clogged channel, and even a warehouse full of rotting poultry, an uphill battle began. One section of the port, home to nine port facilities, was essentially cut off to deep-draft vessels. After the hurricane, LaGrange said, communication was an immediate ISSUE 1 / 2017


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logistics perspective

problem. Re-establishing communications took days and simply tracking down port staff took more than a week because the magnitude and breadth of the storm had scattered employees across the country. The port proceeded to secure, assess damage and troubleshoot. LaGrange said the media played an invaluable role sharing regular updates, about, for example, damaged and closed infrastructure. He recalls making as many as 40 to 50 phone calls in a day urging port customers not to divert cargo, which was a major concern. LaGrange said the port had to create new ways to do things in the weeks following Katrina. It worked with a skeleton staff since many were unable to return. Even after power was restored and the first ship returned, only 11 days after the hurricane, the on-shore cranes couldn’t be used because they had been without power so long they had to be recalibrated. So the port began using ships’ cranes, resurrecting disused processes and even retired equipment ... whatever was needed to get cargo moving again. Staff stepped into positions never before held, such as assigning housing and procuring necessities. Satellite offices were created. The U.S. Maritime Administration even set precedent by providing training vessels and ready-deployment

U.S. Air Force Airmen remove a pallet from the back of a C-130J in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Oct. 9, 2016 following Hurricane Matthew. Credit: Staff Sgt. Paul Labbe / U.S. Air Force via Flickr

vessels for housing. In quick order, executives and laborers were bunking together and building a special camaraderie that LaGrange says still exists today. An important challenge proved to be in collecting insurance proceeds. LaGrange said delays and paperwork were discouraging, at best. The port quickly learned the strategic importance of documentation of asset condition. It now, for example, incorporates video footage of every asset in its records as a best practice. The port’s project cargo increase in 2006, up 43 percent over 2005 to 5.8 million short tons, was related to the fact that: “Almost every plant or facility in the region suffered some degree of damage. I can recall looking out at night in the pitch dark, and every now and again you would see a flash of light in the distance – another natural gas pipeline explosion.” Fortunately for ports, water movement is the best mode of transport for the heavy equipment and project cargo needed after a disaster as weight limits can be problematic after rail and road damage. “I hope you never have to go through a disaster like Hurricane Katrina, but I also hope you will be ready if it comes,” LaGrange said. Every transportation asset manager should ask themselves if they have a true disaster recovery plan, not just a disaster preparedness plan, and if they have skills in sourcing funds to rebuild resources that are destroyed, he added. And, entities should combine forces to continuously push for a better transportation system that is less vulnerable to disruption.

CAUGHT IN THE MIDST

Hurricane Ike made landfall in the U.S. in September 2008. Its impact was particularly devastating in Cuba and Texas, where it remains the costliest storm on record. The Port of Galveston was hard hit. Then port director, Cernak said airports, bridges, roads, rail, channels – essentially all major transportation assets – were impacted. However, with lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, Gulf ports were definitely better prepared when Ike hit. Beyond safety, security, communication, the logistics of accommodating returning staff and the necessity of getting the city back to work (port employment is outsized on the small island), the port faced another quandary. It is situated within a crescent of competing ports along the Gulf Coast. Hard-won cargo could easily reroute to competitor ports. Cernak recalled the port’s robust wind energy business. “There were wind turbines in the port at the time. They suffered some damage, so there were insurance claims and the like to be dealt with. Thanks to a great deal of discussion, regular updates, reassurances and strong relationships, we were able to keep their business after the storm.” Capt. John Peterlin, senior executive at the Port of Galveston, added that many entities worked non-stop to reopen the port quickly, allowing Galveston to accommodate its first project cargo vessel with wind energy components 11 days after the disaster. The fact that transportation facilities are not always available after a disaster creates a conundrum. “When you really need the materials to rebuild, you’re not open to receive them,” said Cernak, adding that redundancy can provide resiliency in a transportation system. A final important lesson the port learned was that asset managers need emergency signing authority at unprecedented levels when disaster strikes, because it isn’t always possible to convene a board during a disaster. Based in the U.S., Lori Musser is a veteran shipping industry writer.

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TAKING CONTAINMENT TO EXTREMES In a heroic effort following the Gulf War, Bechtel and an international team capped 650 damaged or burning oil wells in Kuwait. During the first six months, Bechtel and its partners deployed a thousand engineering and construction professionals, 8,500 laborers and 200,000 tons of equipment. In a corporate case study the logistical task was called “the largest peacetime airlift since Berlin.” Bechtel mobilized a fleet of widebody jets that made 200 trips to Kuwait to deliver 9,000 orders of equipment and supplies, ranging from bulldozers and cranes to fire-resistant clothing. In history’s worst nuclear disaster, the Chernobyl incident of 1986, highly hazardous radioactivity on the site and

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across a broad geographical footprint was far more than a logistical challenge – it was the defining element of the ultimate containment. In November 2016, three decades after the meltdown, a Bechtel-led consortium announced the completion of the New Confinement Shelter, completely encapsulating the concrete sarcophagus built after the incident. Bechtel said that the arched shelter, pictured at right, is the largest movable structure on land – massive enough to cover the entire Cathedral of Notre Dame. Its base is wider than two football fields, it weighs in at 33,000 tons, and stands about 32 stories tall. It was built on skids adjacent to the damaged reactor and slid into place using

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Teflon® rails. The move was completed with more than 200 jacks pushing the arch along the rails and into place, about 30 inches at a time. Kenneth Bell, Bechtel technology manager, said that safety always comes first on any project: “At Chernobyl, it was a difficult situation because of high levels of radiation.” The project was engineered, expedited and constructed around a maximum number of hours of exposure per person per time frame. BB

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emerging markets

AFRICA’S SLEEPING GIANTS Dormant Infrastructure Projects Need Rousing BY KERRY DIMMER

48  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

W

ith Africa enjoying higher levels of investor confidence and some rapidly growing economies, a puzzling picture emerges: investment into infrastructure development appears to have slowed during 2016 by as much 14 percent, according to consultant Deloitte in its report Africa Construction Trends. J-P Labuschagne, Deloitte Africa’s Infrastructure and Capital Projects leader, and author of the report, explained that the drop from 301 to 286 infrastructure projects with a value of more than US$50 million can be attributed to several factors: repricing of economies, fluctuating exchange rates, and lower commodity prices, all of which

ISSUE 1 / 2017


directly impact on government revenue and therefore its ability to spend on large projects. “It is lower commodity prices that appears to have the most impact, easily indicated by the suspension of three large iron ore mines, two ports and an oil refinery. But there is a wider consequence in that construction and operations jobs are delayed and private sector confidence affected,” Labuschagne said. Aside from limiting project cargo potential, these are also important considerations because in pretty much all instances, infrastructure in Africa is motivated by the need to alleviate poverty; improve quality of life of all citizens; cope with rising urbanization and a growing middle class; and facilitate

intra-regional and global trade, and the movement of people/goods. History shows that the private sector has largely been responsible for delivering infrastructure in Africa. Mining and oil and gas sectors, for example, have funded their own investments, which has brought the added benefit of creating peripheral project infrastructure, such as link roads, and water, energy and health supplies for communities. Today, that scenario has changed somewhat. Governments are now looking to partner with the private sector, but as Labuschagne points out: “There is often a fair degree of mistrust between the two sectors and the legal mechanisms or structures required to fund and build infrastructure in terms of earning

a return or recovery of investment, can be difficult to put in place.” What also must be factored in is that US$93 billion per annum is required to meet Africa’s current infrastructure needs, and according to the World Bank and the African Development Bank, the financing gap is some US$31 billion. There are alternative financing opportunities, such as funds from donors, development finance institutions, or DFIs, and private equity firms. But ultimately, advises Labuschagne: “Governments need to be clear on their strategic plan, their role and willingness to engage with the private sector. This willingness must also be tempered with a realistic view of what drives investment decisions by the private sector.”

A construction train operating at a section of the MombasaNairobi Standard Gauge Railway near Tsavo East National Park in Voi, Kenya. The railway’s prime contractor is the China Road and Bridge Corp. (CRBC). Credit: Daniel Irungu/ EPA/Newscom

www.breakbulk.com  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  49


emerging markets

POCKETS OF GROWTH

So, who is funding the continent’s infrastructure projects? Labuschagne said that the split is governments, 28 percent; private domestic/local funders, 14 percent; international DFIs, 13 percent; Chinese investment, 12 percent; and African DFIs, 10 percent. “Government is by far the majority owner/developer at 73 percent, and while this is likely to continue, what is often frustrating for private sector investors is the slow turnaround time by most governments in taking a project from concept to feasibility, procurement and construction,” he said. It’s not all doom and gloom though for those keen to pick up project cargo business in Africa, as Paul Runge, points out. Runge is a director at Africa House, a 30-year old company that undertakes ongoing African research and provides intelligence on green- and brownfield projects, identifies markets and partners, develops export strategies and commercial feasibilities. He says that it’s difficult to regard the continent in terms of a decline in infrastructure foreign direct investment, or FDI, because there are pockets of good growth, West Africa being one such region. According to the Deloitte report, West Africa shows the highest number of projects at 92, with the most value at US$120 billion. Runge, however, highlights East Africa, for despite a drop in its number of infrastructure projects from 61 in 2015 to 43 in 2016, those that are to harness the oil and gas discoveries in the region are just beginning to gain momentum. “From my own analysis, 2017 is going to be a very interesting year, largely because there are going to be many final infrastructure investment decisions, actions and commitments taken, particularly regarding oil and gas projects. This will spill over into 2018 as well,” he said. One such project is the continued development of the Ruvuma Basin in southern Tanzania and northern Mozambique. “There is also somewhat of a boom going on in Kenya despite an economic downturn. Why Kenya is particularly notable,” said Runge “is that it is defined by a number of hotel, mixed 50  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

WHO OWNS VS WHO FUNDS African governments are the largest owner of African infrastructure projects.

Government Private Domestic UK South Africa US China France Nigeria UAE Other International DFIs African DFIs Brazil Nigeria Switzerland

OWNS FUNDS 73.1% 28.3% 11.5% 14.0% 2.1% 2.8% 1.7% 2.8% 1.7% 2.4% 1.4% 12.6% 1.4% 2.4% 1.0% 1.4% 1.0% N/A 4.9% 7.0% N/A 13.6% N/A 9.8% N/A 1.4% N/A 1.4% N/A 1.4%

PROJECT VALUE BY SECTOR Oil and gas projects ranked No. 1 in value in 2016. Transport ranked first for number of projects.

Oil & Gas

Mining

VALUE: $84.6* PROJECTS: 13

VALUE: $26.4 PROJECTS: 8

Transport

Water

VALUE: $62.8 PROJECTS: 96

VALUE: $4.3 PROJECTS: 11

Energy/Power

Healthcare

VALUE: $59.7 PROJECTS: 60

VALUE: $0.8 PROJECTS: 6

Real Estate

Education

VALUE: $53 PROJECTS: 64

VALUE: $0.4 PROJECTS: 2

Shipping/Ports

Social Development

VALUE: $31.4 PROJECTS: 24

VALUE: $0.4 PROJECTS: 2

*US$ billion / Source: Deloitte analysis, 2016

retail developments and industrial park projects that are also being planned, which in turn motivates for a number of sub-group infrastructure developments such as renewable energy, the growth of private health care and the agri-industry.” Another significant development to consider is the LAPSSET corridor project – the link between Kenya’s Lamu Port, South Sudan and Ethiopia, which won the 2016 Global Infrastructure Leadership Project Award. As Africa’s largest and most ambitious infrastructure project, it has several component key infrastructure projects including a 32-berth port, interregional highways, crude oil pipelines, railway lines, international airports, resort cities and a multipurpose dam. The intended upgrades to Port Lamu will enable the handling of much bigger cargo that will challenge neighboring port Mombasa despite its own recent upgrades.

SHRINKING VOLUMES

However, Lars Greiner, managing director of Greiner Mendi, a specialist logistics company, comments that regardless of the size or significance of infrastructure projects, the breakbulk environment in Africa is shrinking. “It’s close to insignificant and is viewed by authorities as a necessary evil rather than an industry,” Greiner said. “Conversely the more ‘sexy’ container industry, given its high-volume/low-risk dynamic, is more attractive. Evidence shows that in the more developed South Africa, breakbulk accounts for less than 10 percent of total volumes exported, with the number of breakbulk berths having reduced from 50-odd some years ago, to around 15 currently.” Continentally, there is also a lack of focus on multimodalism and connectivity between areas where breakbulk cargo is required. “Countries tend to take a shortterm view on financing and returns and therein lies the weakness,” continued Greiner. “They are not going to build breakbulk infrastructure now for use in 10 years when, for example, the pipe industry takes off because there is no current income that can be generated. However, it is in times like these, when commodity prices are low, that Africa should be spending time building roads and ports.” ISSUE 1 / 2017



emerging markets

A large percentage of Greiner’s work is related to solving the challenges of how to land breakbulk, for which he feels solutions can always be found. “We can get breakbulk anywhere, plans can be made and executed. But for investors the obvious applies: what is the cost versus return?” That return on investment is getting smaller, Greiner said: “Only 10-15 business can currently breakbulk a project in full, and that’s down by about 50 percent from a generation ago. It’s difficult, it’s not rewarding, it’s a fight, so the long and short of it is that yes, it has to be done but contractors aren’t committed to paying

Jeffrey’s Bay Wind Farm, on the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Renewable energy may provide a bright spot of opportunity for the breakbulk and project cargo industry in Africa. Credit: Nic Bothma/EPA/Newscom

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for the necessary skills and overcoming transport challenges so many projects are put on hold.” Yet, Africa House’s Duncan Bonnett countered: “Even where actual capital projects have been put on hold, a lot of ancillary development is taking place to enable project promoters to develop their resources quickly when the time is right. “It’s obviously very difficult to predict when this will happen, and there has been a significant amount of disruption in the logistics sector as a result.”

back, existing operators and nearoperators are still looking for ways to cut operating costs, so companies that can offer innovative solutions to projects will be very welcome, concluded Bonnett. BB

Kerry Dimmer is an award-winning freelance journalist, focused on African business affairs.

GROWTH PATH

Such disruption does not, however, signal that logistics does not have a growth path on the continent. Like Greiner, Bonnett also believes that East Africa’s oil and gas infrastructure is going to be dominant in forthcoming years. “There are so many projects that could potentially come on stream this or next year, especially in Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia – but this is based on the assumption that projects get the green light,” Bonnett said. “There are also a number of gas pipelines at various stages of development in sub-Saharan Africa that would run for several thousands of kilometers. Allied to this is the proposed establishment of downstream gas-fired power plants and downstream petrochemicals developments associated with such gas projects,” he said. There are increasing opportunities in a number of areas that the breakbulk and project cargo industry can focus on in the interim. Bonnett sees power and renewable energy in particular as opportunities: “This includes areas such as solar and wind, with the particular challenges of those technologies, and traditional coal-fired and hydro plants. “I think we’ll also see – depending on developments in the U.S. and China in particular – an uptick in mining projects that could spur infrastructure development, as well as motivating major logistics requirements around these. Rail is also currently receiving a lot of attention, but it is a difficult sector to motivate in an uncertain environment. Mozambique is a case in point: the collapse in coal prices led to a sharp drop in investment in pit-to-port infrastructure development from Tete to the coast.” That said, while a lot of capital projects have been parked or scaled

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25-01-17 13:34


trade notes

A LEAD IN LOGISTICS GCC Countries Focus on Future Strategies BY V L SRINIVASAN

W

ell before oil prices tumbled to their recent historic lows, oil economies in the Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, region had already turned to economic diversification programs to develop non-oil sectors. Retail, logistics, tourism and infrastructure all featured heavily in plans to lessen the degree of dependence on hydrocarbon revenues. Of those, concentration on logistics was a shrewd move: the Middle East Gulf nations’ geographical location puts them neatly at the meeting point of the Middle East, Europe and Africa, connecting more than half of the world’s population. As the natural next step, efforts are afoot to develop the region as a major transshipment hub for all kinds of goods, including project cargo. There is a pressing need for such expertise with Dubai’s hosting of the World Expo 2020 and Qatar’s organization of the FIFA World Cup in 2022. Billions of dollars are being spent by the respective countries for both events. A paper on GCC countries’ logistics, prepared by Dubai-based market research firm MEED Insight and released by Sohar Port in Oman in December 2016, valued the region’s logistics market at about US$71.7 billion in 2015. Of this, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Oman together accounted for about 79 percent. 54  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

“Though the sector as a whole is expected to grow at an average of 6.9 percent over the next five years, as GCC governments continue to invest heavily, the regional logistics business is still highly fragmented and there was scope for further improvements,” the MEED report noted. This expectation of more to come is cemented by the Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index 2016, in which the UAE was ranked second and Saudi Arabia fifth among the world’s most promising emerging logistics markets. But for now, according to the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index report for 2016, the UAE is ranked 13th followed by Qatar (30th), Bahrain (44th), Oman (48th), Saud Arabia (52nd) and Kuwait (53rd) among 160 countries.

GCC AS LOGISTICS HUB

The lifting of sanctions on Iran by some Western countries, the return of peace in Iraq and a growing consumer market in Africa has boosted the efforts of GCC governments to position the region as a major transshipment and logistics hub. The UAE, which remained close to Iran even while sanctions were in force, is expected to benefit from these developments. Iran, for its part, has already signed trade agreements with China to the tune of US$600 billion to cover the coming decade. Fabian Boegershausen, manager of Solidiance, an Asia Pacific-focused management consultancy firm, said that the GCC countries’ role as a major logistics hub between the eastern and

Fabian Boegershausen

Khalid Turk Ali A. Jalil Turk & Sons

Solidiance

ISSUE 1 / 2017


Credit: Solidiance

western major economies is expected to rise significantly from growth in domestic consumption and increased trade. Breakbulk goods, especially out-of-gauge cargoes, will increasingly be shipped to and through GCC countries to various destinations around the world. However, Boegershausen said that obvious volume capacity gaps even in the most developed ports, inefficiency and a lack of harmonization in processes is already leading to significant challenges. While standard container shipping runs smoothly, breakbulk shipments still require a great deal of patience and good relations with local authorities. “Currently each GCC member still has

its own procedures in clearance of goods, and while Dubai in itself has established itself as a fairly efficient port, others such as Saudi Arabia are widely known for their slow and sometimes erratic processing, making the overall capacity for throughput even less,” he said. The crash in the oil price pushed some GCC countries to defer billions of dollars of investments in several projects including some key ports. “The fall in oil prices has had a huge impact on all projects, both industrial and civil developments. Since 2015, projects have been halted or delayed,” said Khalid Turk, CEO of Bahrain-based Ali A. Jalil Turk & Sons.

Turk added that ongoing projects started either before or during 2015 still proceeded, but governments reduced budgets to meet requirements for food, education, hospitals among others. However, things have improved with the governments pumping funds into some landmark projects. “Some projects in Bahrain like the airport expansion (US$1 billion) and the Alba Line 6 expansion (US$3 billion) have already commenced. The BAPCO modernization (US$5 billion) will be taken up in 2017 and the breakbulk industry is expected to grow for the next four to five years,” Turk said. www.breakbulk.com  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  55


trade notes

INTEGRATED PORT SYSTEM

Boegershausen said there was an urgent need to modernize ports and processes in the region, as major ports such as Jebel Ali in Dubai face constant congestion. Yet, while authorities have pledged to expand their capacities for years, uncertainty and lack of funding have delayed projects. The latest casualties look likely to be major port investments in Saudi Arabia. The government slowed most of its investment projects through 2016, said Boegershausen, who coauthored a white paper on Saudi Arabia’s logistics sector. “A harmonization and simplification of procedures through the integration of the GCC logistics and port system may be the single-biggest lever for improving the current situation and reducing system stress, as it requires less capital investment. This will enable shippers and logistics firms for standard as well as breakbulk goods to flexibly choose the optimal ports for their routes instead of squeezing through the now few modernmanaged ports,” he said. Governments are aware of the bottlenecks hindering development of the region’s logistics industry, and plans are afoot to create a unified customs and cargo clearing ecosystem. “The GCC aims to create a system in the next three to five years that will allow, for example, shipment of goods directly to Saudi Arabia’s ports with the same process efficiency and customs cost as now to Dubai etc., hence saving the need for the now frequented yet expensive land route between UAE and the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” he said. If delivered, an integrated ports system would offer breakbulk logistics companies greater flexibility in the planning of routes, saving costly land transports between intra-GCC destinations, making clearance faster for the rerouting of goods going through GCC countries from East to West and vice versa. “Breakbulk companies should anticipate a more open and wider spread landscape of ports their clients and partners wish to use, and prepare a strategy that focuses not only on a few ports. Yet for now, inefficiencies and wide differences in handling among others between the different Arabian destinations must be anticipated,” Boegershausen added.

INSPIRATION FROM EU

Referring to the European Union’s systematic method of customs regulations, Turk said the GCC nations can take a cue from the success stories in that bloc. At the moment, GCC countries have different regulations for a variety of products, but are trying to harmonize the system wherever possible. However, until these differences are resolved, it will be difficult to achieve that goal. Bahrain and Oman have entered into free trade agreements with certain countries, but others have not. “How can they harmonize when some imports are duty exempt in one country and not in another? The laws of these countries should be in sync with each other to achieve this objective,” Turk said. Even issues with transit cargo going through the borders of GCC countries must be resolved; there is a need for an interLOGISTICS PERFORMANCE INDEX national road transport, or TIR, system similar to that LPI is an interactive benchmarking tool created to help countries identify the challenges and opportunities they face in in Europe, he added. their performance on trade logistics and what they can do to Existing ports in the improve their performance. Countries below are shown by rank. region should also be developed further. Nearly COUNTRY 2007 2010 2012 2014 2016 50 seaports, both major UAE 20 24 17 27 13 and minor, are in operaBahrain 36 32 48 52 44 tion in the GCC including Qatar 46 55 33 29 30 21 in Saudi Arabia, nine in Saudi Arabia 41 40 37 45 52 the UAE, three in Oman Kuwait 44 36 70 56 53 and two each in Qatar and Oman 48 60 62 59 48 Bahrain. According to the MEED report, the GCC Source: World Bank 56  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

GCC’S LOGISTICS MARKET SPLIT Transport services account for the greatest share.

Transport Services

Freight Forwarding

Warehousing

Value-added Services

Source: Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index, Solidiance

ports account for more than 50 million 20-foot equivalent units of the total container port capacity of the Middle East and North Africa region. Several free trade zones and industrial zones have been opened in the GCC region and most of them offer 100 percent foreign ownership, no customs duties on imports and re-exports, and exemptions from corporate taxes. Oman is promoting the country as a gateway to the region through the South Batinah Logistics Hub to offer one-stop shop services to logistics providers and customers. In Qatar, the governmentowned Manateq has been working to establish three special economic zones, one each at Ras Bufontas, Al Karaana and Um Alhoul. Manateq CEO Fahad Rashid Al Kaabi said that an economic zone is a “tried and tested” concept that facilitates overall economic activity and growth strategy, both drivers that the GCC region is pursuing in earnest now that oil is no longer the lynchpin of the Middle East that it once was. BB V L Srinivasan is a senior journalist based in Hyderabad, India, covering finance, infrastructure, energy, shipping, transportation, IT, environment and political and regional developments in India and the Gulf Cooperation Council region. ISSUE 1 / 2017


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thought leader

MAGIC TOUCH Proactivity and Strategic Overhauls Triumph All

58  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

Credit: Shutterstock

ISSUE 1 / 2017


M

uch to the delight of my children, both Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy stopped by our house over the holidays. These two magical icons didn’t just drop off toys and pick up baby teeth – they also left a note about changes to come. In 2017, due to weak commodity prices and the looming threat of new tariffs, Santa and the Tooth Fairy will be consolidating to improve their bottom line – children should expect fewer routes, and smaller deliveries. I’m being facetious of course, but this is a taste of the tough market situation that the shipping and transportation industry faces in 2017. Will low capital investment continue to dampen the industry? What new challenges will the industry face? And what can project cargo BY PHYLLIS KULKARNI and shipping companies do to mitigate against further decreases in business under these difficult circumstances? From my vantage point as director of North America for Independent Project Analysis, or IPA Inc., 2017 is likely to extend the challenges that the shipping industry has faced since oil prices began their plunge. The key to survival will be building stronger relationships with project developers. Overall, IPA anticipates global capital project spending in 2017 to be flat compared with last year. One bright area is the U.S., which will continue to be a robust center for capital investment compared with the rest of the world, although with fewer megaprojects compared to the recent past. This is led primarily by the continued strong pace of chemicals investment on the U.S. Gulf Coast. While the U.S. enjoys a healthier economy than many other parts of the world, the wild card of course is how capital spending will be affected by President Donald Trump. The protectionist policies advocated by the

incoming administration may dampen procurement from overseas, along with investment by U.S. companies in other parts of the world, in the short term. However longer-term policies, including promises to increase infrastructure investment in the U.S., remain to be fleshed out.

OIL PRICE CONTINUITY

Regardless of politics, we expect oil prices to remain around current levels through 2017, and hence oil exploration and production budgets will continue to be reduced. In the Gulf of Mexico and other offshore locales around the globe, most of the large investments under consideration are brownfield projects tying in to existing platforms in familiar locations, rather than developing new reservoirs or new regions. Most of the major offshore facilities installed during the boom years incorporated significant spare capacity for adding future production, and companies will be under pressure to put this to use. Shippers shouldn’t expect any significant uptick in oil exploration and production capital spending for the next several years, as a wave of project deferrals and cancellations work their way through the system. One thing is for certain: in these difficult times, stakeholder management is the name of the game. With constant pressure to reduce cost and an abundance of suppliers fighting for market share, owner companies are switching up their traditional contracting and procurement approaches. In the last months, two different oil companies shared their “new” approach to cutting 10 percent off project cost with me – one by converting a large reimbursable project to a fixedprice contract, and the other by doing just the opposite. These companies aren’t operating in parallel universes – they’re simply taking advantage of the leverage they have to push lower profits and different strategies onto the market. Sometimes owner companies are not just changing the strategy, but also the contractors or vendors. On major projects, we are seeing increasing changes to contractors and vendors, even at the last minute before or after project funding, as companies seek to get the best deal possible. In this new cost-conscious

reality, owner procurement groups are increasingly empowered to seek savings, even if they result in late changes that are disruptive to the capital projects.

PROACTIVE ENGAGEMENT

What this means for shipping and logistics companies is they can’t rely just on historical relations with an engineering, procurement and construction company, but must also seek to engage the project owner. This should help mitigate the risk of losing participation in a key project if the EPC is changed out. This is no easy task, as owners are stretched thin after layoffs. Further, just as shippers have been merging and consolidating, owner companies continue to do the same. As a number of major mergers and acquisitions get underway, we’ve already seen changes to key positions at our owner company clients. Each turnover in a key role brings a new person, with new preferences for procurement strategies, new commitments to pressing suppliers for lowering cost, and new beliefs about the “best” approach. This means shipping and logistics companies must be proactive with a variety of points of contact, and bring as much data to bear as possible about what distinguishes them from the competition. On a more positive note, we are also seeing increased willingness for owner companies to select standard designs and approaches, rather than customized solutions. Owner companies are seeking to minimize any “gold-plating,” as well as avoid first-of-a-kind or largest-of-akind installations. At the end of the day, while we can’t all enjoy the enduring popularity of a Santa Claus or Tooth Fairy, it will be those companies with broad and deep relationships with owner companies – and data to back their promises – that stand the best chance of successfully weathering this downturn. BB Phyllis Kulkarni is director of North America for Independent Project Analysis, a project evaluation and project system benchmarking consultancy, and provides quantitative analysis of project management systems. www.breakbulk.com  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  59


case study

60  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

ISSUE 1 / 2017


NAVIGATING

THE AMAZON Preparation Pays Off for South American Journey BY LARA SHINGLES

M

oving high-value project cargo is difficult enough. But moving a brace of generating sets from icy Finland to the world’s largest rainforest via the steamy Amazon river basin is another thing entirely, having to contend with changing water levels, poor bridge infrastructure and extremes of weather conditions. Back in 2012, UTC Overseas took three months to undertake the mammoth task of delivering seven 130-tonne Wärtsilä generating sets from Finland to remote oil fields in the Amazon. The generating sets plus some of their accessories, including seven 40-foot containers and eight radiators in wooden boxes, were transported first by sea from Finland to Manaus, Brazil, and then by waterway, having offloaded the generating sets and their accessories onto four barges operated by Transglobal Servicos midstream. Two generating sets were loaded onto each barge and the seventh was alone on another. Five of the gensets were 16-cyclinder models, each just short of 11,000 horsepower, and the remaining two were 18-cyclinder models, both of which put out slightly more than 12,000 horsepower. “These are all very powerful, heavy industrial engines,” said John Hatley, Wärtsilä North America’s vice president of marine solutions. “Each engine with

John Hatley

Alain Holtappels

Wärtsilä

UTC Overseas

its generator weighs in the vicinity of 130 tonnes so it was not a small package.” Even so, Alain Holtappels, regional manager of West Coast of South America at UTC Overseas, said the offloading operation was “perfect, well timed and well executed.” Once loaded, the barges were pushed along the waterways by two tugboats to Eden and Itaya Port, and then transferred to low-bed axle trucks to travel to their final blocks for use by the end customer, Ecuadoran state oil company Petroamazonas.

CONTINGENCY PLANNING

Under such an operation, Holtappels said: “You cannot invent on the spot. You have to be very sure of what you are going to do, and every step you are going to perform must be analyzed at least three times.”

He described navigating the Amazon as “pretty complicated. There is much debris and strong currents, and going upstream is not an easy job to achieve.” UTC carried out six months of “exhaustive preparation” before beginning the transportation, and, at different stages of the operation, had as many as 20 staff involved. “In the middle of the jungle, it’s easy to understand that you will need an excavator,” Holtappels added. “This is not something you will find around the corner, so we needed to ensure that every element was in place just in case. It was [also] important to evaluate all the possible negative circumstances we could be faced with in order to avoid any typical last-minute surprises. You have to be prepared to have the solution on hand then and there.” UTC also undertook various route surveys as part of its planning process. It verified and analyzed river port facilities and landing earthen ramps, checked access to roadways and site facilities for disembarking and offloading the generators on to pads, and evaluated the stability of the bridges necessary on the route. Nicolas Chavez, president of Grupo Atlas, the project’s chosen trucking company, noted that the teams also had to deal with changing water levels, border crossings and safety considerations. “There was engineering involved to build a ramp and cage in order to stabilize the cargo when it was being rolled

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: 1. The seven 130-tonne Wärtsilä generating sets and their accessories are loaded onto four barges operated by

Transglobal Servicos midstream. 2. The units were transferred from barge to low-bed axle trucks to travel to their final destination. 3. The gensets ranged from 16-cylinder, 11,000 horsepower to 18-cylinder, 12,000 horsepower. 4. Challenges on the Amazon ranged from flooding to near-drought conditions that at times stranded the barges. 5. The cargo traversed a dozen bridges, many not designed for the weight of the cargo. 6. At one location, the team added an overbridge to support the weight of the gensets. / Credit: Wärtsilä, UTC Overseas; Amazon River photo via Shutterstock www.breakbulk.com  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  61


trade notes

FINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE With each generating set in the Wärtsilä project weighing around 130 tonnes, they had to be stowed as low as possible on the surface of the barges to maintain stability on the waterways. To that end, the team aimed for a center of gravity of just 45 centimeters. UTC Overseas’ Alain Holtappels said that it had to verify this level with specialists, and even employed specialists during the voyage to ensure that the balance of the barges was maintained. “We were spreading the weight and we were reaching the level of the center of gravity we had to have to make a safe journey,” Holtappels said. “These pieces of cargo had an extremely high value and we were always sensitive to this; you can’t play with this kind of cargo.” He continued: “Spreading the weight over the surface was important, and the securing and lashing is of the upmost importance when you have such a long journey ahead of you.” Normally, Holtappels explained that forwarders might use “elephant legs” for this kind of project. However, these would have been too high for this particular move. Instead, the team used wooden beams to ensure that they had the correct balance for the cargoes’ journey on the waterways.

off the barges. However, after our engineers gave us the blueprints, we still had to take them to the final client to inspect and agree to because we were unloading this on their site, where they are responsible for safety and security.” Holtappels described the scope of the project as enormous: “We had three blocks and three destinations into the jungle to surf with these seven units.”

ACROSS BORDERS

The project’s team traversed through four countries on its journey from Finland to Ecuador following the river flow, which passes through Peru. In total, the journey spanned more than 12,400 kilometers. On the face of it, it appeared easier to perform the moves directly from the west coast of South America. But the experienced team knew there would be impassable obstacles along that route, such as the Andes mountain range. “The only option with this kind of piece was to do it via the waterways through Manaus,” said Holtappels. Still, the chosen route wasn’t without its own obstacles. Once the team was on its way, it had to contend with different, yet just as difficult challenges on the waterways. These included flooding conditions in the Amazon, which left large pieces of debris in the water and created navigation hazards, and near-drought conditions that, at times, stranded the barges on sandbars. “There were situations where sometimes we had to wait one or two days to move along because of the sandbanks,” said Holtappels. “Water level is, of course, of upmost importance when you travel on rivers like this – and certainly on such a long journey – so logically that was measured all the way. But there were times when we were stuck and had to wait for typical tropical rains to raise the water level and carry on with our journey.”

Credit: Wärtsilä, UTC Overseas

LEVELING OUT

When the barges arrived at the ports, the generating sets were transferred from the barges to low-bed, 10- to 12-axle trucks for transport to the final destinations, which Holtappels said was “a very difficult task.” The team had to fill in gaps by putting gravel down, among other things, and still faced the issue of varying water 62  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

levels. Once the barges had arrived at both ports, the team had to raise them to the right height in order to slide the trucks in. At the same time, it had to level out both the river and the ramp to get the generating sets on to dry land. By the time the team had leveled everything, it had just a few hours to get the generating sets out of the barges before the water level changed again. Chavez said: “We had to keep checking the conditions because if there was a river flood overnight, we could have lost the ramp that we had built, and that’s why we always had excavators and machines ready for Plan B.” “In one hour the whole situation could change, so this operation required a lot of patience,” added Holtappels. “Sometimes we had to wait there for hours before we were able to have the correct level for the rolling off operation.” The work didn’t finish when the generating sets had been successfully transferred to the trucks. The cargo then had to be transported to the final three destinations, unloaded and then slid on to their blocks. Altogether, the trucks had to cross 12 bridges en route to their final destinations, many of which are not designed for this weight of cargo. Chavez said: “The state of some of the bridges that we had to pass were not reliable. Mostly, they were welded inside the blocks.” As a result, the team had to repair, refurbish and reinforce most of the bridges to the final destinations, something it had to request permits for almost two months in advance of the project. At one location, the team added an overbridge to support the weight of the gensets, and at another it built a bailey bridge on top of another. To complete the transportation, the team unloaded the generating sets into their respective buildings without any incidents using a sliding system. “Wärtsilä trusted us with this job and I think they were satisfied with the result,” Holtappels said. “We arrived at the final destinations with zero delays and everybody was happy.” BB Lara Shingles is a UK-based freelance journalist specializing in maritime projects and services. ISSUE 1 / 2017


BROADEN YOUR HORIZON FOR SUCCESS.

Your logistics partner Anthony.van.der.hoest@portofamsterdam.nl +31 6 83 62 77 38 www.portofamsterdam.nl


port profile

SPACE TO GROW Newcastle Port Eyes Diversification BY IAIN MACINTYRE

P

ort of Newcastle, the world’s largest coal export port and largest bulk shipping port on the east coast of Australia, is striving to capitalize on its potential for cargo diversity and significant opportunity for expansion. Handling about 164 million tonnes of cargo per year – of which nearly 97 percent is coal – the 792-hectare port ranks third in Australia and 24th in the world in terms of total cargo throughput. However, noting the port’s capacity for expansion is “not well known” at present, Port of Newcastle CEO Geoff 64  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

Crowe said the business is committed to changing historic perceptions and growing all of its 25 cargo trades. “The port has a huge capacity for growth, including a shipping channel that can handle double the current shipping activity and 200 hectares of vacant port land,” Crowe told Breakbulk. “Growing and diversifying the port’s trade is integral to the growth and diversification of the Hunter region’s economy.” Port of Newcastle is the commercial manager of the port, and holds a 98-year lease with the New South Wales, or NSW, government which commenced on May 30, 2014. It is responsible for trade development, the management of port

land, survey and dredging, wharf and berth services and port assets. The port’s catchment area encompasses land rich in minerals and agriculture, meat, timber and the manufacture of steel and aluminum. The port is also well connected to established distribution hubs located on the outskirts of major eastern seaboard cities. In terms of project cargo, Newcastle claims experience in handling large and heavy cargoes for developments happening across NSW, including wind turbines, tunnel-boring machines, locomotives, rail and passenger wagons, mining machinery, large tanks and boilers, transformers and prefabricated structures. Indeed, in October 2016 it welcomed the first of eight shipments of wind turbines for Goldwind’s White Rock Project. It will handle 70 wind turbines in total for that project alone. With a catchment area extending west to Parkes and north to Moree taking in Dubbo, Tamworth, Armidale, Narromine and Walgett, the port talks ISSUE 1 / 2017


Credit: Port of Newcastle, Australia

up its central NSW location with extensive road, rail and airport connections to major NSW rural centers and major cities such as Sydney and Brisbane. Through these modes it can move rail assets and other heavy equipment. Its shipping channel has spare capacity and could accommodate a significant increase on the current 2,169 annual shipping calls; the channel has been modeled at more than 10,000 shipping moveGeoff Crowe ments, which equates to more Port of Newcastle than 328 million tonnes of trade per annum. There is also 200 hectares of vacant land that could accommodate growth in project cargo trade. The largest vacant portside parcel of land on Australia’s

eastern seaboard is the port’s Mayfield Site, which is available for cargo storage and consolidation. The port’s Carrington Basin also has a rail connection to handle heavy project cargo. Having been in commercial operation for 217 years, Newcastle is keen to leverage the expertise gained from its role as the world’s largest coal export port to promote new opportunities for the business. As well as pursuing more project cargo business, the port has upped its presence for fuel imports since the closure of several Australian fuel refineries. “This is important to the Hunter region and Australia’s fuel security,” said Crowe. “The Port of Newcastle now has three fuel terminals in the port (Stolthaven, Park Fuels and ATOM), and Terminals Australia has signed an agreement for a lease. Fuel is now the port’s second-largest trade.” The port handled more than 1.4 million tonnes of fuel in 2015, which was a 25 percent increase on 2014. Newcastle is also looking to increase the volume of bulk trades such as coal, grain, fertilizer, alumina, magnetite, and cement. Crowe added that the port infrastructure and the region’s skilled workforce were well placed to support more marine services activities going forward. Other recent investment undertaken by Port of Newcastle include A$2.7 million (US$2 million) committed to a five-yearly dredge dry dock which was completed in November 2015; A$3 million (US$2.2 million) resurfacing of major port roads completed in February 2016; and the delivery of power, water and data cabling services to the Mayfield Site which cost A$5 million (US$3.7 million) and was completed in 2016. Additionally, the port is in the throes of repairing berth infrastructure including 10 dolphins at Dyke 1 and Dyke 2. A total of A$1 million (US$748,000) is committed to that project, due to be completed in July 2017. Blessed with “great connectivity” to transport networks, Port of Newcastle’s working harbor is “very much a part of the community in a very livable city,” added Crowe. BB Australia-based Iain MacIntyre specializes in transportation and political writing and writes extensively about the offshore vessel and energy sectors and local government.

PORT AT A GLANCE

217 years

of commercial shipping

164 million

tonnes of trade handled per year

25

different cargoes

2,169

vessel visits per year

Br is bane

New South Wales

Sydn ey Newca s tl e

20

operational berths

792 hectares of land holdings

2-meter

tidal range on the river port

15.2-meter

main channel depth Source: Port of Newcastle, Australia

www.breakbulk.com  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  65


bb index

INDEX Breakbulk cargo is an eclectic mix, encompassing forest products, steel, pressure vessels, windmill blades, rolling stock and out-of-gauge items. With this in mind, BREAKBULK INDEX data ranges from steel production to details of planned capital projects.

The global nature of today’s breakbulk and heavylift sectors requires transportation professionals to be on top of economic trends worldwide, which calls for inclusion of focused macro-economic data on prices and events that affect EPCs, the breakbulk community and the multipurpose fleet.

EUROPEAN FREIGHT FORWARDING INDEX The index, based on European forwarders’ actual and expected freight volumes, held steady at 57 in January, compared to 45 for the same month last year. Values below 50 on the zero-to-100 scale indicate a decline. 100 90 Actual

80

Forecast

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

MJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJF 2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Source: Danske Market Equities, www.danskebank.dk 66  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

ISSUE 1 / 2017


ECONOMY, ASIA-PACIFIC GDP FORECAST January 2017 real GDP for the Asia-Pacific region was flat at 4.7 percent. Economists are predicting a slight dip in 2018. 8% 2016 6%

2017 2018*

4%

2%

TH AIL AN D

TA IW AN

SO UT HK OR EA

SIN GA PO RE

PH ILIP PIN ES

ZE AL AN D

MA LA YS IA

JA PA N

IND IA

IND ON ES IA

NE W

*Forecast

HO NG KO NG

CH INA

AU ST RA LIA

0%

INFLATION FORECAST Inflation rates are expected to increase across the Asia-Pacific region in January 2018. 6% 5% 2016

4%

2017 2018*

3% 2% 1% 0%

TH AIL AN D

TA IW AN

SO UT HK OR EA

SIN GA PO RE

PH ILIP PIN ES

ZE AL AN D

MA LA YS IA

JA PA N

IND IA

IND ON ES IA

NE W

*Forecast

HO NG KO NG

CH INA

AU ST RA LIA

-1%

CURRENT ACCOUNT FORECAST Current account balances are the difference between a given nation’s imported and exported goods, services and transfers and are an indicator of foreign trade trends. $300 2016

$250

2017 $200

2018*

$150 $100 $50 $0

TH AIL AN D

TA IW AN

SO UT HK OR EA

SIN GA PO RE

PH ILIP PIN ES

ZE AL AN D NE W

MA LA YS IA

JA PA N

IND ON ES IA

IND IA

HO NG KO NG

CH INA

AU ST RA LIA

-$50

*Forecast, in US$billions Source: Consensus Economics, www.consensuseconomics.com

www.breakbulk.com  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  67


bb index

STEEL PRODUCTION CRUDE STEEL PRODUCTION 2014-2016 World crude steel production fell 1 percent in 2016 compared with 2015 in countries tracked by the World Steel Association. Chinese production, up 0.6 percent for the year, accounted for half of the world total.

2014 2015 2016

Austria

7,876 7,687 7,438

Belgium

7,331 7,257 7,686

Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic

Byelorussia

2,513 2,510 2,228

Egypt

Kazakhstan

3,681 3,910 4,243

Libya

712 352 492

Morocco

501 516 520

6,485 5,506 5,036

Moldova

167 122

Russia

71,461 70,898 70,800

South Africa

Ukraine

27,170 22,968 24,221

Africa

14,885 13,701 12,189

Iran

16,331 16,146 17,895

5,262

0

5,305

Germany

42,943 42,676 42,082

Finland

3,807 3,988 4,101 16,143

14,984

351 443 76

2014 2015 2016

612 543 501 5,360

France

2014 2015 2016

Uzbekistan C.I.S.

6,412

14 633

Qatar

3,019 2,593 2,521

Saudi Arabia

6,291

2,390 3,006 3,149

1,022 910 1,199

Canada

12,730 12,473 12,672

Hungary

1,152 1,675 1,274

Cuba

256 284 243

UAE Middle East

23,714 22,018 23,341

El Salvador

121

2,193 2,127 2,260

Guatemala

395 403 313

Netherlands

6,964 6,995 6,917

Mexico

Poland

8,558 9,198 8,939

Trinidad & Tobago

Slovak Republic

4,705

United States

Luxembourg

Slovenia

4,562

4,808

615 604 613

Spain

124

102

18,930 18,225 19,002

4,539 4,374 4,620

United Kingdom EU (28)

12,120 169,301

10,907

7,581

166,115 162,293

Bosnia-Herzegovina 793

819

806

822,750 803,825 808,370

India

87,292 89,026 95,618

88,174

78,845

78,619

Japan

110,666 105,134 104,772

North America 121,093

110,945

110,987

South Korea Pakistan

5,488 5,028 4,126

Taiwan, China

33,897 33,256 30,212

Thailand

Argentina Brazil

Asia

1,079 1,112 1,156

Colombia

1,208 1,211 1,328

Ecuador

667 720 578

Australia

47 48 35

New Zealand

1,078 1,082 1,170

Oceania

Norway

600 590 620

Peru

583 955 1,173

Uruguay

Turkey

34,035 31,517 33,163

Venezuela

Other Europe

38,374

South America

71,543

69,670

68,567

2,423 2,892 3,551 23,121

21,392

21,570

4,095 3,718 3,805 1,139,667 1,112,872 1,106,253

Chile

Paraguay

35,958

29,986 29,429 29,025

36

188 121 197

36,178

5,461

591

Macedonia Serbia

China

5,229

487

14,249 14,845 13,654

Sweden

6,141

723 643 654

106,079 101,552 102,222

Greece Italy

6,417

4,607 4,925 5,259 859

793

577

5,466 5,717 5,837

94 97 61 1,485 1,345 557 45,043

43,899

39,224

WORLD

1,669,894 1,620,408 1,603,989

Source: World Steel Association, www.worldsteel.org

In 1,000 tonnes. Includes all qualities: carbon, stainless, and other alloy.

TIME CHARTER RATES TOEPFER TRANSPORT MULTIPURPOSE SHIPPING TIME CHARTER INDEX The index is based on a 12,500 deadweight ton MPP/HL “F-Type” vessel for a six to 12-month time charter, and represents the monthly assessment from operators, owners and brokers. $8,000

TIME CHARTER RATE PER DAY

$7,750 $7,500 $7,250

$7,178

$7,168 $6,963

$7,000

$6,902

$6,860 $6,778

$6,750

$6,645 $6,389

$6,500

$6,370

$6,366

$6,335

Oct ‘16

Nov ‘16

Dec ‘16

$6,280

$6,250 $6,000

Jan ‘16

Feb ‘16

Mar ‘16

Apr ‘16

May ‘16

Jun ‘16

Jul ‘16

Aug ‘16

Sep ‘16

Source: Toepfer Transport, www.toepfer-transport.com. 68  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

ISSUE 1 / 2017


PIRACY WEST AFRICA MARITIME SECURITY INCIDENTS

SOUTHEAST ASIA MARITIME SECURITY INCIDENTS

Incidents from Senegal to Angola calmed at the start of 2017 with only two attempts in January.

Attacks have declined from a peak of 13 attacks, including four hijackings, in November to six in January.

Total Failed Attacks Hijacking Attempts Theft Robbery

August ‘15 5 September 0 October 1 November 2 December 7 January ‘16 11 February 8 March 7 April 19 May 13 June 9 July 11 August 10 September 7 October 3 November 7 December 5 January ‘17 2

1 0 1 2 1 4 2 3 5 2 4 1 3 0 1 2 0 0

3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 3 4 0 3 4 0 2 2 0 2 12 1 1 9 1 1 1 0 4 4 2 4 3 2 2 1 3 3 1 0 1 5 0 0 4 1 0 1 0 1

Note: “Failed” includes attempted robberies/thefts as well as hijackings. “Hijackings” include kidnappings from vessels.

Total Failed Attacks Attempts Hijacking Theft Robbery

August ‘15 25 12 September 22 5 October 20 11 November 8 5 December 10 2 January ‘16 5 2 February 1 0 March 5 1 April 12 5 May 12 4 June 7 1 July 10 2 August 4 1 September 7 0 October 9 4 November 13 1 December 9 3 January ’17 6 2

2 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 2 2 1 0 1 4 2 1

3 8 7 9 5 4 1 2 6 1 2 1 1 0 2 1 5 0 6 1 2 2 3 3 1 1 3 4 1 3 4 4 3 1 1 2

Note: “Failed” category is for attempted robberies/thefts, not hijackings. Source: Risk Intelligence, www.riskintelligence.eu

DEPENDABLE PERFORMANCE EVERY SHIPMENT Features: • Lump sum, all inclusive rates • Weekly frequency & expedient transit times • Port to Port / Door to Port / Door to Door service • Attentive, responsive, and respectful

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Contact us today for your oversize shipment needs! New York: Chicago: San Francisco: 516-829-0647 630-848-0004 415-461-9714

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www.aishipping.com Asia

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www.breakbulk.com  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  69


photo contest

FROM DUSK TO DAWN PHOTO CONTEST WINNER:

Fast Lines Belgium

LOCATION: Port of Antwerp, Belgium YEAR: 2016 DESCRIPTION: Photo taken aboard the breakbulk coaster Fast Sus, one of the 14,473 seagoing ships that called at the Port of Antwerp (Europe’s No. 1 breakbulk port) in 2016. The sofa symbolizes the ease with which your breakbulk cargo is (trans)shipped from POA to all corners of Europe. At Fast we call this #sofastyleservice.

EDITOR’S PICK: Donjon Marine Co. Inc. LOCATION: New York YEAR: 2016 DESCRIPTION: Donjon Marine’s derrick crane barge Chesapeake 1000 with a 1,000-ton shearleg was employed to set 19 pre-modular 700-ton building sections to make up the new expansion of Rockefeller University. The 180,000-square-foot expansion sits atop FDR Drive in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The photo was taken just prior to lifting operations and while waiting for a passing storm cell to move through. Next Issue: I nto the Wild – Remote Locations Submission Period: Feb. 22 – March 8 Submit entries at www.breakbulk.com 70  BREAKBULK MAGAZINE  www.breakbulk.com

ISSUE 1 / 2017


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LTD • ROLL-IT • ROYAL WAGENBORG GROUP • RTL LTD • RUSLAN INTERNATIONAL LTD • SAFE-TRANS CHINA • SAFECARGO LIMITED • SAFI PORT DERINCE • SAGA WELCO AS • SAHIL FREIGHT • SAL HEAVY LIFT GMBH • SANTINI EXPORT PACKING CORPORATION • SARJAK CONTAINER LINES PVT. LTD. • SCHMIDBAUER GMBH & CO.KG • SCHULTE & BRUNS GMBH & CO • SEAPORTS OF NIEDERSACHSEN GMBH • SEATRADE • SHANGHAI PORTSTAR RIGGING • SHANGHAI SHINEWAY INT’L FORWARDER CO.,LTD. • SHANGHAI VICTORY SHIPPING • SHENZHEN HUAYUAN INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS • SHIPPING-DK • SILVASTI OY • SILVERBURN SHIPPING • SLOMAN NEPTUN • SNS INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT • SOLAR SHIPPING • SOLVO • SOREIDOM LINE • SOSERSID • SOYUZTRANSLINK • SPLIETHOFF GROUP (SPLIETHOFF & BIGLIFT) • ST. 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