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NEWS Delivering normality to northern Iraq


into Iraq. FSM therefore offers a service whereby containerloads are transhipped to truck for the journey across the border into Iraq. Shippers’ own containers can though be carried direct.


Mateen also operates its own chartered freighter aircraft from Dubai to Erbil. This is a very effective way of getting urgent shipments into the country, says


Stienen,


It could be a picture from a trade fair almost anywhere in the world, but this is the joint FS Mackenzie/Mateen Express team at the recent Iraq Airport Expansion Cargo and Logistics Conference & Exhibition in Erbil, Iraq – the first of its kind ever held in the country. FSM MD Alfred Stienen, who attended the event together with MD of FSM Germany, Stephan Uphoff, said the show generated a lot of of interest.


Freight forwarder FS Mackenzie is offering what it believes is the first regular road groupage service from western and central Europe to Iraq, following the signing of a partnership agreement with local company, Mateen Express. The service


was established


following a visit to Iraq where FSM managing director Alfred Stienen discovered that, while air freight and full truckload services were available to northern Iraq, there were no road groupage services. Stienen explains: “We were introduced to Mateen Express, who already had a very good presence in Erbil, predominantly for airfreight but who also had a very good trucking infrastructure reaching all parts of Iraq. We found that the owners had exactly the same idea as us – that there was a need for a road groupage service from Europe.” Mateen Express is also TNT’s local agent. Although based in Dubai, owners Majid and Wasfi Barzanji are originally from northern Iraq. FSM’s offices in Germany, the UK


and Spain together with their Iraqi partners engaged a number of Turkish owner driver truckers who specialised in Iraq and examined various options. Groupage traffic from all over Europe is


consolidated in Dortmund. The partners decided on a routing via Italy and the Turkish port


of Mersin rather than


transhipment via Istanbul. “It’s geographically more direct and also transhipment customs in Turkey is too time-consuming,” Stienen explained. Mersin is only about 200 miles from the Iraqi border post at Zhako. “We originally thought that transit time would be 15-20 days, but in fact we can manage a time of only 9-12 days, depending on the length of the queue at the border,” Stienen explained. He added: “The service is running like clockwork now, offering a much cheaper and quicker alternative to airfreight or full load trucking.” There is a minimum of one departure a week and the service usually runs twice weekly. It is also possible to pick up larger shipments direct en route.


FSM also does offers airfreight and seafreight full container load services to Iraq. For the latter, Mersin would actually be the ideal port for northern Iraq, as Basra is over 2,000km to the south, but shipping lines operating into Mersin port are unwilling to let their containers cross the border


because customs


clearance in the northern airport – recently the subject of a massive investment programme – is much quicker than in Baghdad. Stienen adds that FSM is also planning to set up a seafreight groupage service


in partnership


with Mateen and its Turkish partner Eastrans from any part of the world via Mersin and linking in with its distribution network in the region.


FSM and Mateen can also help shippers deal with other aspects of the local market, Stienen continues. “For example, a lot of freight to Iraq is paid for there as shippers in Europe often prefer to sell ex-works. With Mateen express we can offer a charges collect service.” Mateen also has its own representative at the border in Zakho, which greatly simplifies payment of customs duties which must be settled there rather than at final destination – the concept of inland customs clearance does not really exist yet in Iraq. Mateen can also deliver into the rest of Iraq – apart from one or two danger-spots. There are security checks, but they don’t impede traffic much and in fact getting around the country’s uncongested road network can be a lot less hassle than in the UK or Germany. There are no problems with electricity supplies or computer systems – certainly not in the northern part of the country. Western-style distribution


Maersk shortsea subsidiary – full launch in October


Maersk’’s new Seago Line shortsea subsidiary will be fully operational in October, according to a spokesman at the container carrier’s Copenhagen office. While existing Maersk Line and Safmarine intra-European operations are expected to be handed over to the new company in May and June, “the organisation is still


being implented, is still operating out of rented space and is in the process of recruiting people,” the spokesman said. Ultimately, all intra-European vessel operations will be consolidated in the new company which will be 100% owned by AP Moller – Maersk and will have its headquarters in Copenhagen,


Denmark.


Limited information was, as of mid-May, available on the company’s


website at http://


www.seagoline.com. The site lists Liverpool as the UK office (the same address as the existing Maersk office at Old Hall Street) and Robert John Clegg as the ‘cluster manager’ for the UK.


centres have yet to be built, but no doubt they will come in time, Stienen believes. At present, there are virtually no exports apart from oil – though on a recent visit to the country he did agree to take some empty beer kegs back to Germany for a local pub-owner – but with only a short journey to Turkey, where reloads are readily available, empty running is minimal.


While most people’s conception of Iraq is something akin to a bombed-out war zone, “it really isn’t like that – certainly not in northern


Iraq” insists oil Stienen.


“There is in fact a real buzz about the place. The people are very entrepreneurial,


revenue is


coming in and shopping centres and hotels are going up. It’s rather like the early days in Russia after the end of communism.” FS Mackenzie prefers to seek out niche markets that the big operators shy away from as being ‘too difficult’ - “it’s how we differentiate ourselves from the big boys”.


For example, FS Mackenzie’s business in Russia and Ukraine developed from small beginnings in what was almost literally uncharted territory to the point where there are now five offices and 100 employees in the former and two offices and 30 employees in the latter. The forwarder is on the look- for similar opportunities.


out


It is too early yet to make any plans for Libya or Syria, but the Caucasus region of Russia, Byelorussia and the Novosibirsk region of Siberia are all likely possibilities.


Stienen is also planning further expansion of its UK office network in Manchester and Birmingham – provided the rather more mundane problem of a lack of skilled, experienced staff can be overcome.


Eurovignette deal


The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers reached agreement on a revised Eurovignette directive on 23 May. Under the proposal, member states would be allowed, but not obliged,


to


imposed toll charges on trucks that included ‘external’ costs such as noise and air pollution. The compromise was due to be formally approved by the European Council on 25 May and then by the European Parliament’s plenary session, in June in Strasbourg – the latter would effectively ‘fast track’ the proposal.


ISSUE 3 2011 ROUND-UP: FORWARDING & LOGISTICS


Two logistics firms have made it into the Sunday Times HSBC International Fast Track 100 league table, which ranks Britain’s top 100 private companies with the fastest-growing international sales over the last two years. Leeds-based Clipper Logistics, which now operates 28 distribution centres around Europe – and which recently opened a 650,000sq ft distribution centre at Newton Aycliffe (see North-East report) - is ranked at no. 10. Seafast Logistics, which offers bespoke logistics solutions was ranked 63rd. It offers sea, air and road freight and port-centric distribution solutions, including work with government, humanitarian and charitable organizations to deliver critical supplies, vehicles and equipment to remote and difficult locations such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Sudan.


Suffolk freight forwarder Dooley Rumble has received HM Revenue and Customs approval for an ERTS (Enhanced Remote Transit Shed) at its Claydon site near Felixstowe. It will allow Dooley Rumble, which earlier this year announced a warehousing contract with designer furniture company Made.com to move cargo from the quay before customs clearance and offer clients a secure facility in which to store their products whilst they undergo customs formalities.


DSV Road and DSV Air & Sea are moving into new offices at Bradford Chamber Business Park, Laisterdyke in Bradford. The move gives the latter a dedicated airfreight export department in the area for the first time. Julie Sharpe, who has over 20 years experience in the industry, is heading the airfreight export team and DSV has also recruited Patricia Richardson, who has worked in the shipping and freight forwarding business for two decades.


Yusen Logistics was officially launched in the UK on 17 April, uniting NYK Logistics (UK) Ltd and Yusen Air & Sea Service (YAS) into a new comprehensive logistics provider, offering warehousing, distribution, air/ocean freight forwarding and supply chain management in one package.


Supply chain consultancy Crimson & Co has published a new book, scprime, The journey to Supply Chain Excellence. It aims to help companies identify performance weaknesses and prioritise improvements and prepares the ground for major IT implementations or acquisitions. It also includes best practice profiles covering the breadth of the supply chain.


Kühne Logistics University is hosting an International Summer School in Transport Management on 19-30 September. Topics aimed at logistics managers will be covered in five modules covering transport management in a business context. www.the-klu.org


Karl Gernandt was elected chairman of the Kuehne and Nagel board on 10 May. His predecessor, Klaus-Michael Kuehne becomes honorary chairman.


ROUND-UP: CUSTOMS & INTERNATIONAL TRADE


South Korea finally ratified the bilateral free trade with the EU on 4 May, in time for the legislation to enter into force as scheduled on 1 July. The European Parliament has already ratified the deal. The two trading partners will eliminate almost 99% of duties in trade on industrial and agricultural products within five years with most remaining products, apart from a few exceptions in the agricultural sector, becoming duty- free over longer periods.


Saudi Arabia has agreed in principle to join the International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures Sometimes known as the revised Kyoto Convention (no connection with the similarly-named climate change agreement), it is regarded as a blueprint for effective and modern Customs procedures.


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