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Issue 1 2020 - Freight Business Journal New food import rules come into force


The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Aff airs (Defra) implemented EU Smarter rules for safer food (SRSF) regulations from 13 December. The package will modernise, simplify and improve existing health and safety standards for


the agri-food chain and take a risk- based approach to animal, plant and public health protection, introducing more effi cient pest and disease control measures. The changes include an


improved IT system TRACES (NT) to log imports from beyond the


EU and new-look import forms for animal and animal by-products businesses. For plant, seed and timber imports, there will be a large increase in the number of plant passports required as well as changes to the content and format of plant passport


application forms. The new regulations will apply


to the UK in all Brexit scenarios, says Defra. If the UK were to leave the EU without a deal, the regulations will be retained by the Withdrawal Act and will continue to apply subject to any amendments Parliament may agree.


Portico, meanwhile, is


Maersk Line’s decision to move its Colombia reefer service from Portsmouth to Southampton has as many upsides as downsides, says Portsmouth International Port director, Mike Sellers. It will help free up valuable berth and quayside space and allow an expansion of the port’s other business, including project cargo. Maersk’s decision to switch was


due to a desire to increase ship size beyond what Portsmouth can currently accommodate, although Sellers is not sure that the Danish- owned line will get quite the same level of fast, cross-dock service in a larger port. In any case, Portsmouth has


just welcomed back another deepsea


reefer operator, Geest


Line, which moved to Dover about three years ago aſt er it changed its vessel schedule. It’s an indication how ferociously competitive the south coast ports business can be, especially for box cargo. Maersk carries the Fyff es banana traffi c, but the latter actually owns 50% of Geest, so it is quite possible that some of the business will still move through Portsmouth, on diff erent ships. Portsmouth also handles Seatrade, another reefer box line from South America. The release of the capacity


formerly occupied by Maersk will also help Portsmouth pursue its diversifi cation strategy, Sellers continues. This is already starting to happen, with the port handling cargoes as diverse as windmill blades, yachts, other project cargo, aggregates and, for the fi rst time since 1985, grain exports of Hampshire grown barley to eastern Europe for brewing. Sellers recalls: “When the new management team started, we were 100% fruit here, but we want that to be 50%, not


through any reduction in fruit, but by adding new traffi c.” Another possibility that


Portsmouth is pursuing in partnership with Antwerp is a short-sea feeder service to and from Continental Europe.


“the


Antwerp people believe that there is enough business for the service, though ideally we would need export traffi c out of Portsmouth,” Sellers explains. Portsmouth already handles lo lo operation,


a regular the


Ferryspeed service introduced to and from Jersey about a year ago and which has now been extended to Guernsey. (Ferryspeed


also accounts for 70% of the trailers


local services and keep council tax under control. “Last year, we contributed £8.4 million to the city, and that will increase by about £2.5m over the next 3-4 years due to the development of the port,” Sellers comments. Perhaps the downside of being


publicly owned is that investment decisions take time because they are so closely scrutinised by councillors and on occasion Portsmouth has had to answer questions from the European Commission about


state aid.


Nevertheless, investment is forthcoming, including £19m to develop the cruise and ferry terminal and a £15m loan for the


continuing to invest, continues the latter’s operations director and general manager, Steve Williams. Demolition of one of the quayside sheds was completed in December and work has started on paving the area, which should be complete in April 2020. The space created will initially be


used to import steel and concrete components for a £115m fl ood defence scheme. (Portsmouth city is very low-lying and hence vulnerable, especially as the existing defences are coming to the end of their life.) Beyond that, the port will be


looking to develop traffi c for goods moving in or out of the local region, helping to cut truck miles and emissions. The port has also committed to the Maritime 2050 plan to cut its own emissions and aims to become carbon-neutral by 2030, putting forward plans to develop solar panels and wind turbines to generate power for its own operations. This would not


include maintaining


on Condor’s ro ro services to the Channel islands, hence the name.) All the signs are that lo lo to the islands will continue to expand due to the shortages of drivers and trailer parking space in the islands. The port’s recently-published Impact report


Economic has


meanwhile put a few hard fi gures to back up the management team’s instinct, that it has a huge direct and indirect impact on the city and the wider region. Portsmouth is fairly unusual in the UK in that it belongs to the city council and is arguably one of the country’s most successful publicly owned ports. There is a direct benefi t to the local community, in that the profi ts generated by the port go direct into the city’s coff ers, helping to bolster


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port’s Portico stevedoring arm that can be drawn down as and when needed. Perhaps a bit more fl exibility


to adapt plans would be useful, but all port ownership models have their pros and cons, says Sellers. Scrutiny and consultation is probably no more onerous than that faced by many trust ports and he pays tribute to the city council’s progressive and entrepreneurial attitude. There is also broad cross- party support for the port too. Selllers says: “I’ve spent 22 out of


25 years in private sector ports and I would have said then that private was the right model, but being a municipal port can be positive too. We’re not in any confl ict with the City, as they own us.”


reefer


box temperature – which uses a lot energy – but the nearby Royal Naval base and BAe Systems have meanwhile put forward plans for combined heat and power station that would also generate power for the whole city. It could also provide power for the commercial port’s reefer operation, along with shore power for cruise ships. Portsmouth also expects soon


to be at the forefront of clean ferry operations. With the arrival of Brittany’s Honfl eur and LNG versions of


the new breed of


E-fl exer vessels, four out of fi ve of the ro ro ships regularly operating to the port will be gas-powered. All this fi ts in with Council plans


to clean up the air in the adjacent city centre, which unfortunately currently ranks as one of the more polluted places in the region.


Etihad Cargo has become the second carrier to achieve IATA’s Centre of Excellence for Perishable Logistics (CEIV Fresh), in Abu Dhabi, as well as the fi rst Middle East airline and the second global carrier to hold both CEIV Fresh and CEIV Pharma certifi cations. The CEIV Fresh certifi cation covers Etihad Cargo’s airline operations, cargo handling and warehousing at Abu Dhabi International Airport where the carrier recently extended its fresh facility.


News Roundup


United Airlines will launch daily nonstop fl ights between Dublin and San Francisco on 5 June 2020, becoming the only US airline to off er daily fl ights between Ireland and the West Coast. It will be operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.


Juneyao Air fl ights between Manchester and Shanghai are due to start in March, operating three times per week using Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraſt . Shanghai will be Manchester’s third route to China; Cathay Pacifi c launched a Hong Kong route in 2014 with and Hainan Airlines started Beijing fl ights in 2016.


Qatar Airways Cargo has launched a twice weekly Boeing 777 freighter service from its Doha hub to Osaka, Japan. It departs Doha on Tuesdays and Fridays each week, arriving in Osaka on the following day, and returning via Hong Kong, off ering about 200 tonnes of cargo capacity.


Aberdeen Standard Investments’ AIPUT fund (Airport Industrial Property Unit Trust) has gained planning permission for its Black Arrow speculative-build warehouse development at Blackthorne Point industrial estate in Poyle, near Heathrow’s Terminal 5. The 27,760sq ſt warehouse will be on a vacant brownfi eld site off ering fl exible space and supporting B1c, B2 and B8 uses. The building will incorporate a number of new environmental initiatives including air source heat pumps and photovoltaic panels and will have a BREEAM ‘very good’ rating.


Luſt hansa’s time:matters rapid response logistics arm has extended its dangerous goods options (classes 2 to 9) throughout its network, having initially off ered the option in ten countries in September 2019. Loading on the apron is personally supervised at the four hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna and Brussels and the service saves several hours compared normal airfreight, says the operator. In Frankfurt, Munich and Vienna time:matters can also off er tail-to- tail loading for particularly time-critical DG shipments.


Luſt hansa Cargo is off ering online dynamic spot prices that can be booked immediately through its Rapid Rate Response (RRR) mechanism. The system currently generates spot price off ers in a number of pilot markets including Thailand, Vietnam, North and Northeast India, Beijing, Middle East, various US stations, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Cologne and Stuttgart but it will gradually be extended worldwide by the end of 2020. The carrier will in future also off er forwarders the option of directly connecting their own systems via an application programming interface (API).


Exporta has expanded its range of reusable shipping packaging with new collapsible cardboard crates, designed with air freight in mind. The company says that, combined with a lightweight nestable plastic pallet, the crates can signifi cantly reduce the volume and cost of shipping by air. Exporta already has a comprehensive range of rigid and collapsible plastic pallet boxes.


///NEWS Air


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