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IN THIS ISSUE
• Seminar Helps West and Central African Security
• Dredging program Helps Restore Channel After Flood
• DHL Fast Rail Connection Between China and Europe
• Improved Performance of Mount Isa Line
• Freight Strategy to Deliver 10-year Growth
• New Gladstone Ports CEO
• Sydney Ports to Host International Ports Conference
• 13th
Annual AusIntermodal 2013
Seminar Helps Strengthen Maritime
Security in West and Central Africa
Participants from the 20 coastal Member States of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) joined international experts for a seminar on maritime and port security, held
in Cotonou, Benin, from 22 to 25 July, organised by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), in conjunction with PMAWCA.
Experts from France: the United States Coast Guard; the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); and Interpol, shared their knowledge and respective areas of expertise
on a range of issues. These included the practical implementation of security measure in ports, the facilitation of maritime traffic, the suppression of piracy and armed robbery against ships, dealing with illicit maritime trafficking and countering trans-national
organised crime.
"Going forward, PMAWCA will build on the issues raised in this seminar to create a network for sharing port and maritime security information, intelligence gathering and information sharing as the association seeks to contribute towards the wider effort to
strengthen maritime security," said
Michael Luguje, PMAWCA Secretary-General.
This seminar complements the maritime security assistance programme conducted by the IMO in the region, including the integrated coast guard function network project and the recent series of national table top exercises.
The seminar is also an example of the spirit of cooperation outlined in the recently-signed Code of Conduct concerning the prevention of piracy, armed robbery against ships and illicit maritime activity in West and Central Africa, which aims to build capacity
to counter piracy, armed robbery and other illicit acts at sea.
Successful implementation of the Code of Conduct is expected to stimulate economic development in the member states, develop sustainable fisheries and promote the development of the maritime sector.
IMO Secretary-General, Koji Sekimizu, has announced the creation of a multi-donor trust fund for West and Central Africa to support maritime security capacity-building activities in the region.
Dredging program Helps Restore Channel After Flood
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The Port of Brisbane recently completed an extensive dredging program to maintain safe navigation depths of the shipping channel, as the lingering impacts of multiple dam water
releases in the early 2013 Brisbane floods continue to be felt.
An extraordinary 1.4 million cubic metres of silt and sediment has been dredged from the shipping channel by the Port of Brisbane's dredge the Brisbane since February 2013.
This volume equates to more than 920 ship loads of dredging material and has taken 20 weeks to remove. By comparison, the average dredging program in a normal year would remove about 300,000 cubic metres over a four to eight week period.
More than 450 hydrographic surveying events were also performed, which is almost double that of a non-flood year.
Oil tankers with drafts measuring 14.2 meters deeps were temporarily delayed while vital surveying and dredging works were undertaken to ensure these large vessels could berth safely.
Inland, the flooding had several implications on trade. In particular, coal volumes were interrupted for 23 days, resulting in a delay in the transport of over 360,059 tonnes of coal to the port.
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The Brisbane moved over 920
shiploads of dredge material from the channel.
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DHL Fast Rail Connection Between
China and Europe
DHL Global Forwarding has extended its route offerings between Asia and Europe for intermodal shipments. The service offers two routes that combine rail and road transportation: daily shipments from Shanghai
via the trans-Siberian route in the north and a weekly departure from Chengdu through China's West Corridor rail line. Customers will benefit from lower transportation costs and reduced door-to-door lead times of up to 21 days compared to ocean freight.
"As a flexible solution, this service offers the option of booking variable capacity – ranging from a single container to a whole train. At the same time, it connects seamlessly with both our groupage network in Europe and DHL Global Forwarding, Freight's Asian
network, including markets such as Japan and Korea," said Amadou Diallo, CEO DHL Freight.
On the trans-Siberian route to and from Shanghai, DHL is first in the industry to offer customers the option of booking the transport capacity they require at a particular point in time. In addition, the multimodal solution reduces CO2 emissions by up to 90%
compared to air freight. For the most part, overland transportation between Shanghai and the EU border at Ma3aszewicze (Poland) will be carried out by rail, with last-mile transportation by road.
The second route is optimised for Chengdu-based customers and offers lower transit times of up to eight days compared to the trans-Siberian route and greater cost reduction. It has been launched to meet the rising demand in China, particularly in the region
of Chengdu.
DHL says the increased volumes moved each year on the Asia or Europe-bound services is further proof of DHL's commitment to providing its customers with cost-effective, environmentally friendly solutions – with increasing global coverage. In addition, it will
make a contribution toward achieving the climate protection target which Deutsche Post DHL has set itself: to improve the CO2 efficiency of its own operations and those of its transportation subcontractors by 30% by 2020.
Improved Performance of Mount Isa Line
The Queensland Government is investing in getting freight back onto rail with record tonnages being moved from Mount Isa to the Port of Townsville for export. Transport and Main Roads Minister, Scott Emerson, said the government was working hard to improve
the safety and reliability of the Mount Isa line.
"Last financial year we invested about $44 million to maintain and improve the performance of the line," Mr Emerson said. "This is a significant investment and has resulted in nearly six million tonnes of freight being carried – a 6% increase compared to the
tonnes hauled in the previous year.
"We have also seen an improvement in the number of derailments along this line, with only one per annum occurring in the last five years due to below rail failure."
Mr Emerson said new measures had also been put in place to help operators using the line improve their safety. "Equipment that can remotely detect rollingstock wagon wheel issues and wagon overload or imbalance has been introduced on the line to boost safety
and reliability for operators," he said. "This equipment has already prevented more than 250 potential derailments."
Mr Emerson said the line was an important part of Queensland's regional freight network. "The North West Minerals Province has an annual output worth about $14.7 billion, making it one of the largest regional economies in Queensland," he said.
"We see this line as a priority and have included the Mount Isa to Townsville Rail Corridor upgrade project in our Nation Building 2 Program submission to the Federal Government. "Infrastructure Australia has also recognised the importance of this project by
including it in its 2013 priority project list for future federal funding consideration.
"While we await Federal Government funding, Queensland Rail and the Port of Townsville will continue to work together to find solutions to improve this vital supply chain."
Freight Strategy To Deliver 10-Year Growth
Meanwhile, a 10-year drive to expand Queensland's rail freight capacity will be the cornerstone to the State Government's strategy to meet a 70% growth in produce and commodity movements. Mr Emerson said the draft
Moving Freight strategy which identifies 38 actions would support the resources, agriculture, construction and tourism sectors.
"We've already taken actions to fund additional train lines for the Darling Downs, more cattle train services and opened up routes for safer classes of heavy vehicles," Mr Emerson said. "We also have funding submissions before the Federal Government for improvements
to train lines."
"Peak bodies like Agforce, the Australian Logistics Council, and Queensland Transport and Logistics Council have told us they want better access to rail, while still maintaining a strong road transport industry and we are supporting these calls."
Freight volumes across Queensland are forecast to increase from 881 million tonnes in 2010 to 1550 million tonnes in 2021.
Some of the key actions and initiatives in Moving Freight include:
- Preserving train paths on regional rail lines for non-coal freight;
- Making major freights routes more resilient to floods and natural disasters;
- Better collection and analysis of freight data and
- Continuing to reduce red tape for heavy vehicle permits.
"This strategy outlines short, medium and long-term actions to move freight onto rail and improve the efficiency of the road freight," Mr Emerson said. "We've received input from regional and rural industries to develop this strategy and I look forward to feedback
over the coming months."
The Moving Freight strategy is available at
www.tmr.qld.gov.au/movingfreight. It is expected to be finalised by late 2013 and will support the government's current road and rail infrastructure program.
New Gladstone Port CEO
Gladstone Ports Corporation (GPC) has appointed a new CEO, Craig Doyle, who will start in the role on 16 September. Mr Doyle has held numerous senior roles and is currently the Executive General Manager for Wilmar, Australia's largest sugar milling and renewable
energy from biomass cogeneration company, with responsibility for revenue of $1.3 billion annually and 2,300 employees. He is also the Global Technical Head of Sugar for Wilmar's international owner.
GPC Chairman, Mark Brodie, said Mr Doyle has extensive experience in manufacturing and logistics based businesses, including shipping and large freight management.
"He has a proven track record and reputation for achieving high levels of performance and results and I am certain that Craig's wealth of experience, leadership style and energy will be of enormous benefit to GPC as we enter a new period of exponential growth."
Mr Brodie thanked the outgoing CEO, Leo Zussino, for his service to GPC, in his capacity as CEO and as a former Chairman of the GPC Board. "Leo has generously agreed to avail himself for a period of time to facilitate a smooth transition and handover for Craig
as the new CEO, in accordance with business needs," he said.
Sydney Ports to Host Prestigious
International Ports Conference
Sydney Ports will host the International Association of Ports and Harbor's 2014 Mid-term Conference and Board Meeting.
The 2014 IAPH Sydney website
The IAPH Mid-term Conference runs from 6 – 10 April 2014.
· Click here for the Sydney Ports IAPH 2014 video
· Click here for the 2014 IAPH Sydney website
13th Annual AusIntermodal 2013
The 13th Annual AusIntermodal 2013 will be held at the Sydney Harbour Marriott on 9-10 October this year.
AusIntermodal will look at ways of strengthening Australia's economic position by improving supply chain logistics, financing and future growth of intermodal development. The two-day event will bring together policy makers, industry experts and key freight
transport operators to discuss the latest technologies and policies that will revolutionise intermodal development.
For more information, please visit the official event website.
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