Logistics Operators News

RINA, an international company specializing in inspection, certification, and engineering consultancy, and Italian energy company Eni have signed an agreement to jointly develop initiatives that can contribute to the energy transition and decarbonization of their respective operations and particularly maritime transport.The agreement focuses on the use of HVO (Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil) biofuel produced by Eni in its Venice and Gela bio-refineries, as well as of other energy carriers such as “blue” or “green” hydrogen and ammonia from biogenic…

Ferry operator Stena Line announced it is building two new freight vessels for its expanding Belfast-Heysham freight service.Each of the two new 147-meter NewMax vessels has been designed to maximize freight volumes and will provide 2,800 lane meters of capacity which is an 80% increase on current ship capacities. The new vessels will be equipped to carry 12 passengers and 26 crew.The vessels will be able to operate on methanol fuel. Stena Line is currently working closely with…

Soy and sugar traders are fighting for room in Latin America’s largest port, rushing to secure loading slots as the slowest Brazilian soy harvest in 10 years pushes the grains export window into the sugar season.Congestion was hitting Brazil’s Santos port just as consumers worldwide have been turning to top exporter Brazil for sugar and soybean supplies. The glut of shipments waiting to leave is boosting transport costs and will likely delay arrivals at destinations.Sugar prices hit a four-year high late last month, boosted by supply tightness.

A new maritime digitalization solution aims to enable real-time communication and collaboration between sea, port and land logistics operators while providing a capabilities overview that helps users to improve the utilization of their resources. The newly launched Smart Port as a Service from Awake.AI is a real-time collaboration and situational awareness tool that uses artificial intelligence (AI)-based predictions to unlock smarter operational optimization for all maritime actors.

Freight carriers are struggling to deliver goods by land, sea or air as the coronavirus pandemic forces Western governments to impose lockdowns, threatening supplies of vital products including medicines into the most affected areas, such as Italy.While China's draconian steps to stop the spread of the virus are now allowing its economy slowly to come back online, supply chains are backing up in other parts of the world.Problems ranging from finding enough truck drivers to restrictions on seafarers and a lack of air freight are hitting the smooth flow of goods…

An executive at Brazil's largest railway operator Rumo said soy crushing in China is returning to normal levels after an extended halt, a good sign for logistics operators involved in moving the oilseeds from Brazil's fields to the world's top importing country.Speaking at an event on Monday, Rumo's Chief Executive João Alberto Abreu said ship line-up data for soy vessels at Brazil's biggest port of Santos is robust, adding the company has not yet seen any fallout from the novel coronavirus outbreak on freight activity.

Singapore-based port operator PSA International, Poland’s sovereign wealth fund PFR, and IFM Global Infrastructure Fund (GIF), have agreed a deal with Australian infrastructure firm Macquarie to buy Poland’s largest container port DCT Gdansk.DCT Gdańsk is situated at the crossroads of the Baltic deep-sea trading routes and holds a strategic position as a major gateway into Poland and Central-Eastern European markets.Construction of the Port began in 2005 with the outgoing shareholders facilitating the greenfield development of the port and overseeing 13 years of transformational growth.Following a significant capital expenditure programme, the port’s capacity doubled in 2016 with the completion of a second quay.

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) yesterday launched a dedicated portal to connect cargo owners and shippers with real time data on availability of vessels.The Government of India is developing National Waterways as a key transport intervention, as part of an integrated transport network strategy, which will help correct the transport modal mix that imposes huge logistics costs on the Indian economy. At present the cost of logistics in India, at 15 per cent of GDP, is about twice those in the United States.The landmark e-connect measure will enable direct interaction among the vessel operators, shippers and cargo owners as currently…

David Davis at Teesport, the British Ports Association’s Chief Executive, Richard Ballantyne suggested that cross border trade facilitation was being neglected in the negotiations. “The confirmation of the Government’s priorities for Brexit transitional arrangements provides European focused ports and logistics operators some clarity that in the short term it will be business as usual at the border. Much depends upon the negotiations and agreements of course but longer term, post the transitional period, we are unsure what the arrangements might be when leaving the European Union," Richard  said. The Free Ports concept has been much debated recently.

The provider of maritime satellite antenna systems Intellianhas announced that its v100 maritime VSAT antenna has been chosen by SM Lines to power its ships’ data and communications, and enable its IoT (Internet of Things) freight monitoring system. Internet-enabled physical objects that can process, receive or store information are enabling providers who can illuminate the supply chain’s blind spots to improve productivity, make existing processes more efficient, and deliver new services that improve upon traditional business models. SM Line is implementing the freight monitoring technology to improve service quality along its key Asia-U.S.

Maritime satellite antenna systems provider Intellian announced that its V100 maritime VSAT antenna has been chosen by SM Lines to power its ships’ data and communications, and enable its IoT (Internet of Things) freight monitoring system. Internet-enabled physical objects that can process, receive or store information are enabling providers who can illuminate the supply chain’s blind spots to improve productivity, make existing processes more efficient, and deliver new services that improve upon traditional business models.

Unique collaboration between industry, logistics and transport to keep plastic out of the environment. Plastics are found everywhere in modern life. The raw materials of which plastic products are made are polymers, usually delivered in the form of small pellets. Antwerp is the main polymer hub in Europe for production, handling and distribution of plastic pellets. Every year, millions of pellets find their way via Antwerp to other hubs in Europe. Preventing these small plastic pellets getting into the water or anywhere else where they are not wanted is a top priority in all these activities. The companies in the port have long taken various initiatives to prevent the loss of pellets, but now the entire sector is taking the game to a whole new level.

Marine insurance provider Skuld announces the appointment of Paul Knighton as global head of marine cargo and marine property. He will join Skuld Syndicate 1897 in the summer. Knighton will enhance Skuld’s well-established marine cargo and marine property portfolio by building its offering to clients. He will focus predominantly on developing a total solution product for ports, terminals and freight logistics operators. Knighton will join Skuld from the TT Club where he has been a senior underwriter since 2012. Prior to working at the TT Club, Knighton has held roles at Craven and Partners, Aon and Lockton. Ståle Hansen, Skuld president and CEO, said: ‘I am delighted to have attracted an underwriter of Paul’s calibre.

The Port of Barcelona is pursuing an active policy to increase the competitive edge of its customers, fostering the development of efficient and operational services that respond to their needs for international shipping and logistics services. To do this, it provides port companies, customers and users with various tools such as multi-sectoral business missions, specialised courses and seminars on foreign trade matters. Now it has incorporated the methodology of a company called GettingContacts, which provides networking with a customised agenda, which has proven to be a high-performance format especially designed to provide a rapid response to the needs of transport and logistics companies.

Auditor KPMG says that the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the Transport sector will supersede the levels seen in 2015 this year. In 2016, mergers and acquisitions (M & A) in the Transport sector will supersede the levels seen in 2015 by exceeding the £ 52 billion mark, according to KPMG's latest Transport Tracker. The analysis found that the value of completed M & A transactions in 2016 will pass the 2015 mark, which rose for the third consecutive year, to a total of £ 48 billion. Further transactions worth approximately £ 66 billion were announced, hitting a record level of M & A activity in the sector in 2015. ASPAC targeted acquisitions contributed to 55% of the announced transaction values ​​in 2015…

The Port of Barcelona reports it has become the first port in Spain to complete and make available a procedure for its customers and users in line with the container weighing new rules adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and incorporated into Chapter VI of the Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS) Convention specifying that shippers (forwarders, logistics operators or owners of the goods) shall be responsible for weighing each full container before shipment. The obligation…

Peel Ports announced that it has secured 50 advocates for its Cargo200 initiative and is urging other shippers in the North-west to add their weight to the campaign. Launched in May, Peel Ports called for importers and exporters whose goods began or ended their journey in the north of the UK to switch current delivery of ocean freight from south-east ports to the centrally-located Port of Liverpool. The initiative aims to cut freight mileage by 200 million miles over the next five years. In addition to achieving significant carbon reduction, the company also estimates that the move could save shippers up to £400 per container in transportation costs by delivering to the heartland of the UK.

Peel Ports has today (Thursday 19 November) announced that it has secured 50 advocates for its Cargo200 initiative and is urging other shippers in the North-west to add their weight to the campaign. Launched in May, Peel Ports called for importers and exporters whose goods began or ended their journey in the north of the UK to switch current delivery of ocean freight from south-east ports to the centrally-located Port of Liverpool. The initiative aims to cut freight mileage by 200 million miles over the next five years. In addition to achieving significant carbon reduction, the company also estimates that the move could save shippers up to £400 per container in transportation costs by delivering to the heartland of the UK.

The TT Club has alerted the supply chain industry to a persistence of claims in a handful of loss types. The international transport, freight and logistics insurance provider said it has found that 66% of its claims by number and 62% by value over a five year period can be categorized into just five causes. The analysis, which was conducted on 7,000 insurance claims each costing more than $10,000 recorded between 2010 and 2014, totaling $425 million, revealed that the same five generic causes identified in its previous five year analysis continue to disrupt and cost dearly.

Inlecom and DANAOS announced that their e-Maritime compatible collaboration platforms enabling interoperability in shipping software solutions are now available commercially as beta versions, following successful trials with eMAR partners including DNV and Port of Valencia. The platforms have been developed as a result of the EU-funded eMAR project which supports DG MOVE with a specific focus on the EU e-Maritime initiative facilitating Information Exchange for efficient, safe and environmentally friendly maritime operations.

Growth, competitiveness and sustainability are the three axes that underlie the Port of Barcelona's Third Strategic Plan 2015-2020, which sets the main objectives for the coming years. This Plan maintains the Port's mission as defined in the previous two plans: “To contribute to the competitiveness of customers by providing efficient services responding to their needs for maritime transport, land transport and logistics services”. The new Plan takes up the objectives of the preceding two plans and incorporates the current conditions of international trade markets - volatility, concentrations of maritime companies, restructuring of the transport sector, etc. - which have led to a scenario of increasing competitiveness between ports and logistics chains.

The UK’s second largest ports operator, Peel Ports, has today (Wednesday, 29 April) launched a major carbon emission initiative, Cargo200, and is calling on the UK freight and logistics industry to rethink supply chain and services routes in order to reduce freight mileage by 200 million miles over the next five years. Announcing plans at Multimodal 2015 in Birmingham, the company outlined opportunities for cargo owners, importers and exporters to cut the cost of inland transportation by switching current delivery of ocean freight from south-east ports to the centrally located Port of Liverpool, if their goods start or end their journey in the north of the UK. According to Peel Ports’ calculations, cargo owners can save up to £400 per container by altering supply chain routes.

The latest U.K. Logistics Confidence Index commissioned by Barclays and Moore Stephens reveals that confidence in the U.K. logistics sector remains high but more controlled over the past six months as familiar challenges persist. The index has risen by almost 36% since its lowest point in late 2012, despite a slight dip in confidence in the latest survey compared to 2013. Almost three-quarters of logistics operators are planning significant capital expenditure over the coming months…