6


Issue 2 2021 - Freight Business Journal


///NEWS


>> 3


solutions for our customers.


Hence, this exclusive vessel charter to supplement fixed long-term agreements we have with core carriers. We strive to deliver certainty to our customers amid the unstable market.” Regional president and chief


executive for Asia Pacific, Onno Boots, added: “These market forces have created variable and unforeseen spikes in demand. Our primary aim is to offer multi-modal solutions to our existing customers to enable them to ship on time and in a reasonably economic manner. As an adaptable and innovative


service provider,


Geodis is permanently looking for alternatives including rail, ocean and air products that


fulfil this aim for shippers on the increasingly volatile Far East West Bound trade lane.” In an interview with FBJ,


Hansen said that Geodis would


consider operating


similar chartered vessels, if market conditions were right and if it solved problems for its customers. However, chartering a vessel was not an easy matter he said, in particular getting hold of sufficient containers within reasonable reach of shippers, especially at a time of general shortage.


However, Geodis


has long experience of project shipping and has chartering experts on its staff. The fact that it started the search for boxes at an early stage of the shipping crisis also helped, he added.


The decision to charter a


multipurpose rather than a dedicated container vessel was a deliberate one, he added. Container vessels are scarcer and it is also less easy to charter them on a one-way basis than multipurpose ships, which carry mostly project and break bulk cargo around the world on a tramp basis. The vessels used were also the ideal size for the number of boxes being moved. The rates paid by Geodis


customers for the chartered vessels were “completely in the market” and, more importantly, it meant that shippers of time- sensitive


seasonal products


were able to satisfy their customers. The ships used multipurpose terminals at both end of the route with suitable cranes provided and rates


charged


were


competitive,


Hansen added. Geodis would certainly


consider similar ventures in future, should a similar situation arise, especially now that it has gained experience in procuring containers. However, it has no intention of becoming a regular ship operator – in normal times, regular liner operators with large vessels should be able to offer far lower costs per box than would be possible with a small, one-off chartered ship. However, Geodis’ venture


had attracted interest and even some admiration for the liner operators though Hansen did not think they would be losing any sleep over the 2,000teu that the forwarder had moved through its own efforts.


German buying group steps into the breach


Meanwhile, German-based purchasing association XStaff said that it had chartered the 2,700teu containership Laila from intra- Asian operator China United Lines (CUL) to move boxes from Yantian in China to Rotterdam and Hamburg. The vessel departed China on


8 February and is expected to arrive in Europe at the beginning of March.


XStaff said it was moved to


take action by “extremely high cargo


rates, limited container Poland’s Port of Gdansk


received its first delivery of post-Brexit fish from the UK when the specialist 90m vessel reefer vessel Silver Crystal imported a consignment


of


frozen mackerel from the Shetland Islands. Port spokeswoman Anna Drozd says that Gdansk is


ideally placed to manage British and European fish processing. It has a cold store at the entrance and two container terminals with direct services to Asia, Africa and Western Europe. It is also the only Polish port with a border veterinary control point dedicated to non-containerized shipments of raw fish.


availability and frequent delays – retail and industrial cargo owners are currently facing enormous challenges when shipping goods from Asia to Europe. Container slots on ships headed to Europe are booked out weeks in advance – and that despite price rises of up to 800% compared to the same time last year. This was a difficult situation for shipping agents, but also for XSTAFF GmbH, which, as an international purchasing association, has been successfully representing


its members in


negotiations with shipping companies for many years. In light of unexpected and exceptional


growth in volumes in areas such as medical relief aid, it became necessary to explore new avenues in the interest of our clientele.” XStaff chairman Bodo Knop “Our members


added: need


planning security, a contractually secured cost framework, and reliability in the service provision. In view of the compelling market situation, we decided to take matters into our own hands and offer our own transport capacities.” XStaff said capacity on the


2008-built vessel was all allocated in just a few days and, despite the high charter costs, rates offered were “in the lower range”. The vessel transported non-food


products destined predominantly for European DIY and supermarket chains. While originally planned as a


one-off initiative, preparations are already underway for a second voyage in the first half of 2021 if the shipping environment has not improved. CUL was in the process of arranging a second sailing in March and XStaff would shortly decide whether it would use this too. “We will do it – if we have to,” said


7 >>


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