Pressroom – Page 103

FIATA Announce Winner of Young Forwarder Award

October 10, 2017 by Julia Hiles

The 2017 Young International Freight Forwarder of the Year (YIFFY) Award has been presented to Bradley Davis of Canada at the FIATA annual World Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

YIFFY Award Winner 2017: (l-r) Michael Yarwood, TT Club; Thomas Sim, Chairman of FIATA’s Advisory Board Vocational Training; Award Winner Bradley Davis; Hu Xiang Zhao, President of FIATA

10^th October 2017

Each year FIATA celebrates the achievements of young freight forwarders representing national associations at its annual World Congress. This year was no exception as over 1,000 attendees at the Kuala Lumpur Congress congratulated the winner of the Young Freight Forwarder of the Year (YIFFY) Award, Bradley Davis of Canada.

Specialist insurance provider to the international freight transport industry, TT Club is proud to have sponsored this award throughout its nineteen year history and Senior Loss Prevention Executive Mike Yarwood was on hand to announce the winner and present the award with a brief speech, in which he cited the important achievements in training made by FIATA and its members.

FIATA and TT Club duly recognise the succession challenges facing many areas of the global industry and therefore the need to invest in the development and education of young logistics professionals. The YIFFYA competition provides opportunities for all candidates, of which there were twenty-two this year, to demonstrate and develop their knowledge of the industry. The competition remains both challenging and rewarding for the candidates, requiring as it does each to submit a 6,000 word dissertation outlining an import and export shipment from their native country.

Each year four regional finalists are selected and are invited to attend the FIATA World Congress, providing each finalist with invaluable learning and networking opportunities. In addition the overall winner of the award is invited to attend two, one week training sessions with the TT Club at one of their regional headquarters in London, New Jersey or Hong Kong as well as a one year subscription to the International Transport Journal.

Commenting on the outstanding quality of the work presented to the judges this year, Yarwood said, “From a highly professional and broad array of entries the YIFFY Steering Committee selected a shortlist of four regional finalists. These four young professionals were then asked to deliver a short presentation on their dissertation topic to the steering committee at the World Congress. I would like to congratulate all four finalists for their polished presentations and especially, of course to our winner Bradley Davis.”

The four regional finalists for the 2017 competition were:

Region: Africa/Middle East – Tinasche Chiwanza – Zimbabwe (SFAAZ)

Region: Americas – Bradley Davis – Canada (CIFFA)

Region: Asia/Pacific – Nian Wan – China (CIFA)

Region: Europe – Nina Brose – Germany (DSLV)

The judges stressed that the dissertations this year were of a particularly high standard. The work of the entrants as a whole admirably demonstrated the complexity of processes carried out within the global supply chain and the logistics skills employed in its service. The diverse subjects covered by the dissertations included the transport of Zoological Animals, Olympic Team Equipment, Agricultural Chemicals, Wine and Raw Tea, a clear example of the variety of challenges the industry is facing to provide crucial trade services

The TT Club sponsored award is presented in recognition of operational excellence in the logistics field and was established by FIATA with the support of TT Club to encourage the development of quality training in the industry and to reward young talent with additional valuable training opportunities and enhanced visibility. The TT Club has been a sponsor of the award since its inception and remains firmly committed to the importance of individual training and development within the global freight forwarding and logistics community, which is regarded by FIATA as a strategic important cooperation.

Yarwood concludes, “We are pleased to be continuing our sponsorship of this unique award into 2018. Once again, we hope that the competition will prove to be successful in terms of attracting outstanding candidates from across the globe.”

To learn more about the YIFFY Award, please join us through the following social media platforms.

Twitter: @yiffya

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/3670002

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/252961425173993/

Notes to editors:

TT Club is the international transport and logistics industry’s leading provider of insurance and related risk management services. As a mutual insurer, TT Club exists to provide its policyholders with benefits, which include specialist underwriting expertise, a world-wide office network providing claims management services, and first class risk management and loss prevention advice.

Customers include some of the world’s largest shipping lines, busiest ports, biggest freight forwarders and cargo handling terminals, to companies operating on a smaller scale but whose operations face similar risks. TT Club specialises in the insurance of Intermodal Operators, NVOCs, Freight Forwarders, Logistics Operators, Marine Terminals, Stevedores, Port Authorities and Ship Operators. TT Club is managed by Thomas Miller.

www.ttclub.com

About FIATA

FIATA, the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations, was founded in Vienna, Austria on May 31st 1926. It is a non-governmental organisation that today represents an industry covering approximately 40,000 forwarding and logistics firms, employing around 10 million people in some 160 countries.

FIATA has consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations (inter alia ECE, ESCAP, ESCWA, etc.), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) as well as many other UN related bodies, e.g. the World Bank. It is recognised as representing the freight forwarding industry by many other governmental organisations, governmental authorities, private international organisations in the field of transport and logistics, such as the European Commission (through CLECAT), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International Union of Railways (UIC), the International Road Transport Union (IRU), the World Customs Organization (WCO), the World Trade Organization (WTO), etc.

Filed Under: TT Club

This Year’s Innovation in Safety Award Goes to …. Hapag Lloyd

October 5, 2017 by Julia Hiles

Caption: (l-r) Peregrine Storrs-Fox, Risk Management Director, TT Club; Ken Rohlmann, Senior Director Cargo Service, Hapag-Lloyd (Winner: Hapag-Lloyd Cargo Patrol) ; Joseph Westwood Booth, IMO’s Senior Deputy Director, Maritime Safety

The TT Club Innovation in Safety Award was presented earlier this week to Ken Rohlmann who heads Hapag Lloyd’s Cargo Patrol Team. The initiative is an industry-leading attempt to reduce fraudulent cargo declarations that obscure the true identity of dangerous goods transported around the globe

Las Palmas, Spain, 5^th October 2017

The TT Club Innovation in Safety Award is now in its second year and the winner was announced at ICHCA’s 65^th Anniversary Conference in Las Palmas this week. The Award is aimed at identifying innovative developments that engender greater safety and efficiency in the intermodal supply chain. Following the inauguration of the award last year, TT Club and ICHCA have been delighted with the response of the industry, which resulted this year in some twenty-two high quality entries, each revealing exciting and proven improvements to supply chain practices.

In introducing the award, international freight insurer TT Club’s Risk Management Director Peregrine Storrs-Fox commented, “One of the more serious issues that continues to blight the entire shipping industry is non-compliance in relation to the transport of restricted commodities and dangerous goods. It is estimated that this is the root cause of a major shipboard fire, on average every 60 days. All shipping lines have attempted to mitigate the problem but Hapag-Lloyd has long been at the forefront, creating in 2011 what has become the ‘Cargo Patrol’ search engine.”

Indeed the value of Cargo Patrol has grown year on year and now identifies in the order of 1,250 potential undeclared or misdeclared bookings each day. During 2016, the total of 264,000 alerts resulted in 4,200 positive ‘hits’ – many of these bookings were subsequently cancelled by the line. As this often results in the ‘problem’ cargo moving on to another line, Hapag-Lloyd has taken the decision to pass its software to IBM for further development and in order to make the solution accessible to all shipping lines.

In accepting the award, Ken Rohlmann said, “Hapag-Lloyd is delighted to receive this prestigious Innovation in Safety Award. I’d like to dedicate the award to my colleagues from the Hapag-Lloyd IT department, who built Cargo Patrol as an in-house solution, and of course to my Cargo Patrol Team, who tirelessly investigate all the potential misdeclarations day by day. This award will further motivate us in the work to keep our crews safe.”

The judging process was rigorous and intense, as the range of entries displayed both a great diversity of safety issues, as well as tremendous passion, effort and ingenuity. The task of evaluating the entries was, for the five judges (listed below) therefore a formidable one; so much so, in fact that they chose to also award a Highly Commended honour. This went to Safety Ammo.

The dangers faced by ‘pinning’ workers – those who physically handle twistlocks on the underside of containers on the waterfront – are considerable. Safety Ammo is a RFID-based safety solution that brings together practical operational expertise within a range of technologies and requires minimal user interaction. It monitors in real time any personnel within the safe zone and indicates all activity through a simple interface. The result is that the ‘pinning station’ can notify any external control systems of workers’ whereabouts, thereby significantly increasing the safety of those exposed.

ICHCA International’s Captain Richard Brough thanked Joseph Westwood Booth, the IMO’s Senior Deputy Director, Maritime Safety, who presented the award and also commented, “ICHCA is proud of the level on safety initiatives that the award has encouraged and would like to thank TT Club for its help in administering the awards process and financial support through its continued sponsorship.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

About the ICHCA International ‘Innovation in Safety’ Award

Open to individuals, teams or companies involved in cargo logistics, entrants for the ICHCA International Innovation in Safety Award had to provide evidence to show that a product, idea, solution, process or scheme had resulted in a demonstrable improvement to safety.

Judging panel:

Jan Boermans, Chair, ISP

Bill Brassington, Owner, ETS Consulting

Richard Brough, Technical Adviser and Observer, ICHCA International

Peregrine Storrs-Fox, Risk Management Director, TT Club

Rachael White, CEO Secretariat, ICHCA International

About ICHCA International

Established in 1952, ICHCA International is an independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving the safety, productivity and efficiency of cargo handling and movement worldwide. ICHCA’s privileged NGO status enables it to represent its members, and the cargo handling industry at large, in front of national and international agencies and regulatory bodies, while its ISP Technical Panel provides best practice advice and develops publications on a wide range of practical cargo handling issues.

Operating through a series of national and regional chapters – including ICHCA Australia, ICHCA Japan and ICHCA Canarias/Africa (CARC) – plus Correspondence and Working Groups, ICHCA provides a focal point for informing, educating, lobbying and networking to improve knowledge and best practice across the cargo handling chain.

www.ichca.com | www.ichca-australia.com

About TT Club

The TT Club is the international transport and logistics industry’s leading provider of insurance and related risk management services. As a mutual insurer, the TT Club exists to provide its policyholders with benefits, which include specialist underwriting expertise, a world-wide office network providing claims management services, and first class risk management and loss prevention advice.

Thomas Miller is an independent and international provider of insurance, professional and investment services. Founded in 1885, Thomas Miller’s origins are in the provision of management services to mutual organisations, particularly in the international transport and professional indemnity sectors; where today they manage a large percentage of the foremost insurance mutuals. Thomas Miller also manages insurance facilities for all the self-employed barristers in England & Wales, as well as trustees of pension schemes, patent agents and housing associations.

Principal activities include:

Management services for transport and professional indemnity insurance mutuals
Investment management for institutions and private clients
Professional services
Building defects insurance

www.thomasmiller.com

Filed Under: TT Club

GEODIS highly rated for its Corporate Social Responsibility approach (CSR)

October 4, 2017 by Julia Hiles

The collaborative platform EcoVadis has awarded GEODIS a score of 68/100, after analyzing its entire Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program. EcoVadis assesses companies on environmental, social, ethical and supply chain issues. With this score, it has placed the Group among the best in its overall rankings.

The EcoVadis report describes the GEODIS’ CSR approach as “Advanced”. It also considers the strategy adopted by GEODIS to be based on “a structured CSR approach, quantified commitments, tangible action on all issues, detailed information on the implementation of these actions and precise CSR reporting, as well as use of performance indicators”. The score obtained this year is the highest ever obtained by GEODIS since its first voluntary participation in the EcoVadis assessment. This result underlines a continuous improvement in its CSR processes and actions. It also reflects the success of extensive work conducted over several years on CSR topics within the Group.

“GEODIS develops innovative responses to environmental and social challenges through the collective day-to-day efforts of its employees. These efforts promote sustainable development and are rooted firmly in the business ethics of our Lines of Business, their processes and organizations,” says Marie-Christine Lombard, CEO of GEODIS. “Our ambition is to position ourselves as the sustainable growth partner of our customers.”

“The assessment by EcoVadis is a voluntary undertaking that we adopted in order to satisfy our customers, who were seeking a clearer picture of our CSR approach,” continues Régis Lesieux, Business Excellence & CSR Vice President, GEODIS. “Just as we ask our suppliers to have their CSR policies assessed, we want to provide our customers with a precise indicator of our own performance in this field. The fact that our CSR approach has been praised by EcoVadis – particularly with respect to our commitment to fighting climate change – is a real source of pride for us and underlines the commitment of our workforce.”

The EcoVadis assessment is based on 21 criteria covering four areas of activity: environment, social issues, ethics/fair business practices and supply chain. The assessment of the GEODIS’ approach can be broken down as follows:

– Environment: In this area, EcoVadis highlighted the level carbon reporting provided by GEODIS for its customers and the regular renewal of its fleet and fleet equipment along with initiatives to reduce environmental impact (CO₂, noise, waste, etc.).

– Social: The Group primarily owes its good results in this field to its many initiatives to promote employee health and safety: OHSAS 18001 certification, regular training for drivers on health and safety in the workplace and regular health checks.

– Business ethics: EcoVadis underlined the significant measures deployed by GEODIS in the field of IT security in order to protect its data. It also praised the updating of the GEODIS Code of Ethics, the quality of whistle-blowing procedures and the internal audits relating to the fight against corruption.

– Supply chain: EcoVadis identified a number of strong points manifested by GEODIS, primarily the inclusion of environmental and social criteria in contracts, as well as supplier assessments, particularly with respect to vehicle acquisition.

EcoVadis is the first collaborative platform providing sustainability ratings and performance improvement tools for global supply chains. Over 20,000 companies use EcoVadis to reduce risk, drive innovation and foster transparency and trust within business partnerships.

To discover the GEODIS CSR report, click here.

Filed Under: GEODIS

GEODIS transports Siemens turbines across the Andes mountains

October 4, 2017 by Julia Hiles

Siemens has engaged GEODIS to transport some 400 heavy loads from three different continents to Bolivia. This involves transits through the Panama Canal and over the Andes mountains under extreme weather conditions and at altitudes of up to 4,680 meters. The loads include Siemens combined cycle power generation equipment intended for three Bolivian thermo‑electric plants located in Del Sur, Warnes and Entre Rios. GEODIS’ scope of services includes ocean freight, port handling, vessel loading and discharge, transit documentation and road freight, including all permits.

The first two turbines were loaded in April and originated in Sweden, where they were manufactured at the Siemens’ Finspang Industrial Turbomachinery facility. Weighing 170 tons in total, they were embarked on a heavy-lift ship at Norrköping for the 14,000 kilometers sea voyage to the port of Arica in Chile. All materials arrive there, including turbines, heat recovery steam generators and generator sets.

After discharge in Arica, the equipment from Siemens is transported by road to the sites in Bolivia; specially arranged trucks hauling the material over 1,800 kilometers to their destination. In total, GEODIS will manage 94 heavy lifts of up to 160 tons each by the time the project is completed in April 2019. The poorly developed road network between Chile and Bolivia, rough terrain and extreme weather conditions are the main challenges for the GEODIS teams managing the operation.

According to Peter Anetsberger, GEODIS Regional Segment Leader for Power at Industrial Projects in Europe, “this mission has a variety of challenges for our experts to tackle. The project has a tight delivery schedule and the teams have to deal with a wide range of shipments originating in Germany, Sweden, Czech Republic, Italy, Indonesia, Brazil and China. Plus, we had to undertake roadway construction on the transit route through the Andes. Despite these constraints, we are confident of overcoming the challenges and achieving the target set by Siemens.”

In total, GEODIS will transport 14 industrial gas turbines, 11 steam turbines and further power plant equipment to convert the three plants for combined cycle operation. As a result of the complex reconstruction project, Siemens will increase the power generating capacity of Bolivia’s National Interconnected System by 66 percent or more than one gigawatt. The project will provide reliable energy supply for the local population and lay the foundation for possible electricity export to neighboring countries in the future.

Filed Under: GEODIS

TT Club/UK P&I and Exis Technologies join forces to move Hazcheck Restrictions Portal into next development phase

October 3, 2017 by Julia Hiles

London and Darlington, UK, 3 October 2017

To be announced at ICHCA Conference, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain

2-6 October 2017

Freight insurance specialist TT Club and the UK P&I Club, a leading provider of P&I insurance and other services to the international shipping community, two Thomas Miller managed transport insurers have joined forces with Exis Technologies to move the Hazcheck Restrictions Portal into its next development phase. Hazcheck Restrictions enables participating lines to enter (or upload) and maintain the operator, vessel and port restrictions for their operations, check for dangerous goods (DG) compliance with partner lines and accept provisional bookings. The portal started as an initiative with several major container lines that already used Exis Technologies range of Hazcheck compliance systems for their DG shipping operations, particularly to resolve issues posed under vessel sharing agreements.

The next phase of implementation involves encouraging container lines, ports, terminals, shippers and forwarders to upload their data into the portal free of charge for a minimum of two years. Facilitating the retrieval of the whole range of information from the portal for operational use may lead to a new global portal for the whole supply chain to use in helping to make operations more efficient and safer.

The announcement is made at the International Cargo Handling Association (ICHCA) Conference held in Las Palmas, this October, attended by shipping lines, ports and terminals, as well as shippers and intermodal operators, discussing the latest ways to improve the safety, efficiency and sustainability of the cargo handling industry worldwide.

Peregrine Storrs-Fox, Risk Management Director, TT Club commented, “TT Club has been working alongside Exis Technologies since 2009 to deliver e-learning training solutions to the global supply chain. The Hazcheck Restrictions portal is an ambitious initiative aimed at reducing incidents related to dangerous goods shipments. Stakeholder engagement, particularly from ports and terminals, has the potential to deliver a portal which will make a huge difference for the intermodal industry.”

James Douglas, Director, Exis Technologies said, “We are delighted that TT Club and UK P&I Club have recognised the potential in our Hazcheck Restrictions portal. We hope that the supply chain will join us in our efforts to create this exciting new portal”.

Why is the portal needed?

It is estimated that 10% of containerised shipments include DG, with the result that some ships will have in excess of a thousand containers on any given voyage. This necessitates critical checks to be made against the particular voyage legs (voyage segments between ports/ terminals) for all the DG being shipped. These checks are complex:

Most lines restrict or prohibit certain classes of DG (particularly explosives, radioactive materials and some organic peroxides in reefer containers) so the booking line needs to know if the partner line that will carry the box or boxes will accept the DG.
Detailed stowage requirements (–such as on deck only, away from accommodation, or away from sources of heat) mean that suitable space is finite.
Many ports and individual container terminals have strict rules on the classes of DG that can be loaded, unloaded or transhipped, or even present on board while the ship is in port. Significant disruption can ensue if the ‘wrong’ DG is aboard a ship.

Multiply this process by the thousands of partner line DG bookings made each day and by the number of ports/terminals in the network, under time pressure, and the scale and complexity of the problem becomes clear. Unlike the world of airline cargo shipments there is no single database of port and terminal restrictions or indeed operator restrictions. This leaves each shipping line trying to capture and keep its own record of port and terminal restrictions as they change on a frequent basis anywhere in their global network. The vision of the Hazcheck Restrictions Portal is to deliver significant simplification for all stakeholders, and improve safety and compliance.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About TT Club

TT Club is the international transport and logistics industry’s leading provider of insurance and related risk management services. Established in 1968, the Club’s membership comprises ship operators, ports and terminals, road, rail and airfreight operators, logistics companies and container lessors. As a mutual insurer, the Club exists to provide its policyholders with benefits, which include specialist underwriting expertise, a world-wide office network providing claims management services, and first class risk management and loss prevention advice.

TT Club is managed by Thomas Miller.

www.ttclub.com

About UK P&I Club

The UK P&I Club is a leading provider of P&I insurance and other services to the international shipping community. Established in 1865 the UK P&I Club insures over 239 million tonnes of owned and chartered shipping through its international offices and claims network. ‘A (Stable)’ rated by Standard & Poor’s with free reserves and hybrid capital of $558m, the UK P&I Club is renowned for its specialist skills and expertise which ensure ‘best in class’ underwriting, claims handling and loss prevention services.

The UK P&I Club is managed by Thomas Miller, an independent and international insurance, professional and investment services provider.

www.ukpandi.com

About Thomas Miller

Thomas Miller is an independent and international provider of insurance, professional and investment services.

Founded in 1885, Thomas Miller’s origins are in the provision of management services to mutual organisations, particularly in the international transport and professional indemnity sectors; where today they manage a large percentage of the foremost insurance mutuals. Thomas Miller also manages insurance facilities for all the self-employed barristers in England & Wales, as well as trustees of pension schemes, patent agents and housing associations.

Principal activities include:

Management services for transport and professional indemnity insurance mutuals
Investment management for institutions and private clients
Professional services including legal services, claims and captive management
Managing General Agency

www.thomasmiller.com

About Exis Technologies

Exis Technologies, headquartered in Darlington, UK, has been a leading supplier of compliance systems for the management of dangerous goods in sea transport for nearly 30 years. They serve 9 of the top 10 container lines. Exis has been developing e-learning courses for the transport industry since 2009 in collaboration with the International Maritime Organization and in partnership with the TT Club and ICHCA. www.existec.com

Filed Under: TT Club

Safe cargo packing, handling and transport: The need for better communication and cooperation

October 3, 2017 by Julia Hiles

The industry coalition committed to promoting the use of the Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code)* stresses two of its primary aims: the need for more widespread communication of the Code’s existence and greater cooperation from all parties in the supply chain in putting the Code’s guidelines into practice in accordance with their roles and responsibilities.

Las Palmas, Spain, 3^rd October, 2017

Safety improvements throughout the international supply chain can be made through the proper packing, handling and transport of cargo transport units (CTUs), including containers, according to the four bodies making up the industry coalition, and which are responsible for a broad cross-section of the global CTU freight industry. Speaking at a special session of ICHCA International’s 65^th anniversary conference in Las Palmas, Spain today a spokesperson from each coalition member – Global Shippers’ Forum, ICHCA International, TT Club and World Shipping Council – highlighted the varied challenges the industry faces in achieving such improvements.

Having addressed national government delegates at the IMO last month, impressing on them the shared responsibility to promote the Code’s use, the coalition members today turned their attention to cargo handlers and stevedores.

“Terminal operators and stevedores in many locations play a relatively minor role in packing containers and other CTUs. They nevertheless play an important role in identifying eccentrically loaded, overweight, bulging and otherwise dangerously packed units, and in taking appropriate steps to address any safety concerns,” said Captain Richard Brough representing the hosts, ICHCA International. “In terms of disseminating this message, we are particularly pleased today to be able to address such a significant group from CARC, the Canarias/Africa Chapter of ICHCA, who are meeting with us this week.”

In highlighting the need for stepping up efforts to communicate the Code and its content, Peregrine Storrs-Fox of TT Club commented, “We recently surveyed some 6,000 industry professionals to ascertain their knowledge of the Code. A low level response of 5% completing the questionnaire in itself indicates a lack of awareness. Of those expressing an opinion, just 56% felt the Code is sufficient to address safety issues. Given the comprehensive nature of the Code, this suggests a need for more clarity and explanation of its important safety recommendations. Cooperation from all stakeholders across the global supply chain in order to improve this communication of the Code and, importantly, its uptake is vital.”

Exemplifying one aspect of the Code’s complexity but also its remarkable comprehensiveness, Lars Kjaer of the WSC examined the issue of pest contamination of containers and their cargoes. “The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) confirms that the packing of sea containers with cargo is the most likely stage in the sea container supply chain at which pest contamination can occur,” emphasised Kjaer. “Use of the Code, supported by targeted guidelines, will assist in efforts to mitigate this problem as all involved in the international container supply chain have a duty to ensure that CTUs and their cargoes are not infested with soil, plants, plant products, insects or other animals.”

It is clear that shippers and those acting on their behalf in packing containers and other CTUs around the world are a key group to be engaged in efforts to promote the Code in practice. Chris Welsh, representing the Global Shippers Forum, also meeting in Las Palmas this week, is keen to spread the message. He commented, “Today’s meeting brings together in a single venue those who operate cargo handling facilities and the shippers and packers who initiate the movement. It is a key moment to bring our important safety messages to all elements of the supply chain and particularly those responsible for packing and securing cargo in CTUs. We continue to call for cooperation from all such stakeholders to improve the industry’s safety record in this crucial regard.”

*IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code) http://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Safety/Cargoes/CargoSecuring/Pages/CTU-Code.aspx

ENDS

Notes for Editors

The Global Shippers’ Forum (GSF) is the world’s leading global trade association representing shippers engaged in international trade moving goods by all modes of transport. Chris Welsh MBE chaired the Expert Working Group charged with drafting IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code). More information is available at: www.globalshippersforum.com

The International Cargo Handling Coordination Association (ICHCA) is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the safety, security, sustainability, productivity and efficiency of cargo handling and goods movement by all modes and through all phases of national and international supply chains. ICHCA actively participated in the Expert Working Group and debates leading to the approval of the CTU Code. More information is available at: www.ichca.com

The TT Club is the international transport and logistics industry’s leading provider of insurance and related risk management services. The TT Club participated in the Expert Working Group and debates leading to the approval of the CTU Code. More information is available at: www.ttclub.com

The World Shipping Council (WSC) represents the global liner shipping industry on regulatory, environmental, safety and security policy issues. The WSC has observer status at the IMO and was actively involved in the development of the CTU Code. More information is available at: www.worldshipping.org

Filed Under: TT Club

SAL introduces Marine Projects

October 3, 2017 by Julia Hiles

Hamburg, 02 October 2017 – SAL brings together complex heavy lift shipping and installation support into one specialist team.

SAL is pleased to announce its next steps as a leading heavy lift project carrier and marine installation provider. Today SAL is launching its Marine Projects department, a team dedicated to complex heavy lift shipping and marine installation support.

The team will be headed by Sune Thorleifsson (Head of Projects) who explains: “Ma-rine Projects is a natural evolution of services for which SAL is already well known. For more than 35 years SAL has pushed benchmarks as a heavy lift carrier and in re-cent years we have increasingly supported marine installation and decommission projects with our unique heavy lift vessels. With Marine Projects, we work with com-plex transport and / or installation services including DP on a uniform platform.”

Marine Projects is based in the SAL headquarters in Hamburg as an integrated part of SAL Heavy Lift GmbH. In addition, a new branch office will be established in Rot-terdam where Erik ter Horst, Matthieu Moerman and Michiel Rijkaert – all of whom are well known in the Benelux region as offshore specialists – will be based. This of-fice will be fully integrated into Marine Projects.

Aside from Sune Thorleifsson also Julia Wildt and Mike Grant will be part of the team, who together have more than 60 years of experience in serving oil & gas, re-newables, salvage and civil work projects.

Erik ter Horst, Senior Project Engineer adds; “I am very excited to be part of this team. SAL has a unique offering to the market – we have the most cost efficient DP2 vessel in the market, boosting some 7500m2 cargo storage area, a combined lift ca-pacity of up to 2000t and capable of transiting with 20kn. We can combine shipping solutions and installation support or offering our vessels as asset charter – a truly flexible service offering to our customer”.

Marine Projects will encompass the entire fleet of SAL, and will work with customers across all industries and add to the already existing long track record of marine trans-portation and installation support.

Sune Thorleifsson states: “We are essentially back to our roots as a one stop shop. We are a heavy lift specialist offering a diversified portfolio of services. Whether you need decommissioning support as we showed with our engagement in the Costa Concordia salvage operations, installation of offshore structures as we showed with Kitchen Light Unit III project or complex project shipping as just undertaken with the Walney Extension Project, SAL and the Marine Projects team are here to help”.

About SAL Heavy Lift
SAL Heavy Lift, a member of the Harren & Partner Group, is one of the world’s leading carriers specialized in sea transport of heavy lift and project cargo. The company was founded in 1980 as “Schiffahrtskontor Altes Land GmbH & Co. KG” and belongs to Har-ren & Partner Group since 2017. The modern fleet of 21 heavy lift vessels offers highly flexible options to customers. The vessels of SAL Heavy Lift boast an impressive travel speed of 20 knots, up to 3500 square metres of unobstructed main deck space and com-bined crane capacities ranging from 550 to 2000 tons: amongst the world’s highest lifting capacity in the heavy lift sector. As a leading global company in the heavy lift and project cargo segment, the company meets the highest standards with regard to quality, tech-nical innovation and health, safety and environment.
www.sal-heavylift.com

Filed Under: SAL Heavy Lift

“K” Line Donate towards restoration of World’s Oldest Railway Station

September 28, 2017 by Julia Hiles

Donation for Restoration of World’s Oldest Railway Station – Mainly from Participation Cost of Guided Vessel Tour –

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” LINE) recently gave a donation to Newton Aycliff plant of Hitachi Rail Europe, Ltd (HRE) for the restoration work of Heighington Station, County Durham in the UK – the world’s oldest railway station. The amount of the donation totalled 450,000 Yen and was made in conjunction with Hitachi Transport System Ltd. (HTS), Tokuyama Central Rotary Club, Boy Scout Federation of Yamaguchi Prefecture and Kudamatsu Shogyo Kaihatsu Ltd. (KSK)

To raise funds, “K” Line arranged a guided tour of M/V GLOBAL HIGHWAY, one of their largest RORO vessels, held at Tokuyama/Kudamatsu Port in Japan on March 20, 2017, and invited citizens of Kudamatsu City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. A total of 209 people, mainly elementary school children and members of the Boy Scout Federation and Rotary Club, participated in the tour. The donation of 450,000 Yen consisted of participation cost collected from each participant on the tour, plus donations from three private companies, namely “K” LINE, HTS and KSK, as sponsors of the event.

Kasado Works of Railway Systems Business Unit of Hitachi, Ltd. in Kudamatsu City, is a manufacturing plant of high-speed rail cars. The rail cars are exported to the UK on one of “K” Line’s large RORO vessels which calls at Tokuyama/Kudamatsu Port once a month to transport the rail cars. The RORO vessels have drawn great interest from citizens of Kudamatsu City due to their huge size and brilliant design. Several tours have been held on board these vessels showing how the rail cars are loaded on to the vessels at the local port. It is felt that these types of event contribute to the local community and they have been well supported.

Heighington Railway Station lies on the route of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the world’s first passenger railway line. The station’s historical claim to fame is that the first train on that line, the Locomotion No.1, was assembled here in 1825 before starting on its first journey. The station is located very close to Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe rail vehicle manufacturing facility. Employees from the facility are volunteering to help with the restoration project of the station, which is old and in need of repair. “K” Line decided to support this meaningful project because it connects the past to the present with the rail cars that they are now transporting.

Filed Under: "K" Line

Anette Rey, new Group Communications Director for GEODIS

September 28, 2017 by Julia Hiles

Anette Rey has joined GEODIS as Group Communications Director on September 4th.

She arrives from Biopharma Company Bristol-Myers Squibb where she held the position of Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications. A French-German binational, Anette Rey started her career at the Luxembourg and London offices of RTL Group, prior to joining Ubisoft in 2003 as Vice President, Global Communications. In 2011 Anette Rey joined Air Liquide, where she served as VP External Communications until 2014 after having managed corporate communications for the global industrial branch.

Anette holds a PhD in Political Science from the Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg, Germany, as well as Masters and Post-Graduate degrees from Sciences-Po, Paris.
GEODIS – www.geodis.com

ENDS
GEODIS is a Supply Chain Operator ranking among the top companies in the field in Europe and the World. GEODIS, owned by SNCF Logistics, which in turn is a business line of the SNCF Group, is ranked as the number four logistics provider in Europe and number seven at a worldwide level. GEODIS is also listed as a “Leader” in Gartner’s 2016 Magic Quadrant of Worldwide 3PLs. GEODIS’ reach includes a direct presence in 67 countries and a global network spanning over 120 countries. With its five Lines of Business (Supply Chain Optimization, Freight Forwarding, Contract Logistics, Distribution & Express, and Road Transport), GEODIS manages its customers’ Supply Chain by providing end to end solutions enabled by over 39,500 employees, its infrastructure, its processes and systems. In 2016, GEODIS recorded €8 billion in sales.

Filed Under: GEODIS

Call for Packing Code’s Adoption and Enforcement

September 26, 2017 by Julia Hiles

25^th September, 2017

A coalition of leading cargo industry organisations representing the full breadth of the global supply chain is maintaining its campaign for safer practices in packing freight containers and other cargo transport units (CTUs). During a meeting held at the IMO during London International Shipping Week, the group asked delegates of IMO member states for the backing of their governments to communicate the content, to encourage and oversee the use of the IMO/ILO/UNECE[1] Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code) within their jurisdictions.

The four industry bodies, Global Shippers Forum (GSF), ICHCA International, TT Club and World Shipping Council (WSC) participated in the experts group that created the comprehensive guidance for safe and secure packing of CTUs and was thereafter adopted by each of the UN agencies during 2014. As such, the key stakeholders in the intermodal supply chain together with the leading freight industry insurer continue to drive forward the implementation of this important work.

Speaking on behalf of shippers, Chris Welsh, the Secretary General of GSF said, “Our coalition epitomises the depth of industry cooperation that exists in ensuring the safety of operatives across the supply chain and the security of cargo; now there is clearly a greater need for action by national governments to support these industry initiatives. In fact it is critical that governments play a role in effecting the more widespread use of the Code among those loading CTUs on a daily basis.”

TT Club’s Risk Management Director, Peregrine Storrs-Fox pointed out the importance of this awareness and enforcement of the Code, “The maritime freight container, in particular, has diversified the responsibility for safe cargo packing away from the historic concentration of expertise at quaysides and docks. Those packing containers at factories, warehouses and depots situated remotely from the port, or indeed from a railhead or other intermodal hub, are generally unaware of the consequences of a poorly packed steel coil and unsecured drum of hazardous chemicals. As a specialist insurer, TT Club continually sees the sad repercussions of truck rollovers and train derailments, cargo spillages, and explosions and fires at ports or on-board ships.”

Credible statistics are hard to come by, partly due to a lack of engagement by state authorities with IMO’s container inspection standard, but ICHCA International’s Richard Brough made an attempt to estimate the extent of the problem based on UNCTAD trade statistics and the results of the relatively few inspections made during the last fifteen years. “Extrapolating from the UNCTAD figure of 180 million TEUs traded, via the 24% of inspected containers carrying dangerous goods (DG) that were found to be badly packed and bearing in mind that cargoes declared as DG make up only around 10% of all containers, we can estimate that each year some 25.9 million containers are potentially poorly packed and pose a danger at some point on their journey along the supply chain.”

Lars Kjaer, Senior Vice President of WSC drew attention to the vital matter of container pest contamination explaining, “Carriers should ensure that empty containers to be delivered for packing are clean and pest free. However, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) has confirmed that pest contamination of containers and their cargoes is most likely to occur at the point of packing. Shippers and packers need to take appropriate steps to prevent pest contamination of containers while in their custody.”

All four organisations are in no doubt about the extent of the task in hand to extend the best practices enshrined in the CTU Code to the majority of those involved in packing containers around the world. A lack of training, language problems, the sheer density of the information contained in the Code, dramatic variations in the types of cargo now being carried in containers and the complexities of international supply chains are among the myriad of challenges facing the industry in achieving widespread adoption. However, this coalition of industry bodies is determined to advance towards their goal and emphasise once more the crucial role that IMO member states should play in supporting their efforts.

For reference the full CTU Code can be found here http://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Safety/Cargoes/CargoSecuring/Pages/CTU-Code.aspx

ENDS

Notes for Editors

MEDIA CONTACTS:

World Shipping Council (WSC)	TT Club
Ms. Anne Kappel Vice President	Mr. Peter Owen Port Care International
TEL: +1 202 589 1235	TEL: +44 (0)1737 248300
EMAIL: akappel@worldshipping.org	EMAIL: peter@portcare.com

ICHCA International	Global Shippers’ Forum
Ms. Holly Thompson	Ms. Rona Hunnisett
Communications Officer	Head of PR and Media
TEL: +44 (0)20 3327 7560	TEL: +44 (0)1892 552255 MOB: +44(0)7818 450382
EMAIL: holly.thompson@ichca.com	EMAIL: rhunnisett@fta.co.uk

[1] International Maritime Organization, International Labor Organization and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Filed Under: TT Club

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