This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
40


FREIGHT BREAK


ISSUE 2 2011 Busman (or seaman’s) holiday


Harassed shipping managers – or perhaps those who want to see what really happens to their cargo on the high seas - could do worse than book a break courtesy of container shipping giant CMA CGM. The world’s third largest container shipping group is offering a range of “Cargo cruises” in all parts of the world. “With this original means of transport,” it enthuses, “passengers can immerse themselves in life on board and discover the world of merchant shipping.” In other words, you are probably going to be at sea for a very long time. The PR department tells me though that it is possible to book a Le Havre-Rotterdam voyage of just two days, though this might not be everyone’s idea of a voyage of discovery. Equally, it’s also possible to stay on board for a full rotation of between 60 and 85 days, though bear in mind that your internet connection and mobile phone will not be working for much of the time. The company even offers cruises aboard its flagship, the Christophe Colomb, which boasts a private deck and


spacious luxury cabins. Passengers also have access to a range of facilities such as a lounge with TV equipment, a library, a fitness room and even a swimming pool in which to relax. Passengers are in daily contact with the crew and take their meals at the Captain’s table.


Prices start from around €90 per person per day in a double cabin, going up to €150 per person for single use of a suite cabin. You will need to book a minimum of a month and a half ahead though some routes are fully booked until April 2012.


Even in the jet age, life on the ocean wave still has it appeal. In 2010, 690 people chose to “experience cruising another way” says the line – that’s a couple of jumbo jet-loads.


Shaking – and saving – the Earth


He may not be able to walk on water, but Shipping Minister Mike Penning was able to walk across a brand new piece of Britain in early February, thanks to DP World. According to The world’s largest port operator says it has now created enough new land in the Thames Estuary to fill 4,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools – a slightly strange analogy given that what they’re doing is reclaiming land from the sea - at its London Gateway deep sea port and logistics park in South Essex. Accompanied by DP World CEO Mohammed Sharaf and London Gateway CEO Simon Moore, Mr Penning was invited to view the work so far.


These guys could also claim to be the movers and shakers of the ports industry. Amongst the tools being used for the project is a huge vibro-compaction probe which is used to shake the ground to make it settle. It shakes the newly-laid ground which has been created from the dredging to compact the material. Simon Moore said that the minister’s visit was evidence of the high-level support for London Gateway’s development, which has already led to the creation of more than 600 construction jobs and will ultimately create around 36,000 jobs for the UK when fully complete, making it the single largest employment creation project in Britain.


Carrying the green message - and the cargo


cargo ship” has been sailing from Europe to the Caribbean and will be tramping in the region until March, 2011, says Martin Römer. The 32m schooner brig has been


Tall ships as a means of commercial freight transport have not gone away and look set to become the next big thing in saving the planet, reports our correspondent James Graham. A number of projects have been promoted to supply niche freight markets with wind- powered services that are anything but the Onedin Line.


One of these is Netherlands- based Fairtransport which is not only operating sail-powered cargo services but is also putting its Euros where its green credentials are and investing in a truly 21st Century vessel to carry the green message along with the cargo. The Tres Hombres, described by Fairtransport as a “CO2-zero sailing


in service since December, 2009 and maintains a freight service between Europe, the Atlantic islands, the Caribbean and the United States. She has a capacity of 35 tons and accommodation


for five crew


members and 10 trainees. Her one-year journey, due to conclude in March has seen the ship sail 40,000 km to promote CO2-free transport. “We called at Holland, Norway, Denmark, England, Belgium, France, Spain, Canary Islands, Azores, Haiti, Dominican Rep. Curacao and Bonaire with cargo,” says Römer.


Support for the project has come from French and Spanish wine producers who have utilised the Tres Hombres to ship bio-wines to the UK and US. The ship has carried 15,000 bottles of wine. Other


FTA get on their bikes


FTA president Stewart Oades is leading a 14-day cycle ride around


the UK in June to


raise funds and awareness for international UK development charity Transaid’s Professional Driver Training Project, to help save lives on Africa’s roads. He


will be accompanied through


each FTA region by a local team and the challenge will start and finish at the FTA headquarters in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, travelling through England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland and covering a total of around 750 miles in two


cargoes have included saffron, bio- olive oil and bio-wine from Spain. Fairtransport is now investing in a 21st century version of the Tres Hombres which is due for completion by 2013. This Ecoliner will have a payload of 3,000 tonnes. Römer says: “Shipbuilding is progressing on the first Ecoliner.” He adds


that the company is


seeking more partners to achieve its goal, such as large companies, shipping lines, governments or like- minded individuals.


The project mirrors a second attempt to launch a commercial freight operation. Six years ago, French radio journalist Frederic Albert joined with Capt Michel Pery to develop Fair Wind Wine. Pery captains the Belem, a three-masted French tall ship.


This service was established to sail wine from the south of France to the UK and northern Europe. The Belem sails from Bordeaux. Wine is brought from the Languedoc region by the Tourmente, a barge that travels via the Canal du Midi. Fair Wind Wine also has plans to create a modern equivalent sailing ship fit for the 21st century.


weeks, averaging just over 50 miles a day.


The target for the cycle ride is £50,000 which will be distributed to Transaid and local charities. Just look out for lorries, guys.


To sponsor Stewart and the team visit: http://www.justgiving.com/ Stewart-Oades


Also, by bringing imported goods closer to markets in London and South East markets, it should save over 65 million freight miles every year and 140,000 tons of CO2 emissions. The active Mr Penning also visited PD Ports a few days later, as part of a visit of the North East. He was given a grand tour of Teesport, including the latest expansion project, which started in early February.


On the warpath


Forwarders complaining about cargo being off-loaded should look to themselves before blaming the carrier. One agent tried to send a large, heavy engine from London to Orlando on Virgin Atlantic - but the thing simply wouldn’t fit. After removing the passenger baggage and loading the engine, there wasn’t enough room for all the luggage to go back on board. Since Virgin couldn’t risk passenger claims for lost baggage, the engine was removed and baggage replaced. The result was an unhappy shipper - but several hundred equally unhappy passengers, who had been sitting on the tarmac for a good 30 minutes while all this was going on. Next time perhaps the forwarder should book space on a freighter.


An everyday incident, perhaps, but our IT correspondent Marcia MacLeod was one of the delayed passengers. You have been warned...


Mistaken identity


Sharp-eyed and knowledgeable readers will have noted the mix-up in our illustrated feature on the BIFA awards on page 15 last issue. The picture we captioned as Hellmann Worldwide Logistics winning the Environment award was in fact Nick Walker of SBS picking up the Ocean Freight award. The fact that ‘Ocean Freight award winner’ was plastered on the screen in huge letters behind him should have alerted us but we must have been half asleep. To set the record straight, here is Matthew Marriott from Hellmann collecting the award in question.


Brown study


This is very hard to believe, but two leading designers have been taking fashion tips from UPS. Yes, the UK design duo Jena, who launched their 2011 autumn/winter collection at London Fashion Week have gone into in partnership with UPS, the parcels delivery company whose fashion sense has always been rather, well, brown. Actually, UPS has been providing its expertise in everything from the delivery of fabrics sourced in global markets such as China and Greece, to the transportation of production equipment to and from the catwalk venue. Judging by the pics, designers Jenny Holmes and Dimitris Theocharidis have a very fetching line in brown themselves – though we’re not sure how well it would look on the bloke that does the deliveries in our part of South London. And I certainly wouldn’t cavort around on the sorting machinery like that, love – do the Health & Safety people know about this?


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39