16 M


Issue 6 2011


Maersk to merge Safmarine operations


aersk Line is to integrate the corporate functions


of its sister African container operation Safmarine into its own core business and close the latter’s headquarters in Antwerp. Safmarine’s Antwerp head office and regional offices in Antwerp, Shanghai, Dubai, Cape Town, and Mumbai would shut, as would the centre support functions currently carried out in Singapore and Cape Town. This could affect 240 people in those locations. The brand will however be


retained, insisted Maersk Liner Business CEO, Eivind Kolding. The move had been driven by the need to ensure management efficiencies and control costs, he said. Current Safmarine CEO,


Tomas Dyrbye, will be leaving his position and his successor will be announced shortly. Safmarine said in mid-November that the selection process for the new CEO was “at an advanced stage, with final candidates being evaluated over the coming weeks. The current CEO Tomas Dyrbye remains in his role and will continue to guide the Safmarine organisation


throughout the transition until its conclusion with the full new CEO organisation and country organisations in place.” Eivind Kolding said: “We are sad


to have to consider losing some very strong colleagues, who have made an important contribution to the company and helped change the way we think about shipping.” Consultation has been taking


place with trade unions and the Works Council with a view to helping Safmarine staff transfer to jobs in the AP Moller-Maersk organisation, said the company. Safmarine would continue to be


an important part of the business, he continued. “It has proven that a close focus on a particular approach can deliver stronger customer service and lasting relationships - this is core to our mission of redefining shipping.” Indeed, Maersk promised that the Safmarine brand would be strengthened as part of its strategy of providing differentiated customer offerings. Safmarine’s Multi Purpose


Vessel business will not be unaffected by the integration and continue to operate from its base in


Antwerp. Nor does the move affect


the UK operation in Felixstowe. The Maersk Liner business will continue to market the Safmarine


brand through the customer service desk “as will the other approximately 1,000 Safmariners in 130 offices around the world,” the line added.


Daily service is a success, says line


Maersk Line said on 24 October that its new ‘Daily Maersk’ service on the Asia - North Europe trade lane had resulted in a significant increase in bookings cargo loadings in the first six weeks of operation. It said that the final three weeks of testing prior to commercial launch had “firmly substantiated”


its promise of


absolute reliability with more customers than usual booking on Daily Maersk corridors. Later, on 23 November, Maersk said that the first Daily Maersk cargo was on time in all three European ports served - Felixstowe, Rotterdam and Bremerhaven. Vincent Clerc, vice president and head of the Europe trade, commented:


“Maersk Line is proving that we can give customers absolute reliability. When we first started thinking about introducing Daily Maersk I did wonder whether it was going to be possible. We made it happen, and we are confident we can continue to provide outstanding service to our customers.” The line added that it would


merge its will be merging the ICON service from the Indian subcontinent to Europe with the ‘Daily Maersk’ network from the Chinese New Year in early February. A dedicated feeder link between Chittagong and Tanjung Pelelas would provide access to the route.


Holyhead truck park clears major hurdle


W ales’ Business Minister Edwina Hart has given


the go-ahead for the sale of land at Holyhead port to the Conygar Investment Company to develop a nine-acre transport hub. It will include a lorry park for 140 heavy goods vehicles, with facilities for drivers, a fuel stop and an HGV service centre. A planning application is currently being prepared and should be submitted to the County Council within the next three months. The development could create up to 70 permanent jobs as well as a similar number of temporary jobs throughout the construction phase. Anglesey Commissioner with


responsibility for Economic Development, Alex Aldridge, said the


development would help resolve long-standing for issues of


lorries parking overnight in lay-bys and in the town centre as drivers wait


ferries. The problem is


exacerbated during bad weather when sailings are cancelled. Stena port manager Captain Wyn


Parry added: “Following the closure of the Liverpool to Dublin DFDS service earlier this year, Holyhead has already seen a significant increase in freight volumes so it has become imperative that a lorry park is established close to the port as soon as possible to avoid traffic congestion in and around the harbour.” Holyhead expects to handle over 330,000 lorries in 2011. Conygar chief executive Robert


Ware said: “We are pleased that the Minister has given her consent for the project to proceed and intend


to submit a planning application as soon as possible. We have visited a similar facility in Dublin Port which is very successful and are determined to emulate that at Holyhead and discussions have also taken place with a leading Irish logistics company who wish


to be involved in the project. We have already obtained consent for office distribution and warehousing space at Parc Cybi and believe that the transport hub and lorry park will compliment that development, which will in turn create many jobs.”


ASM chief hurt in bike crash


A


SM executive chairman Peter MacSwiney was injured in a


collision between his motorbike and a car in Uxbridge on 30 October. He has suffered several broken bones but is recovering well. He is even attending a few meetings, despite having limited mobility. All


at FBJ wish him a speedy recovery. Meanwhile, ASM’s new Sequoia


system is going into operation at a number of locations around the country. Peter MacSwiney said that it had been well-received and had had “remarkably few bugs” since going into service.


///NEWS NEWS ROUNDUP AIRFEIGHT & EXPRESS


The first B747-8F scheduled commercial flight operated from Luxembourg to Hong Kong, with the arrival of Cargolux flight number CV8923 on 16 October. The 134-tonne capacity aircraſt flew from its home base to Hong Kong and then on to Baku, Budapest and Luxembourg. Cargolux, the launch customer for the new freighter, will now operate the new aircraſt to Hong Kong four times a week. Cargolux said on 1 October that it had reached agreement with Boeing over contractual issues that had led to it refusing to take delivery of the first two Boeing 747-8 Freighters initially scheduled for 19 and 21 September.


IAG Cargo, the freight arm of the new joint British-Airways-Iberia airline, has taken delivery of the first of three Boeing 747-8 Freighters. The aircraft landed at London Stansted Airport at 7.30am GMT on Friday 4 November, following a delivery flight from the Boeing in Seattle.


American Airlines Cargo division celebrated 20 years of flying directly between London Heathrow and the US with a reception for more than 100 of its key customers. VP Cargo, Joe Reedy flew in to mark the event.


Air Malta was due to restart services to Libya on 28 November with a thrice-weekly service to Tripoli on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Qatar Airways also said it would launch four-times-a-week services from its home country, Doha, after a break of eight years.


Emirates SkyCargo has returned to its Stansted Road base on the south side of Heathrow airport just over a year after the previous building was seriously damaged in a fire. The building, which is run by Emirates’ cargo handling partner Servisair Cargo, includes a warehouse which handles freight for the carrier’s five daily Heathrow flights along with Emirates’ UK cargo sales and management teams.


Emirates placed the largest aircraft order in Boeing’s history, for an additional 50 777-300 ER aircraft, worth approximately US$ 18 billion, at the Dubai Air Show on 13 November. The order adds to the world’s largest fleet of 95 777s in service which includes three freighters. Emirates is however replacing the third of its daily 777 passenger flights from Heathrow to Dubai with an A380 from 24 January next year. The move will cut cargo capacity as the A380 has a markedly lower freight capacity than the aircraft it replaces.


DB Schenker Logistics is offering new freight flights from Luxembourg to Toronto and Chicago and return following the introduction of services between Amsterdam and Chicago. Flights depart every Sunday from Luxembourg to Toronto and Chicago and every Wednesday and Saturday to Atlanta and Houston.


John Raven, who recently retired as the International Air Cargo Association (TIACA)’s adviser in Brussels, has died. TIACA described him as “a passionate advocate of global customs modernisation and trade facilitation” who “had earned the highest level of respect from regulatory bodies and business leaders.”


Atlantic Airlines, part of the West Atlantic Group, is to resume scheduled freighter flights from Coventry Airport, according to local press reports. It follows the acquisition of the troubled airport by general aviation company Patriot Aviation Group last year. The airport had ceased operations in 2009. West Atlantic will base two BAe ATP turboprops at Coventry, operating express parcels flights to Dublin, Lille and Maastricht.


The UK has signed an airfreight security agreement with the UAE. It comes in the wake of the printer cartridge bomb incident at East Midlands in October 2010.


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