The Usual Weekly Smorgasbord of Smaller Stories from Around Freight, Shipping and Logistics

NETHERLANDS – The week's round up of smaller industry items begins in the Benelux where end to end logistics fulfilment outfit S&H, which offers everything from warehousing and supply chain services through financial and product fulfilment and returns, has been acquired by DSV.

The Danish group now owns 100% of S&H shares and the purchase boosts the organisations capabilities in the ecommerce sector. Hans Elshout has stepped down as CEO, but will continue to work for DSV in an advisory capacity. Peter van der Maas, EVP of the DSV Solutions division, has assumed the position as Managing Director in his place. S&H will continue as a stand-alone company under the name of DSV Multi-channel Fulfilment.

NETHERLANDS – The continuing drought in Europe produced problems at the Port of Amsterdam’s Noordersluis lock, which was closed on Saturday September 1 to install two bubble barriers. These are to combat the historically low levels in the River Rhine. The Middle lock is closed until September 29 meaning larger ships must pass via the Noordersluis. This means up to a 1½ hour wait whilst the lock fills with vessels.

The drought means too much salt water entering the system which the barriers either side of the lock are designed to slow down. Salinization of the Netherlands is dangerous as it affects things such as Lake IJsselmeer and Lake Markermeer, which form the largest artificial freshwater system in both the Netherlands and north western Europe.

MALAYSIA – Ceva Logistics has been appointed to operate the first distribution centre in Asia Pacific for Honeywell Aerospace Trading (HAT). Based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the new distribution centre provides supply chain solutions for HAT’s pre-owned certified parts to end users. Located within the Bukit Jelutong Industrial Park, Ceva will operate an ambient and air-conditioned, bonded facility for both raw materials and finished goods for export and local distribution.

The company will also be one of the suppliers responsible for HAT’s global airfreight and import management, co-packing and Customs brokerage in Malaysia. This total solution will allow HAT to have a fast access to its inventory thus enabling it to focus on its core competencies in providing quality and timely support to end users.

MARSHALL ISLANDS – Eagle Bulk Shipping has agreed to purchase up to 37 exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers) which are to be retrofitted on vessels within its fleet to comply with the latest sulphur cap regulations. There are firm orders for 19 scrubbers so far and Eagle intends to complete the retrofit on 19 of its ships prior to the January 1, 2020 implementation date of the IMO regulation.

Eagle Bulk, in partnership with a global engineering firm, says it has developed a scrubber installation programme whereby a significant amount of the required retrofit work will be carried out on board the vessels while at sea and trading, thereby reducing off-hire time as compared with a typical shipyard installation, with a projected cost, including installation, of approximately $2 million per scrubber system.

WORLDWIDE – Accountancy outfit Moore Stephens has published its annual Shipping Risk Survey and states that confidence in the ability of sound risk management to contribute to commercial success in the shipping industry has fallen in the last 12 months. Respondents to the survey rated the extent to which enterprise and business risk management is contributing to the success of their organisation at an average 5.9 out of a possible score of 10.0, compared to 6.8 in the 2017 survey.

The various branches of the industry show variable degrees with geography also influencing results but certainly, whilst the changing demand for services is the major influence, but the growth of cyber crime, and recent cases causing near catastrophic losses are a contributory factor. The full report can be downloaded HERE.

NORWAY – WORLDWIDE – StormGeo, a provider of weather intelligence and decision support services has entered into an agreement to acquire Nautisk, a global supplier of maritime charts and publications to the merchant marine from NHST Media Group, which it has been part of since 1896. The pair say the new combination allows StormGeo to be the first to integrate market-leading routing and weather services with state-of-the-art charts and publications solutions.

The resultant all-in-one platform will allow StormGeo and Nautisk customers to optimise routing, obtain appropriate charts, and create a voyage plan without switching between disparate systems. The pair say integrating navigational information with weather intelligence and proprietary route optimisation algorithms will enhance quality and offer significant usability and cost benefits to customers.

UK – WORLDWIDE – The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) has thrown its weight behind an extensive training program for air cargo professionals, focused on the transport of dangerous goods and aviation security, after being appointed as a non-exclusive agent by UK based aviation consultancy, the TSA Group. The company’s courses, which are certified by the UK Department for Transport, are available both in classroom and online.

Topics covered include such items as general security awareness, air cargo security, lithium battery transport, and advanced screening regimes. As part of the partnership, TIACA will also work with UK-based TSA Group on the development of several new courses aimed at providing participants with a complete overview of the aviation industry.

As part of the partnership, TIACA will also work with UK-based TSA Group on the development of several new courses aimed at providing participants with a complete overview of the aviation industry. Members of TIACA will be eligible for a 10% discount on all TSA Group courses.

UK – The recent decision by Hackney and Islington councils to ban petrol and diesel vehicles from a number of streets in the two London boroughs has been described by the Road Haulage Association (RHA) as ‘astonishing’. Ultra-Low Emissions Streets sees non-compliant vehicles prohibited from nine roads near Old Street during peak times in a bid, the councils say, to reduce emissions. Non-compliant vehicles face £130 fines.

The move, funded by the Mayor of London’s Air Quality Fund, and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles' Go Ultra Low City Scheme, saw the local authorities draw up their own emissions standard (75g/km of CO₂) rather than using NOx levels applied in other CAZ/LEZ areas and RHA chief executive, Richard Burnett believes that this sets a precedent for other councils nationwide to impose ill-conceived measures to tackle their failures to manage pollution levels. He commented:

“It’s the thin end of the wedge for motorists and businesses if local authorities make up their own emissions standards and impose punitive charges to enforce them. This is indicative of a worrying anti-vehicle, anti-trade mind set in local government that fails to understand the need for businesses to be able to move goods when customers need them.”

CHINA – BENELUX – Uni-top Airlines, established in 2008, has recently added a new route from Liege, Belgium, to Wuhan, China. This is the latest European cargo route opened by the private airline after the introduction of its Luxembourg to Wuhan service on January 26, 2018. This new route has three flights per week, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, starting in Liege and arriving in Wuhan the next day. The flights use Boeing's B747-400F large full-cargo aircraft, which has a maximum capacity of 110 tonnes.

US – Global multimodal transportation and logistics services company Lilly & Associates International has moved into new 200,000+ square foot headquarters in the Miami International Tradeport at Medley, Florida. The company specialises in ocean shipping, trucking, customs brokerage, air freight, warehousing and E-commerce fulfilment.

Photo: Roughly 60% of fresh water in the Netherlands comes via the River Rhine which, as can be seen here, has yet again been hit by a summer drought.