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Issue 2 2017 - Freight Business Journal


Segro move paves way for Heathrow Cargo Centre revamp


Property firm Segro has boosted its involvement in the Heathrow market by acquiring the 50% stake in its Airport Property Partnership joint venture from its former partner, Aviva Investors, for £365 million. It added that the move could pave the way for the long-awaited redevelopment of Heathrow Cargo Centre. APP includes most of Heathrow


airport’s airside cargo facilities. Its portfolio consists of 21 pieces of property, valued at £1,097 million and totalling 350,000 sq m, 87% of which (by value) are at Heathrow. Segro chief executive, David


Sleath, said that while the partnership with Aviva had delivered excellent performance over the last five years, “we believe now is the right time to take full control and ownership over APP in which we see a number of opportunities to realise further value from its unique portfolio in the short and long term. We look forward to pursuing our development plans, taking advantage of strong occupier demand for facilities around Heathrow from customers needing rapid access both to the airport and to Central


London. “Our Heathrow portfolio is one


of the jewels in our crown and we are delighted to be able to add scale in this supply-constrained market.” Currently there is one


development underway, at the North Feltham Trading Estate, where 7,300sq m of new urban warehouses are being built, but Seagro believes there are also a number of other sites suitable for either near-term in- fill developments or longer-term redevelopment. Segro says that the most


Virgin adds Seattle and extends US offering


Virgin Atlantic Cargo is launching a new daily service from London Heathrow to Seattle and is adding extra flights from Manchester to the US. Seattle joins the airline’s network on 26 March and, says senior vice president, cargo, John Lloyd, is in the top 15 US import/


significant of these is the 1960s-built Heathrow Cargo Centre which requires redevelopment to cater for the current needs of cargo handlers and to expand its capacity to meet demand for space. The government’s decision


to support a third runway at Heathrow should also increase the volume of cargo passing through Heathrow and with it demand from airlines, airport and airline service companies, cargo handlers and others for the limited space in and around the airport.


export markets with the UK. In Manchester, Virgin starts


direct Francisco operations three times a week from 28 March and a day later a new twice-weekly service to Boston. At the end of May, these new routes will be joined by the start of daily Manchester-New York JFK flights. April will also see the launch of a new weekly service from London Gatwick to Varadero in Cuba.


Government launches Heathrow consultation


Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has launched a public consultation on a new runway at Heathrow. It follows last October’s announcement a third runway at Heathrow was the Government’s preferred option


for expanding airport capacity in south-east England. Simultaneously, the


Government published a draſt national policy statement on new runway capacity and airport infrastructure in the region.


ASM boss to run Brexit think tank


Agency Sector Management chairman Peter MacSwiney is to co-chair a new working group that will look at the impact of the UK’s exit from the European Union, alongside Aaron Dunne. The Joint Customs


Consultative Committee (JCCC) Customs Brexit Group will also include other industry representatives and experts and delegates from other government departments. HMRC will give Brexit updates


at meetings of the group, which will take place six times a year, and members will discuss specific issues with a focus on developing a strategic Brexit policy.


MacSwiney said: “Trade


facilitation must be an integral component of government planning and all Brexit negotiations - any possible reintroduction


of customs


declaration requirements and frontier controls could cause major disruption at the border. “The freight industry needs


to know both HMRC’s short and long-term view and how flexible it is prepared to be. It is also important to understand what interim arrangements, if any, will apply in the meantime and how the UK would work with any changes, short or long-term, within the Union Customs Code.”


Among many other issues, it pointed out the importance of airfreight to the UK economy and that Heathrow is the UK’s biggest freight port by value. It added that, by 2030, advanced manufacturing


industries such as pharmaceuticals or chemicals, whose components and products are predominately moved by air, are expected to be among the top five UK export markets by their share of value.


New customs thinking needed to keep Britain moving


Something more than traditional customs checks will be needed to keep traffic through Dover moving aſter Brexit, says the port’s chief executive, Tim Waggott. He told a panel meeting of the


All-Party Parliamentary Maritime and Ports Group in London on 6 March that if Dover was to be able to cope with current and expected future traffic levels, it would need a system based on advanced information, virtual borders and a ‘freight passport’ in order to keep goods moving in and out of the country. Some form of fiscal-based


method based on an electronic stock control system with goods kept under transit control might be the answer, he suggested. Such systems would become


even more necessary if companies such as Peugeot-Citroen, which announced that it was taking over Vauxhall on the same day, were to be encouraged to maintain vehicle manufacturing in the UK. The Channel Tunnel, which


handles a similar volume of freight to Dover, would face similar issues, he added. Currently, trucks take on average


no more than a minute to transit the port of Dover. Adding only three minutes to each movement for customs checks would mean that the port would be unable to cope with current peak traffic levels, and trucks would end up queuing on the highway. Waggott called for a joint UK-EU


statement on the way forward for future customs clearance.


News Roundup


The Seoul Central District Court declared Hanjin bankrupt on 17 February, leading to the shipping company’s liquidation. The assets of Hanjin, once the world’s seventh largest container line, will be auctioned off to help pay off its debts.


///NEWS Sea


John Good Group has appointed Neil Flower as agency manager North West. He will be responsible for developing the liner and port agency activities for John Good Shipping and DAN Shipping & Chartering in the Port of Liverpool, the Manchester Ship Canal and the wider River Mersey.


The new chief executive of the Interferry trade association, Mike Corrigan, called for more European Union involvement and investment in the ferry sector at European Shipping Week in Brussels on 27 February. He asked why only 3% of total European transport funding is devoted to ferries despite the sector’s major contribution to Europe’s economy and official policy of shifting goods from road to sea.


Maersk Line has applied for EU approval for its purchase of Hamburg Sud with an initial decision due by March 27- although the deadline can be extended for another 90 days. Main sticking points are seen as South American routes – for example, the combined carrier would have a 37% share of the Germany/Brazil market.


Maersk Line has meanwhile announced a slot purchase agreement for Hamburg Süd’s volumes on the East–West trades, allowing traffic to be shipped on vessels in the joint Maersk-MSC 2M network. It agreement follows commercial negotiations in anticipation of the termination of Hamburg Süd’s current slot purchase arrangements.


Hamburg Süd is offering a new weekly service between South America West Coast, Central America, the Caribbean, and North Europe, including improved lead time from South America into London Gateway. South American ports served include Valparaiso, Puerto Angarnos, Callao, Buenaventura, Panama, Cartagena and Caucedo and extensive connections to and from Caribbean destinations are available via Cartagena.


Maersk Line is to introduce a new Asia/North Europe AE7 service from 1 April, calling at Felixstowe in the UK. Voyage time westbound to the UK is 27 days from Tanjung Pelepas, 34 days from Shanghai and 36 days from Ningbo. Eastbound from Felixstowe timings are 37 days to Ningbo, 37 days to Shanghai and 47 days to Tanjung Pelepas. Maersk says the new services will enable it and MSC to accommodate volumes from the recently announced slot purchase agreements with Hyundai Merchant Marine and Hamburg Süd. The two carriers will move cargo, but not operate vessels in the 2M network.


CMA CGM has upgraded its NC Levant service between the Eastern Mediterranean via Malta to Northern Europe including Felixstowe. Extended port coverage includes a new eastbound export call in Tanger Med and a new import call in Algeciras towards Northern Europe. Transit times offered will be among the best on the market, it says. It will be operated in partnership with Maersk’s Seago subsidiary and Hamburg Süd with one 6,500teu and four 5,900teu ships. Ports include Felixstowe, Tangier Med, Marsaxlokk, Alexandria, Beirut, Iskenderun, Mersin, Port Said, Salerno and Algeciras with return direct to Felixstowe.


Ocean shipping electronic marketplace INTTRA has acquired Avantida, the European market leader in empty container management for ocean carriers. Avantida is headquartered in Belgium and currently does business in seven European countries.


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