magazine for ports, shipping and logistics june 2016...dear readers, the container has been helping...

Accurate Insights 16 | Good Advice on the High Seas 20

A Whole Lot of Transportation50 years of container logistics through Germany’s seaports

June 2016Magazine for Ports, Shipping and Logistics

Congratulations on your first 50 years in the german logistiCs world.

where would we be without you.

Thank you, dear container, for being there. It’s been a great journey so far and now we are looking forward

to sharing an exciting future. Let us continue to discover the world together. Wherever you’re coming from,

wherever you’re heading, we are here to help – quickly, reliably and with more and more locations around

the world. Whether travelling alone or in a crowd, whether high or low, cool or open. You can count on us to

be your reliable partner.

www.eurogate.eu

EUROGATE_DE_Anz_220x280mm_Juni 2016.indd 2 03.05.16 14:59

Dear readers,

The container has been helping advance world trade – and, with it, globalisation – for 50 years now. It has facilitated a considerable reduction in unit transport costs, fuelling its own global spread. The world – not just ports – would look quite different today without the container. It is certainly one of the most significant inventions of the last century, but was also inevitable because the “general cargo ship” system had reached its limits in terms of size and handling efficiency.

Equally, growth in the size of container ships has now reached a stage where further reductions in slot costs are not to be expected. The current market situation, with its “home-grown” underutilisation of capacity, is actually sending the profitability of giant ships the opposite way. Nevertheless, growing ship sizes are still posing a greater and greater challenge for ports and their terminals. The German exception is Wilhelmshaven.

It will be interesting to see whether the growth in container ships actually comes to a halt at the current size of 21,000 TEU. Regardless of the direction that development takes, the Weser-Jade area is well placed with the ports of Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven.

However, as the recent stranding of a 19,000 TEU ship on the Unterelbe showed, a quick-access piece of rescue equipment must be made available on the German coast as a matter of urgency, in order to be able to relieve megaships of their containers in emergencies.

Yours, Ulrich Malchow

Impression4

Main Topic10

Logistics Story16

Safety & Security20

Portrait24

“The Weser-Jade area is well placed with the ports of Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven.” Ulrich Malchow Professor at the Centre of Maritime Studies at Bremen University of Applied Sciences

News 6

People 26

Appointments 28

Preview 30

Imprint 30

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Sustainability 22

E D I T I O NJ U N E

LOGISTICS PILOT June 2016 3

P R E F A C E & C O N T E N T

Whether it be crates, parcels or machinery, the majority of general cargo is now transported by sea in containers. Very different types of containers are used depending on the load.

Around 92 per cent of containers used around the world are standard containers. The options available are 20 or 40 foot GP (general purpose) and 40 or 45 HC (high cube). They are used to transport various types of general cargo in boxes, crates or barrels or on pallets.

20'

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In OT (open top) containers, the roof is a tarpaulin. Firstly, this makes it possible to load the container through the roof using a crane. In addition, it means that the standard height of the container can be exceeded (with or without the tarpaulin).

Types of containers and their uses

General purpose container/ high cube

Open top container/high cube

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4 LOGISTICS PILOT June 2016

20' 40'

I M P R E S S I O N


If the product – for example, coffee – doesn’t require a certain tempera-ture, but does require regular ventilation, ventilated containers (VT) are used. These have splash-proof ventilation slits.

Tank containers (TC) are used to transport liquids and granular materials. They have a steel frame into which a cylindrical tank is fixed.

RF (refrigerated) containers, “reefers” for short, are required for temperature-controlled loads. Refrigeration units ensure a constant temperature of between –35 and +30 degrees Celsius during transport.

FR (flat racks) are made up of a base, and sometimes foldable end walls. These transport platforms are used for particularly heavy and/or oversized (“out of gauge”) project loads.

Platforms (PF/PL) comprise only a container base. They are used when large areas need to be created on container ships to transport bulky goods.

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Ventilated container Tank container

Refrigerated container/high cube

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S U M M A R Y N E W S

BREMEN. Port company

bremenports is committed to

gender equality within the firm –

and to women and men being

paid the same for the same

work. bremenports recently

received a prize from the

“Business and Professional

Women Germany – Club

Bremen” (BPW) for this

commitment. This was the

first time that the award has

been given.

HAMBURG. Logistics service

provider TFG Transfracht

integrated Austrian Container

Terminal Enns (CTE) into the

AlbatrosExpress network at the

start of April, therefore

increasing frequency of

trains to Austria from 28 to

32 departures per week. Since

then, the AlbatrosExpress has

been connecting Ennshafen with

the German seaports one to

several times a day.

BREMERHAVEN. Cutting up

ships and lengthening them is

nothing new for Lloyd Werft

Bremerhaven. And from 1 July it

will have a chance to prove this

once more when DFDS ro-ro

ferry “Primula Seaways”

comes into the shipyard for

31 days. The task: to lengthen

the vessel amidships, and repair

some collision damage.

BREMEN. 5 May 1966 is an historic date: it marks the start of the age of container transport in Germany. On this day 50 years ago, the first full container ship to be unloaded in Germany was unloaded in Bremen’s international port by Bremer Lagerhaus-Gesellschaft (now: BLG Logistics). From there, the container began its triumphal march, revolutionising transport and trade routes. It made a real contribution towards Germany’s rise as an exporting nation. After all, the idea was as revolutionary as it was simple: the load was packed into a standardised steel box and could be transferred onto any desired mode of transport anywhere in the world at any time. The standardisation of workflows accelerated the international transport chain and facilitated globalisation. Under the aegis of Bremen’s Senator for Economics, Labour and Ports, Martin Günthner, BLG and Eurogate celebrated “50 years of container handling in Germany” at the BLG- Forum in Bremen on 4 May 2016. The jubilee event was supported by port management company bremenports, as well as other firms. Guests

enjoyed an entertaining evening programme, plus the announcement of the award for the prettiest 50th anniversary container. Senator Günthner had invited companies in the state of Bremen to take part in the competition. The aim was to artistically design 20-foot containers according to the motto “50th anniversary container for the state of Bremen”. The transport containers were presented at the party and will now go on tour as ambassa-dors for Bremen. The winners were the firm Friedrich Tieman and the school Oberschule Ohlendorf, whose pupils presented a colourful container featuring the Town Musicians of Bremen. The “50 years of containers in Germany” exhibition taking place in parallel and organised by Bremische Hafenvertretung (BHV) and VIA BREMEN at the Domshof, directly in front of the city hall, attracted thousands of interested visitors.

Bremen celebrates “50 years of container handling in Germany”

Interesting facts about the containerWILHELMSHAVEN. How much sea freight does the northern German ports handle, and how can the terminals be even better connected to the hinterland? What benefits would there be to a collaboration between the German container seaports, and how many TEU can the worldwide container fleet actually transport in total? Answers to these and other questions about container shipping and the maritime economy can be found at www.mehrcontainerfuerdeutschland.de, the innovative internet portal run by Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven JadeWeser-Port-Marketing Gesellschaft. The website is updated on a weekly basis, so it’s worthwhile dropping by regularly to take a look.P

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N E W S

40 years of coal handling under the Rhenus flag

BLG launches new logistics centre

BREMEN/DÜSSELDORF. Just seven months after the first cut of the spade, BLG Logistics put the first,32,000 m2 section of the new logistics centre in the port of Düsseldorf into operation at the end of April. With 10,000 square metres of useable space to begin with, BLG will provide logistics services for the export of unfinished components and assembly parts, which – alongside lorry control on site – will include loading and unloading of trailers, cross-docking and repackaging processes, as well as handling of empties. The logistics centre will serve as a supplier for one of BLG’s customers’ automotive factories.

WILHELMSHAVEN. The first coal carrier docked at Bulk Terminal Wilhelmshaven (BTW), run by Rhenus Midgard, in April 1976. Since then, over 60 million tonnes of coal have been handled for local power plants and customers in the hinterland. 2015 was a record year: 3.65 million tonnes were unloaded at the bulk goods handling terminal. In Germany, BTW is the only place fully loaded capesize vessels with a load capacity of up to 250,000 tonnes and a depth of 18.50 metres can berth. The facility is also home to Europe’s latest waggon loading station, with an output of 2,000 tonnes an hour.

BREMEN. J. Müller put a new crane into operation in Bremen at the end of April. This is the centrepiece of the expansion and development of the Hansakai trimodal handling facility, in which the logistics provider has invested around six million euros. By renovating further areas and expanding the facility, the J. Müller Group – to which Hansakai Umschlag-betriebe belongs – is pursuing the goal of increasing transport by inland vessel. There is great potential in containers, as currently just five per cent of hinterland transport from Bremerhaven is carried out using this mode of transport.

Handling facility expanded at the Hansakai

More business blows in at the southern tip of Bremerhaven

Cargostore uses Cuxport terminal

EMS begins work on the TAP project

BREMERHAVEN. Eurogate is to be the base port for the erection of wind turbines at the “Nordergründe” offshore wind farm – a project of wind farm developer and operator wpd. The client for the 18 offshore wind turbines to be erected to the east of the island of Wangerooge is Senvion. The turbines will be taken out into the North Sea from Bremerhaven.

CUXHAVEN. Container rental company Cargostore has been using Cuxport’s terminal as a depot for its rental containers for the offshore industry, such as bottle racks, 10-foot refrigerated containers and 20-foot half height and 20-foot open top containers, since the start of the year. All of the containers are certified and equipped with slings for lifting onto platforms and installation vessels.

BRAKE. Stevedores, logisticians and shipping experts from numerous companies of the EMS-Fehn-Group have begun work on the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). Pipes weighing 130,000 tonnes are to be shipped from Brake to the Albanian port of Durrës in 13 partial loads as part of the project, which is to run until 2017.

N E W S



BREMEN. The Cypriot

Ministry of Transport and the

Eurogate consortium signed a

contract for takeover of the

Limassol Container Terminal

at the end of April. The partners

of the consortium are Eurogate

International (60 per cent),

Interorient Navigation Company

(20 per cent) and East Med

Holdings (20 per cent). The

Limassol Container Terminal has

800 metres of quay space and

an area of 35 hectares, with an

annual handling capacity of

500,000 TEU. The entrance to

the port is 17 metres deep and

the water depth by the berths is

16 metres. Limassol will take

Eurogate’s network to twelve

container ports.

BREMERHAVEN. A working

group made up of the compa-

nies Ed. Züblin (Hamburg) and

Heinrich Hirdes (Bremen) is

to build Offshore Terminal

Bremerhaven (OTB). “In Züblin

and Hirdes we have found two

efficient partners who meet all

of the conditions required

to implement this challenging

contract according to our

specifications,” said bremen-

ports’ Managing Director, Robert

Howe. Despite the legal disputes,

he is convinced that the terminal

will be handed over to BLG

Logistics at the end of 2018/

start of 2019. “As a hub for

industry, business and shipping,

Bremerhaven needs this facility

desperately.”

New logistics centre for F.W. Neukirch

CUXHAVEN. Lower Saxony’s State Secretary for Economic Affairs Daniela Behrens recently gave the go-ahead for the construction of berth 4 in Cuxhaven. This will be a multi-purpose terminal in the ship-depth water of the Elbe, as an extension of the Cuxport terminal. The new berthing offers the possibility of handling new vehicles, wind power systems and other goods. It has a quay length of 240 metres and will be suitable for ships up to a maximum depth of 14.30 metres. The downstream 8.5-hectare quay facility offers a variety of logistics options. Completion is planned for 2017.

OYTEN. Benedikt Oberholz (Goldbeck), Bruno Kruth (F.W. Neukirch), Friedrich Brinkmeyer (F.W. Neukirch), Michael Schmidt (Tepro) and Felix Zilling (Panattoni Europe) (from left) recently laid the keystone for the new logistics facility owned by Internationale Spedition F.W. Neukirch. Panattoni Europe is currently creating a multi-user warehouse with around 21,000 square metres of logistics space and 500 square metres of office space in Oyten, near Bremen, expected to be completed in summer this year.

WILHELMSHAVEN. Medium-sized firm Meta & Peter Beeken, which is headquartered in Hamburg and has a branch at JadeWeserPort, will be offering the weighing of loaded containers in accordance with the Solas regulations that will come into force on 1 July daily between 8am and 4pm, to begin with, in Wilhelms- haven. This service will be offered at the freight village halfway along the road to the container terminal. Scales and reach stackers provided by Linde will form the interface with the Sysing computer system, through which the weight is forwarded to the client digitally.

Green light to start construction of berth 4

Beeken offers container weighing in JadeWeserPort

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Royal Bodewes founds shipyard site in Papenburg

A solid end to fiscal 2015 for BLG

Rhein-Umschlag invests 12 million euros

Eurogate increases annual surplus

PAPENBURG. The Royal Bodewes shipyard in Hoogezand, the Netherlands, has announced that it will now be finishing off various ships in the port of Papenburg. In collaboration with Papenburg-based firm Schulte & Bruns, Royal Bodewes has founded a new company specially for this, named Bodewes Papenburg. The Dutch firm, which specialises in the construction of multi-purpose and special vessels of between 2,000 and 14,000 tonnes, says that it hopes to kit out ten ships here over the next three years.

FOXHOL/BREMERHAVEN. 70.50 metres long, 10.50 metres wide, 2.90 metres deep and with a contract value of 4.9 million euros – that’s the modern dredged material barge that port service provider bremenports will be integrating into its fleet in the second half of the year. The working ship, believed to be the first owned by a European seaport to run on the environmentally-friendly fuel of liquefied natural gas (LNG), will transport silt out of the port of Bremerhaven to the dredged material depot in Bremen-Seehausen on a regular basis. The ship was completed at Shipyard Constructions Hoogezand Nieuwbouw (SCHN) in Foxhol, in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands, at the end of March.

BREMEN. The board of BLG Logistics presented the results of the last financial year at the press conference for the financial statements in Bremen at the end of April. The company generated turnover of 938.6 million euros in 2015 – up 6.3 per cent. All three business divisions – automobile, contract and container – chalked up increases in turnover, some considerable. However, the pre-tax result (EBT) remained slightly behind that of the previous year at 29.7 million euros (–1.3 per cent). The key factor in this was the lower over all result in the contract division.

OLDENBURG. Long-standing Oldenburg-based firm Rhein-Umschlag is currently driving forward the expansion and modernisation of its handling facilities and the construction of an administration building at a cost of around twelve million euros. Among other things, investments have been made in a new full gantry rotary crane in the Osthafen and in the construction of a further trimodal handling terminal for building materials in the commercial zone of Dalbenstraße, to facilitate further optimisation of handling processes. The expansion measures will also involve the company moving within the port of Oldenburg.

BREMEN. Eurogate can now look back on a good financial year 2015. Despite difficult market conditions, the European terminal operator group increased its annual surplus by 13.4 per cent to 73.5 million euros (previous year: 64.9 million euros). Container handling at the German Eurogate sites grew faster than the market. In Bremerhaven, Wilhelms- haven and Hamburg, Eurogate handled 1.5 per cent more containers last year than in 2014, at 8.2 million TEU. The North Range ports as a whole showed a drop of 1.6 per cent in the period studied.

LNG-operated dredged material barge “greenports 1” launched

N E W S


M A I N T O P I C


Thinking inside and outside the box

M A I N T O P I C

The era of the container began 50 years ago. Virtually all goods are now transported by container. A lot has changed in the maritime sector in fifty years, and a lot is still changing.



M A I N T O P I C


M A I N T O P I C

T he “Fairland”, owned by American shipping company Sea-Land, made history when it entered Bremen’s international port on 5 May 1966. The 110 containers on board the freighter were the first to be set down

on land in a German port. Bremen was also the first German port to be visited by container ships on a regular basis. A lot has happened since then. Instead of Bremen, container ships have long since begun going to Bremerhaven – as well as Wilhelmshaven since 2012. If we look at ship arrivals in both ports exactly 50 years on, it is clear how much things have changed: for example, on 5 May this year the “MSC New York”, owned by shipping company MSC with a load capacity of just under 16,000 TEU, sailed out of Wilhelmshaven. At the same time, container giant “Merete Maersk”, a Triple-E class from Maersk at over 18,000 TEU, was handled in Bremerhaven.

Ship sizes

Currently the largest ships – also known as ultra large con-tainer vessels (ULCV) – can hold over 19,000 TEU. It is es-timated that ships with a capacity of more than 10,000 TEU now make up as much as 25 per cent of the global commer-cial fleet.

The trend of increasingly large units began at the end of the 80s, when the German shipyards constructed the first ships with a capacity of 4,500 TEU. By the mid-90s this had increased to 7,000, and a decade later to 14,000 TEU. More big freighters with capacities of over 20,000 TEU have been ordered from the Korean shipyards and will be deliv-ered in 2017. However, whether the vessels will get even bigger is a topic of dispute. Cargo rates have dropped since the start of the financial and economic crisis nine years ago, as have charter rates. Ship owners are being forced to save costs, which means that everything is having to become ever more efficient. One option is larger ships. However, these only really save big money when they are fully load-ed – which is not always the case. On the contrary, capacity is increasing on the market due to the large num-ber of large container ships being manufactured. In fact, P

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34 ULCVs will be delivered this year in total. SOURCE: NEW SHIPS ORDERBOOK


M A I N T O P I C

Intelligent containers

Apples red, bananas yellow: that’s what fresh fruit should look like when it’s eaten. When transporting bananas, this means that the fruit has to be transported when it is green, or unripe. In order to ensure ripening at the right time and reduce transport losses, very specific temperatures have to be carefully maintained during both storage and transport. Bananas are increas-ingly being imported in refrigerated containers, some of which also act as temporary storage. With this in mind, those that want to optimise the logistics chain have to look to the container. This is exactly what is happening with the “Intelligent Container” project at the University of Bremen. Researchers from the Institute for Microsensors, -Actuators and -Systems (IMSAS) have been studying how sensors can contribute towards self-regulation within logistics since 2004. One aspect of this is more accurate monitoring of temperature, as although there can be great differences within a container, there are only two sensors inside. In the Intelligent Container there are twelve, which continually measure the temperature and communicate it to a central computer. With the help of model calculations, this results in a very precise, three-dimensional image of temperature distribution. The computer in the container is also able to interpret the data: the system identifies whether transport is going as planned or whether there are any problems. In addition, the software makes it possible to predict the development of the fruit based on models previously created by biologists. Should the temperature be too high or should premature ripening start, the temperature can be regulated remotely via satellite. Contrary to a predefined expiry date, the remaining life becomes a dynamic value: if the fruit is stored somewhere warm, its remaining life reduces accordingly. However, the fruit itself also provides information on ripening. For example, a banana gives off ethylene as it ripens. This, in turn, triggers the ripening of the other bananas. Those involved in the “Intelligent Container” project have even developed a new ethylene measuring device – a miniature gas chromatograph – that can work independently in the container.

This can help to reduce transport losses of fruit and contribute towards better quality for customers and lower costs for producers, as well as reducing the transportation of spoiled goods.

The project, costing nine million euros, was initiated by the University of Bremen through the research associations MCB (Microsystems Center Bremen) and LogDynamics (Bremen Research Cluster for Dynamics in Logistics) and is being sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. New assignments for the scientists have already arisen from this project. MCB has been working on a new sensor project to detect mould in containers since October 2013.

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when talking to NDR in February this year, ship fi-nancer Hermann Ebel said that he believed that every 15th ship worldwide is laid up – with this figure increasing.

Regardless of utilisation of capacity, there is also the question of the point at which increasing ship size ceases to make further cost savings possible. According to experts, the economies of scale effect does not increase infinitely with increases in load capacity. Giant containers take longer to be loaded and unloaded in ports. What’s more, the or-ganisational, technical and financial cost and effort on land also has to be taken into account. For example, megaships require considerable investment in the expansion of port infrastructure, such as docks, terminals and cranes, as well as connections to the hinterland. And this outlay does not necessarily lead to ports handling any more containers. As such, it is unclear who will make such investments and how they will be financed. Investment costs for port and terminal operators have to be taken into account alongside operational benefits for charterers and ship owners.

Port development

Ports have also been developed alongside increases in ship size. Today’s big container ships would have had great difficulty being unloaded in a German seaport 50 years ago. There were no gantry cranes back then; vessels like the “Fairland” had their own cranes on board. Work-ing on an eight-hour shift, a nine-man bridge crew moved around 2,000 tonnes (to make that easier to picture: a load-ed standard container weighs up 30 tonnes, including the weight of the container itself). As several times this volume is handled today, the quay in Bremerhaven has grown from 700 metres at the first cut of the spade in 1968 to around five kilometres today, making it the longest in Europe. There are

15 million TEU were handled at the German seaports in 2015.


M A I N T O P I C

14 berths for container ships measuring up to 400 metres in length and over three million square metres of space for containers available.

How dramatically the significance of the container for ports has increased even over the last 20 years becomes clear when you look at the handling figures for Bremerhaven: the figure in 1995 was 1.5 million TEU; in 2015 the three termi-nals clocked up over three and a half times this: 5.5 million TEU. Forecasts state that handling figures at the German seaports will increase by a total of 2.8 per cent each year be-tween now and 2030. At the same time, the number of visits from sea-going vessels is decreasing. The figure for the ports of Bremen in 1995 was 8,241; in 2014 it was only 6,230, due to ships being bigger and bigger.

Nautical and technical requirements

The rivers Weser and Elbe need to be expanded in order to continue to be able to handle these large container ships in Bremerhaven and Hamburg in future. Whether this will happen is being decided by the courts, on whom the process currently depends. Wilhelmshaven has a unique deep-water container terminal with a capacity of 2.7 million TEU per year and a directly connected freight village. Thanks to a water depth of 18 metres in the Jade and an approach not affected by the tides, even giants of up to 430 metres in length and 16,50 metres deep can moor here. The port still has considerable potential for expansion, and could double its capacity by 2025.

Cooperation

Whether and to what extent the three German seaports in Bremen, Lower Saxony and Hamburg should cooperate more closely in future has been a subject of great discussion for many years. Until now collaboration has been largely limited to exchange and joint trade fair appearances, particularly abroad. One person that is advocating more cooperation between the ports is Eurogate boss Emanuel Schiffer, Chair-

man of the Eurogate Group Management Board, who is re-sponsible for three terminals in Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven, among other areas. “Cooperation between the German seaports is a matter of course for Eurogate. To be-gin with, cooperation could simply be demonstrating greater solidarity, in order to set the wheels in motion for important infrastructure projects together,” says Schiffer.

In the Netherlands there has been a general agreement in place between the two largest state ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam since 2010. This agreement was extended until 2020 at the start of the year. The aim: to develop strategic goals in order to strengthen international competitiveness.

Even very large container ships up to 430 metres in length and up to 16.50 metres deep can moor in JadeWeserPort.

Interview with Werner Pöser, Managing Director of CHS Container Handel in Bremen


How important are containers?They have become indispensable. At our company, everything has been revolving around the container for almost 40 years now: we sell, rent, lease and build them. The range goes from standard sea containers to storage containers to specially adapted workshop containers. We stock sea containers not only in the ports but also in the German hinterland and in many locations worldwide.

As Managing Director, you are responsible for trade in second-hand containers. What exactly does this mean?We purchase the containers from shipping and leasing companies, repair them if required, then sell them to our customers. Customers use them primarily for project business.

Why in this area?It makes it possible to save packaging, and the container is taken directly to where it is needed without lead times or interim handling.

How old are the containers you trade in?12 to 18 years old on average. However, it depends on the shipping companies’ internal systems, as well as what goods are to be transported and what signs of use or damage have been caused by handling.

And how many containers do you trade in each year?We sell some 10,00 to 12,000 containers to end consumers each year. Of these, ten per cent are destined for the domestic market, and 90 per cent for export. In terms of turnover, container trade makes up around two thirds of our total volume.

Is it possible to plan trade in containers at all? We work with our customers’ export figures, and have a lot of experience after 38 years. So it works well. In addition, we have around 600 containers constantly available at the Bremen depot, for example.

You also purchase new containers. Where are they built?We exclusively procure containers from China. There are now no other producers in the world that can produce good quality at these prices and in the required volume. New container prices are very low in China due to competition and low demand.

Is trade in second-hand containers a barometer of the economic climate?Yes, definitely. Container prices have been almost 3,000 euros for 40-foot containers and 1,500 for 20-foot containers in the past. If container demand is high among ship owners, there are few discards and purchase prices increase. Then, if there is a shortage, things get really expensive. Currently we have an excess of containers on the market, which mirrors the economic situation for ship owners. This means that the prices are very low. However, the material value still forms a natural limit for new containers. Because steel prices are also very low at the moment, the price can’t drop any further. In the case of second-hand containers, on the other hand, prices are currently just 1,000 euros or so for a 40-foot high cube container. You pay around 900 euros for a 20-foot container. However, 20-foot containers and 40-foot general purpose containers are being scrapped more and more because loads from the Far East are high in volume and the ships are becoming ever larger.

To what extent has use of these ships, for example on routes between Asia and Europe, had an effect on the container market?Large ships with a load capacity of 20,000 TEU are seldom completely loaded with full containers. This is because it is often nautically impossible. Usually there is space for 1,000 empty containers on board, sometimes up to 2,000. This wasn’t the case before. As a result of this, there are now much fewer imbalances.

Werner Pöser has been working for CHS

Container Handel since 1979.

M A I N T O P I C


Cross-regional relevance The extent to which ports and the country’s interior are linked and the districts depend on one another in Germany too is demonstrated in a special evaluation of the shipping forecast carried out by the chamber of industry and commerce for northern Germany (IHK Nord) last year. There are around 700 kilometres between the town of Böblingen, near Stutt-gart, and the German coast. Nevertheless, the German sea-ports secure growth and employment even in this district in Baden-Württemberg: according to the forecast, over 90 per cent of foreign trade by sea from the district of Böblingen – particularly machinery and vehicles – is to be handled at the German seaports by 2030. This represents a goods value of around 19 billion euros a year. Even today, around two thirds of Germany’s foreign trade by sea is shipped through its ports – and this is set to increase.

It expected that the goods flow at the ports of Bremen will increase by as much as 183 per cent, to 27,277 mil-lion euros, between 2010 and 2030; forecasts state that the goods flow through the ports of Lower Saxony will grow by 91 per cent, to 118,387 million euros, in the same period. “According to a feasibility study on the expansion of Con-tainer Terminal Wilhelmshaven presented at the start of the year, the port will reach the limits of its capacity by 2027. We are going to drive forward plans for expansion as soon as a stable handling rate of a million TEU per year is permanently established,” says Andreas Bullwinkel, Managing Director of Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven JadeWeserPort-Market-ing Gesellschaft. Accordingly, the economic significance of the German seaports for the entire country is set to increase even further. (cb)

M A I N T O P I C

Container weighing

Correct stowage is essential for the stability of container ships. In doing this, the stowage planner depends on the weight information available to him. Even though the shipper has an obligation towards the ship owner, the information isn’t always correct. In the past this has led to slipped loads, load losses, and even shipping accidents. The solution of checking container weight before loading was obvious, but has taken negotiations lasting over four years. 1 July is the date: the new regulations for the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (Solas) concluded in 1974 will enter into force. They will have to be implemented in each of the 50 member states. Whilst this has not yet happened in some countries, Germany implemented them with the “Guidelines regarding the verified gross mass of a container carrying cargo (MSC.1/Circular 1475)”. According to this, the verified gross mass (VGM) of a freight container has to be communicated to the shipping company before it is loaded on board a ship. If this doesn’t happen or if the weight information is incorrect, as of 1 July the container will no longer be allowed to be loaded. The regulation will bring a change in processes for those involved because, for example, containers used to be loaded not at the shipping company’s terminals but rather during loading or at a handling site.

Various methods are available for the weighing process: either the loaded container is weighed or the weights of the container and its contents – including packaging units, aids and dunnage – are added together. The shipper generally communicates the verified total weight to the ship owner electronically.

One provider of technical solutions associated with Solas is Tally Tech. The firm, based in Bremen, offers an app that can be used to record weighing data via Bluetooth and link it with a container number. “The Solas expansion requires precise allocation of a certified weight to a container. Simple weighing technology simply no longer cuts the mustard, particularly in the case of a high export volume – and certainly not in a certified context,” explains Riccardo Hilpert, Managing Partner at Tally Tech. His company’s data centre then forwards the weighing information to the ship owner with encryption. Thanks to collaboration with providers of weighing systems, the entire data set can also be determined directly on the reach stacker or chassis, or through the forks on forklifts or trolleys and pallet trucks. The ship owner is billed by means of a weight note, including shipping and confirmation.

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The “MSC Oscar”, currently the world’s largest container ship, entered Wilhelmshaven for the first time on 7 March 2015.

L O G I S T I C S S T O R Y


Accurate insightsIt’s not just for luggage at airports that X-ray is used for security. Customs officers at the German seaports have been screening containers for many years now. Bremerhaven has been using one of the most modern systems in the world since April, delivering amazingly sharp images.



According to a report by the OECD and the EU department

for intellectual property, 2.5 per cent of all global

imports and 5 per cent of goods imported into the European Union are fakes.

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O ver 80 per cent of cross-border goods are trans-ported by sea. Universal and standardised vessels for transport, it is no longer possible to imagine shipping without containers; they are used for

the majority of cargo. Their steel walls provide protection for the transported goods, but at the same time obscure the view of their contents. The charterer has to provide information on what he is transporting in his bill of lading (B/L). However, there are many reasons why he might choose not to specify or to lie about the contents in the B/L, for example if the load is illegal or to avoid paying customs duty. Bremen’s customs office recently inspected a container that should have contained trainers, accord-ing to the B/L. What it actually contained was navigation devices. The reason for the lie: trainers are only taxed at 5.7 per cent, whilst navigation devices are taxed at 14 per cent, says Andreas Heuer, Head of Bremerhaven’s customs office.

The X-ray images are shown in a high degree of detail and in a variety of tones on the monitor.

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Risk analysis

With a handling volume of 5.5 million TEU at the ports of Bremen last year, it is not possible to check or open each individual container. This is why the Bremen customs office, and other officers across Germany, rely on information from the central office for customs risk analysis, headquartered in Münster. Here, information such as data from customs declarations from all over Germany, notifications of transport routes and EU data is brought together to determine what product groups, loading ports and routes require particular attention. Based on this information, certain containers are then selected for more careful inspection using the X-ray procedure. Random checks are also carried out, but only to a limited extent. They can, however, involve inspection of a ship’s entire load.

X-ray inspection

The Bremen customs office used a stationary container in-spection facility located at the northern end of Bremerhaven’s Freihafen for scanning for 15 years. However, this no longer corresponds to the state of the art and was replaced by a new terminal mobile X-ray system (TMR) at the start of April. This system’s centrepiece is a lorry that was specially retrofit-ted in China; it has both a diesel engine and an electric drive and has been equipped with an extendable U-shaped X-ray arm. To carry out the inspection, the truck with the extension arm drives along the platforms that the containers are on and screens them from all sides using linear electron acceleration.

The lorry uses its electric drive for an extremely even speed of travel, in order to ensure a smooth X-ray. The scanning process takes 45 to 60 seconds, depending on the size of the container. This means that up to 25 40-foot containers can be inspected per hour.

Evaluation of the data

The images generated are fed into the network immediately via WLAN, and can be read out by the customs employees (currently 30) within seconds. Each of the six workstations in the evaluation room is equipped with three monitors that can be used to access the scanned images, all relevant information and the handling system. How well the new system works was demonstrated as early as during the trial phase, when a container declared as removal goods was scanned. What the customs officers saw (and what any layperson could even have clearly seen) on the screen, however, was not furniture, but an armoured vehicle. After a detailed evaluation of the images, the customs specialists also saw a rifle and a grenade in the container. They needed a lot of experience and at least quarter of an hour of evaluation to identify these additional items, reports Sonja Tolle, Head of the evaluation group and the X-ray inspection group at Bremerhaven’s customs office.

Efficiency

With the new X-ray system, the customs officers have made it their goal to more effectively combat the growing risks in international goods transport caused by terrorist activities

The U-shaped extension arm of the lorry is used for the X-ray inspection so that the container can be screened from all sides.

Andreas Heuer is the Head of the Bremerhaven customs office, which is part of the main customs authority for Bremen.

F A C T S Terminal mobile X-ray system (TMR)Possible to check all container types as well as non-containerised loads

Purchase price 1.6 million euros (system); 2.5 million euros including infrastructure (office, transmission and security technology)

There are current 18 platforms in two rows on the 13,000 m2 site. In future there are to be 24 platforms.

480 container screenings per day (in 24-hour operation)


More information: www.zoll.de

and cost pressure. It will be possible to almost double the number of containers scanned as compared with the system previously in use: the new system can manage around 480 per day or 175,000 per year if used around the clock. It screens more containers in less time. This speeds up container release, meaning that they can generally be processed and dispatched on the same day. In addition, there should be more screen-ings and fewer unloadings in future, due to the images being more accurate. Even if the system did cost a pretty penny at 1.6 million euros, it is efficient. (cb)

The complex lorry was converted in China. Apart from the driver’s cab, the truck has nothing in common with a normal transport vehicle.

www.mehrcontainerfuerdeutschland.de

» Die Amerikaner brauchen vielleicht das Telefon, wir aber nicht. Wir haben sehr viele Eilboten.«Sir William Preece, Chefingenieur der britischen Post, 1896

Auch Experten können sich irren!

Deutschland braucht einen Tiefwasserhafen, um

wettbewerbsfähig zu bleiben. Während der Trend

zu immer größeren Containerschiffen ungebrochen

ist und viele Häfen an ihre Auslastungsgrenzen

stoßen, verfügt der JadeWeserPort über

erweiterbare Hafenkapazitäten am tiefen Wasser.

Jadeweserport-Anz-LogisticsPilot-220x140-Eilbote.indd 1 29.04.16 14:14

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A little cut to the leg during a routine activity. Not se-rious, but if the wound becomes inflamed, or the leg begins to feel hot and swells up, seeing a doctor is strongly advised. But what if the patient is on board

a container ship out in the middle of the Indian Ocean that won’t be going into a port for several days yet?

Constantly on call

This is a case for telemedical assistance service Medico in Cuxhaven: Chief Medic Manual Burkert and his team of around 15 doctors at the Helios Klinik are constantly getting phone calls or emails asking for medical advice for a ship operating under the German flag or for German seafarers. This specialist medical service is available for patients at sea 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The range of health prob-lems on board is broad. “We receive a whole host of different

questions – from ingrown toenails to serious emergencies,” says Burkert. He highlights that the naval officers are very well trained, meaning that the crew can help themselves in many situations with the help of the guide to healthcare on merchant ships (“Anleitung zur Krankenfürsorge auf Kauf-fahrteischiffen”) issued by the German Berufsgenossenschaft See and the “International Medical Guide for Ships” issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO). But even though the captains do their best, there are often follow-up questions. In this case, there is medical assistance from Cuxhaven – that has been the case since 1931. Whilst in the beginning contact was made at very high frequency on Norddeich Radio, to a radio room in the former city hospital, today more and more communication is taking place by email. “Last year around 1,000 patients took advantage of our medical advice – four times as many as in 2003,” says Burkert. He says that the reason for this is that it is easier to get in touch by email.

S A F E T Y & S E C U R I T Y


Good advice on the high seas

Container ships are not only exciting places to work – they are also dangerous places to work. However, if something happens on board, even out at sea, the crew is not alone.

Medical advice comes from Cuxhaven by radio, mobile or satellite telephone – to the ends of the earth if needed.

Advice is generally provided in writing for reasons of legal security as well. Telephones are primarily used for initial contact and in emergencies.

Emergency medical care

In critical situations one of the doctors comes to the phone and advises the patient and the captain remotely. For exam-ple, an automatic defibrillator has been used under Burkert’s instruction. This most likely saved the patient’s life, as too much time would have passed by the time the paramedic arrived on the ship by helicopter 20 minutes later.

Technically speaking, only the staff on German ships and German seafarers are treated. However, “anyone that calls will receive advice,” says Burkert. An older solo sailor several nautical miles away from Cuba who had been suffering from severe sickness and diarrhoea for days recently benefitted from the service. “Our responsibility stops when a ship is in port. Then the port doctor or local healthcare system takes over.” Telemedicine couldn’t be better than healthcare on land, even if the place doesn’t have the best healthcare system, says Burkert. “We offer advice, not treatment.”

Telemedicine

Burkert is currently advising a patient with a large spot on his abdomen. To a layperson, the wound looks very enflamed and worrying in the digital photo. Could this develop into an emergency? The experienced doctor believes everything is fine. The patient can even work: the man should avoid strenuous physical activity, but working on the bridge won’t be a problem as it is air-conditioned, says Burkert. “I only know this because I’ve been on board myself and can judge

More information: 04721-785 (available 24 hours a day) www.deutsche-flagge.de/de/notfall

Chief Medic Manuel Burkert is an anaesthetist specialising in intensive and emergency

medicine, and also has an additional travel medicine qualification.

F A C T S Telemedical maritime assistance service MedicoFounded in Cuxhaven in 1931

Available 24 hours/day, 365 days/year

Financed by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI)

2015: 1,000 patients

Between four and eight instances of contact per patient

Lingua franca is English, but communication also takes place in German and Russian


S A F E T Y & S E C U R I T Y

things,” reports the trained ship’s doctor, who spent some time at sea as a marine. He will be kept up-to-date on the patient’s health by the captain daily over the next few days, and will monitor the wound’s development and the heal-ing process from Cuxhaven – in principle working more or less as a doctor in a practice or hospital would. Should the situation deteriorate, Burkert would prompt emergency measures, such as treatment on land or rescue. The biggest difference from normal medical activity – the lack of visual contact – does, however, remain a challenge. Burkert: “In a typical day as a doctor you use all of your senses. That doesn’t apply here.”

Intercultural skills

Sometimes the doctors at Medico are pushed to their limits. One patient who was suffering from head trauma after a fall and desperately needed to be referred to a neurosur-geon was unable to leave the ship in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, because there it is not customary for a woman to move around without being accompanied by a man. Following several negotiations, Burkert and his team managed to convince the port authorities that the patient should be taken off the ship to hospital in a different Saudi Arabian port.

With this in mind, it is important to have not only the pro-fessional medical qualifications, but also a lot of experience and instinct in dealing with institutions all over the world, as well as ship owners. After all, serious illnesses can lead to an unplanned interim stop – which costs time and money – in the event of uncertainty. “This is what makes a good relationship with ship owners and captains so important,” emphasises Burkert. (cb)

How important are environmental protection and sustainability for JadeWeserPort and Lower Saxony’s seaports? The demands placed on seaports are increasing with growing exchange of goods and networking around the globe. This particularly applies to requirements concerning environ-mental and climate protection. More and more consumers and producers of goods are pursuing the aim of sustainably manufactured goods and demanding a logistics chain that also corresponds to the values of climate and environmental protection. This means that the importance of environmental protection and sustainability is continuing to increase for our ports.

You had to compensate for the impact on nature caused by the construction of JadeWeserPort.

At Langwarder Groden, for example, 140 hectares of space has been exposed to the tidal current again. What exactly does this mean, and what is the aim?JadeWeserPort has contributed considerably to creating a valuable salt marsh area to im-prove the ecosystem and landscape. Lang-

An interview with Holger Banik, Spokesman for the Management Board of Niedersachsen Ports and Managing Director of JadeWeserPort Realisierungsgesellschaft, about the importance of environmental protection in Lower Saxony’s seaports.

“ ‘Green logistics’ also involves ‘green ports’ ”

warder Groden is attached to the mainland by the main embankment and confined from the sea via an overflow dam. Through a partial opening of the overflow dam, an area of Langwarder Groden has been exposed to the tidal cur-rent again. A valuable salt marsh landscape should develop there. The extensive construction work required to transform Langwarder Groden was carried out under the direction of JadeWeserPort from 2013 onwards. The IAPH (Interna-tional Association of Ports and Harbors) gave the project a silver “Port Environment Award” in 2015. This recognition is granted to organisations that distinguish themselves through outstanding projects regarding environmental management, environmental protection or sustainability.

As a relatively young port, is it easier or more difficult for you to make progress in environmental protection than it is for long-standing sites? When it comes to energy efficiency, a young port does, of course, have the advantage that its systems are state-of-the-art and meet requirements – for example the provisions of the energy saving act and the associated ordinances. On the other hand, however, established ports have often already invested a lot in their infrastructure and in expertise, and optimised their systems and operations in order to be able to work as efficiently as possible. You can always benefit from the experience of the established ports when conducting new port projects. We see this as a great benefit.

At the start of last year, NPorts founded the label hafen+ together with JadeWeserPort and Seaports of Niedersachsen. What is the philosophy behind this? Under this label we pool results, which we use to achieve

S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

Holger Banik, Spokesman for the Management Board of Niedersachsen Ports

and Managing Director of JadeWeserPort Realisierungsgesellschaft

improvements in ecology, economy and social matters in the ports; and by publishing them we help to create broad-er awareness of these issues. “Green logistics” also involves “green ports” that provide their customers with innovative and clever solutions. We are making our contribution to-wards this.

In 2015 JadeWeserPort drafted an environmental report for the first time, and was the second German port – after bremenports – to be certified in accordance with the PERS (Port Environmental Review System). What advantages does this certification offer you? PERS is a certification specially developed for ports, which takes account of the specific factors affecting ports and is awarded by the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO). 98 ports around the world have already become part of ESPO’s EcoPorts network. This facilitates comparison with other ports and can lead to valuable exchange between the ports. This is why this certification is perfect for our ports. More of NPorts ports are now going to follow in JadeWeserPort’s footsteps and obtain PERS certification.

What are the most important areas for action within your environmental strategy?The most important areas for action within the environmen-tal strategy are to be found in the divisions of operations and planning and development. When it comes to port operations, reduction of CO2 emissions is the priority. In terms of the planning and development of port facilities, the aim is pri-marily to consider ecological aspects and manage the natural landscape through coherence and compensation measures, as well as to plan for efficient use of port infrastructure.

It is expected that the number of ships run on LNG will increase to 1,500 by 2025. What conditions still have to be created by the port operators in Germany, and more specifically, at JadeWeserPort and Niedersachsen Ports, for this to happen? Since June and December 2015 the Lower Saxony sea-ports of Emden and Cuxhaven have been the first ports in Germany to be home to ferries run on LNG. For the ports belonging to Niedersachsen Ports and for Jade- WeserPort, the conditions for approval to use LNG ships have already been created. This means that LNG bunkering that is safe for both man and environment is possible. As soon as there is enough demand for LNG, corresponding LNG infrastructure will be established within the seaports. The state of Lower Saxony has already created a funding pro-gramme to improve supply of alternative fuels and energy in seaports, which should promote facilities for supply of LNG to sea-going and inland vessels, for example.

In structural terms, JadeWeserPort is already prepared for supplying ships with shore power. If a ship owner and his container ship should need power suddenly – how quickly could you handle this?Future demand for shore power was taken into account in the planning and building of the port. Empty pipes were installed, which can be fitted with cables in order to supply ships with shore power from the quay. Shore power is already used at the service port at JadeWeserPort.

More information: www.nports.dewww.jadeweserport.de


S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

The seaports of Lower Saxony have pooled their many different sustainability activities in logistics together under the label hafen+.

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A cloud application from Belgian IT logistics provider Avantida makes it possible to reuse empty containers quickly, and is therefore contributing towards

a reduction in container transport runs. This relieves some of the strain on both the hinterland infrastructure and the environment.

New prospects for empty containers

P O R T R A I T


Photo of the Avantida management team: Patrick De Deken, President of the Board, Luc De Clerck, Chief Executive Officer, and Mark De Keyser, Chief Operating Officer (from left)

F A C T S AvantidaFounded in Antwerp at the end of 2012

Specialises in cloud platforms for containers, security, customs and optimisation of workflows

18 employees (8 in Belgium and 10 in Poland)

A total of 16 shipping companies and 2,000 transport and logistics firms use the service

Turnover in 2015: 2.8 million euros

I t is estimated that every fifth container transported by lorry, rail or inland vessel is empty. This results in high costs for shipping and forwarding companies. In addition, it causes unnecessary traffic on already con-

gested roads and railway tracks and places additional strain on the environment. With this in mind, IT logistics pro-vider Avantida, headquartered in Antwerp, has developed a cloud-based application that facilitates rapid reuse of empty containers. The principle of the IT solution, “reUse”, is simple: when a transport operator needs to transport an empty container back to a depot, he can register this need on an internet platform. The system then checks wheth-er there is a matching transport request from the same shipping company and whether the set parameters – such as container type and ship’s cut-off date – are met. If the result is positive, the request is granted and the forwarder is given authorisation. All that transport firms need to use this platform is an internet connection and to register on the company’s website once.

Benefit

“The shipping company generates additional income, opti-mises its processes and reduces administrative effort. What’s more, the transport company reduces its costs in transport-ing empty containers back, at the same time as improving its workflows,” says Luc De Clerck, Managing Director of Avantida, summarising the business model. As a result, the service is used by small (up to 10 lorries), medium-sized (10 to 100 lorries) and large (over 100 lorries) transport firms alike.

When a transport run is successfully brokered, payment takes place through a prepaid account. Prices are set by the shipping companies themselves and are 25 to 30 euros per transaction, depending on the company.

The IT logistics provider started up in Germany last year, three and a half years after the founding of Avantida and market launch in Belgium and the Netherlands. Since then, the system has been able to be used for import containers in all German seaports. This means that forwarders that, for example, transport containers to and from Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven and Hamburg can redeploy empty containers straight away instead of taking them back by lorry, rail or inland vessel. “Transport companies are linked with shipping companies via the platform, facilitating not only the reuse of empty containers but also delivery to or collection from alter-native locations,” says De Clerck. “This allowed us to prevent seven million kilometres of empty runs across all European countries last year.” In Germany, the company plans to pre-vent 25,000 empty container runs per year, therefore relieving pressure on hinterland transport and reducing emissions of CO2 and other substances considerably.

Growth

Even though the system is currently only in use with shipping companies’ own containers and not across companies, the company has already expanded since it was founded. There are currently almost 2,000 transport and logistics firms – of which around 200 German firms – registered on the platform. The system is used by 16 shipping companies in total at pres-ent, including many industry giants. “We are now cooperating with ten shipping companies in Germany, including OOCL, Cosco and Hamburg Süd,” reports De Clerck. “After a slightly slow start, we are now very happy. In March we had a total of 9,500 transport runs – 82 per cent more than in the previous year.” Avantida has had an office in Hamburg since May, in order to increase its presence in Germany. But the company is growing across Europe. France, Spain, Portugal and Italy have all come on board in recent months. “Where we will expand next will be decided primarily by our customers,” says De Clerck. “For example, there has been strong demand in Russia and the Ukraine in recent times.” The range of services is also growing: “With ‘depotX’, we are now making it possible for transport companies to make changes when delivering or collecting empty containers.” The application was opened for all shipping countries in all countries for and in which Avantida is active in April following a successful trial in Belgium and the Netherlands. (cb)

More information: www.avantida.com

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P O R T R A I T

P E O P L E


New head of contract logistics at BLGAPPOINTMENT. The Supervisory Board of Bremer LagerhausGesellschaft – a stock corporation dating back to 1877 – has unanimously appointed Jens Wollesen as a member of the Board of Management with joint power of representation. Effective from 1 July 2016 onwards, Wollesen will assume responsibility for the business division of Contract Logistics. He succeeds Andreas Wellbrock, who left BLG Logistics on 31 December 2015. The qualified industrial engineer is currently responsible for contract logistics in Germany and Switzerland and for real estate as a member of the Board of Directors at Kühne + Nagel Deutschland, and is also a member of the Management Board at Stute Logistics. Before commencing his degree in transport at FH Bremer- haven, Wollesen, who was born in 1967, completed training as a forwarding agent with the firm J.H. Bachmann in Bremen.

AWARD. The three shipping associations represented in Bremen – Vereinigung Bremer Schiffsmakler und Schiffsagenten, Bremer Rheder- verein and Schiffsmakler-Vereinigung für Küsten- und Seeschiffsbefrachter – have honoured the trainees from the winter examinations. Christian von Georg (left), Chairman of Vereinigung Bremer Schiffsmakler und Schiffsagenten, and Peter Grönwoldt (right), Member of the Board at Bremer Rhederverein, gave Maximilian Gustav Schrader from shipping company CMA CGM the award for best in the year.

VOTE. The board of Cuxhaven Port Business Community (HWG) was re-elected for the next two years at the 43rd members’ meeting recently. The position of Deputy Chairman was newly filled by Captain Arne Ehlers, Managing Director of BREB (left), who was welcomed into his new position by Chairman Hans-Peter Zint. Ehlers replaces Mayor Ulrich Gestch, who shall remain on the board.

Outstanding up-and-coming shipping talent

Lloyd Werft heads for the future with its four-man management team

HWG’s board re-elected

ADDITION. Finn Jarmo Laakso (2nd from right) has been part of the Executive Board at Lloyd Werft since 1 March. In future, he will be managing the rapidly growing shipbuilding company along with Rüdiger Pallentin (2nd from left), Carsten J. Haake (right) and Dirk Petersjohann (left). His particular remit is to link up shipyard and shipping company interests. In future the new Lloyd Werft Group will comprise the sites of Bremerhaven, Wismar, Warnemünde and Stralsund, with a good 1,700 employees between them.

P E O P L E

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ELECTION. The Advisory Council of the Federal Network Agency recently unani-

mously elected Lower Saxony’s Minister for Economics, Labour and Transport, Olaf Lies, as Chair. The 49-year-old was appointed as a member of the Advisory Council by the federal government for the first time in 2013, and succeeds Klaus Barthel, a Member of Parliament. Lies and his Deputy, MP Joachim Pfeiffer, declared that the Advisory Council would continue its constructive collaboration with the Presi-dent’s Office.

HANDOVER. Heiner Heseler has been Managing Director of Initiative

Stadtbremische Häfen (initiative for the ports of the city of Bremen, ISH) since March. He succeeds Werner Maywald, who has retired. Heseler spent eight years as State Advisor for Economics and Ports in Bremen up until his retirement last year. Before that he was in charge of planning at Bremen’s city hall and worked at the University of Bremen. The ISH represents 50 small and medium-sized companies in the maritime sector in the state of Bremen that operate regionally, nationally and internationally, and pools their interests across sectors.


SUCCESS. Lots of young people began their dual training as ship’s mechanics once again this spring. They will be supervised by the Berufsbildungsstelle (vocational training centre, BBS) in Elsfleth. The BBS also offers vocational retraining as a ship’s mechanic and a practical training qualification specially aimed at the profession of ship officer, as well as sea time as a nautical or technical assistant officer.

CHAIR. The board of Verein Bremer Spediteure (the association of shipping companies in Bremen) elected a new Chair at its inaugural meeting in mid-April. Oliver Oestreich (Leschaco Group) has replaced Simon Reimer (reimer logistic). Reimer prompted the change at the head of the association himself after twelve years in the role, but will remain on the board. Oestreich has been on the board since 2009 and has been Deputy Chair since 2010.

MANAGEMENT. Osnabrück- based fashion logistics special-ist Meyer & Meyer appointed Jan Weber as Managing Director back in February. Weber is now CEO, and has been the sole operative head of the corporate group since 1 April. At the same time, Managing Partners and cousins Michael Meyer and Rolf Meyer and Holding Managing Director Clemens Haskamp have moved to a newly founded advisory committee.

New chair at Verein Bremer Spediteure

Fashion logistics provider gains CEO

Up-and-coming seafarers from Elsfleth

P E O P L E


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Save the Date!

The second half of the year holds many special highlights in the maritime sector: “Windforce” at the start of June will be followed by the “logistics talk” in Enns, Austria, and the “transport logistic China” trade fair. 2 September will see the “26th Lower Saxony port day” take place in Brake, along with the long-running “Captains’ Day” in Bremen.

T he “Windforce” conference in Bremen remains an important meeting point for the wind power and offshore industry in Germany. Held between 7 and 9 June 2016, the specialist international presentations

will be all about the latest technology, as well as services concerning wind power and energy generation.

The container terminal in Enns, Upper Austria, is also focused on eco-friendliness. Extensive modernisation and expansion work for the trimodal handling facility was complet-ed at the end of last year. bremenports will be inviting visitors to the town on the Danube for the “logistics talk” on 9 June, to mark the official opening of the terminal. The fact that the link to the ports of Bremen is very close is illustrated by the four block trains that will be leaving the terminal for Bremerhaven on that day alone.

Shortly after, the “transport logistic China” trade fair will be taking place in Shanghai once again. The ports of Bremen and Lower Saxony will be putting in a cross-state appearance under the brand “German Ports” in China be-tween 14 and 16 June 2016. The event has developed into an important trade fair for the transport and logistics sector over recent years. In 2014 the international exhibitors’ varied offering managed to win over more than 16,000 visitors.

The Senate of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and Bremische Hafenvertretung will be opening an invitation to the upper town hall for the 52nd time for the “Captains’ Day” in Bremen. The reception for captains and chief engineers from shipping and air transport takes place on the first Friday in September every year, so on 2 September in 2016. Each year, donations are collected for a good cause.

The “Lower Saxony port day” will also be taking place on 2 September 2016. The host port for the 26th edition, organised by the port marketing company Seaports of Nie-dersachsen, is Brake. Once a year, this long-standing event offers representatives from the worlds of business, politics, administration and the media a great opportunity to discuss developments in the seaports of Lower Saxony.

Windforce Bremen 7. – 9. 6. 2016

Bremen, Germany http://windforce.info/windforce2016/de/

logistics talk 9. 6. 2016

Enns, Austria www.bremenports.de/veranstaltungskalender

transport logistic China 14. – 16. 6. 2016

Shanghai, China www.transportlogistic- china.com

ShortSeaShipping Days 22. – 23. 6. 2016

Lübeck, Germany www.shortseashipping.de

26th Niedersächsischer Hafentag (Lower Saxony port day) 2. 9. 2016

Brake, Germany www.seaports.de

Kapitänstag (Captains’ Day) 2. 9. 2016

Bremen, Germany www.bhv-bremen.de

Maritime Woche (maritime week) 9. – 18. 9. 2016

Bremen/Bremerhaven, Germany www.maritimewoche.de

Hafen trifft Festland (port meets mainland) 14. 9. 2016

Cologne, Germany www.seaports.de www.jadeweserport.de

Cool Logistics Global 26. – 28. 9. 2016

Bremen, Germany www.coollogisticsresourc-es.com/global/de

Breakbulk Americas 26. 9. – 29. 9. 2016

Houston, USA www.breakbulk.com

WindEnergy 27. – 30. 9. 2016

Hamburg, Germany www.windenergyham- burg.com

logistics talk 12. 10. 2016

Graz and Vienna, Austria www.bremenports.de/veranstaltungskalender

ECG Conference 20. – 21. 10. 2016

Hamburg, Germany www.ecgassociation.eu


Bielefeld, Germany www.seaports.de www.jadeweserport.de


Dresden, Germany www.seaports.de www.jadeweserport.de

logitrans 16. – 18. 11. 2016

Istanbul, Turkey www.logitrans.com.tr/english

Selection of events 2016 (subject to change)

Joint trade fair appearance under the umbrella brand of German Ports.

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Review of events

PRESENCE. “Intermodal South America” is one of the most significant transport and logistics trade fairs in South America. The seaports of Bremen and Lower Saxony exhibited at it under the umbrella brand of “German Ports” for the tenth time, showcasing their logistical offerings. Brazil is Germany’s most important trading partner in South America. The main import goods are cars and automotive parts, as well as chemical products and machinery. Brazilian exports to Germany are dominated by raw materials and products from the agricultural and food sector, as well as iron ore, cellulose and crude oil. “Goods that the seaports of Lower Saxony are well accustomed to handling, making them perfect European hubs for

import and export activities between South America and Europe,” said Inke Onnen-Lübben, Making Director of the port marketing company Seaports of Niedersachsen. During the three-day event, port handling companies from Brake and Emden, the Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven JadeWeserPort marketing firm and Europe’s biggest terminal operator, Eurogate, accompa-nied the port marketing teams from Bremen and Lower Saxony and utilised the joint stand for customer discussions and contact maintenance. “Despite the palpable and much-talked-about economic and political crisis in Brazil, the visitor numbers and quality were satisfactory once again this year,” summarised Michael Skiba, bremenports’ Head of Marketing.

“Intermodal South America” from 5 to 7 April 2016 in São Paulo

SUCCESS. Spring was rung in by the “logistic talk” in Düsseldorf, organised by bremenports and BLG Cargo Logistics. The focus of the panel discussion presented by Uwe Will, Chairman of the Board and Managing Director at the VIA BREMEN Foundation, in the Esprit- Arena was trends and developments in breakbulk terminals. Events take place several times a year in various regions of Germany and neighbouring European countries as part of the “logistics talk” series. This gives the companies within Bremen’s seaport economy the opportunity to maintain existing customer relations and form new contacts in the regions relevant to them.

“logistics talk” on 10 March 2016 in Düsseldorf

PARTICIPATION. Both the ports of Bremen and Seaports of Niedersachsen presented once again in Antwerp, Belgium, with stands at the specialist “Breakbulk Europe” trade fair. The international event in the Belgian port city is the biggest trade fair and conference in the world that specialises in break bulk and project loads. It draws in a specialist audience every year and offers a great forum for discussion on current trends and news in the piece goods and project loading sector.

“Breakbulk Europe” from 23 to 26 May 2016 in Antwerp

The seaports of Bremen and Lower Saxony stood out in Antwerp with their spacious and modern stands.

A round of discussions with Sven Riekers, Horst Rehberg, Uwe Will, Prof. Otto Jockel and Oliver Wittig (from left)

Joint appearance of the seaports of Bremen and Lower Saxony under the brand “German Ports” at Intermodal South America in São Paulo.

A P P O I N T M E N T S


December 2016: Ro-ro Closing date for submitting advertisements 21.10.2016

October 2016: Training & careers Closing date for submitting advertisements 26.8.2016

LOGISTICS PILOT ISSN 2195-8548

Publisher: bremenports GmbH & Co. KG Hafenstraße 49, 28217 Bremen www.bremenports.de Michael Skiba Phone: +49 421 30901-610 Fax: +49 421 30901-9624 E-mail: [email protected]

Advertisement and project management: Anastasia Lenz Phone: +49 421 30901-602 Fax: +49 421 30901-9624 E-mail: [email protected]

Advertisement price list no. 8 applies, valid from 21 January 2016 www.bremenports.de/logisticspilot

Publishing house: DVV Kundenmagazine GmbH Nordkanalstraße 36, 20097 Hamburg www.dvv-kundenmagazine.de

Project management: Karin Kennedy Phone: +49 40 23714-338 E-mail: [email protected]

Editor: Claudia Behrend (cb) responsible E-mail: redaktion.logisticspilot@ dvvmedia.com

Layout, photos and illustrations: Design: Christine Zander, www.artldesign.de title: Fotolia – janaka Dharmasena & bremenports/BLG other images: see image credits

Print: Müller Ditzen AG, Bremerhaven www.muellerditzen.de

LOGISTICS PILOT is published six times a year in a run of 5,000 copies (German). An English-language e-paper can be found at www.bremenports.de/logisticspilot

The publication, its articles and its illustrations are protected by copyright. Any copying or distribution must be approved by the publishing house or publisher. This shall also ap-ply to electronic use or transfer into databases, online media (internet), intranet or other electronic storage media. The publisher and publishing house decline any liability for photos, manuscripts and other data media submitted without request.

I M P R I N T

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Focus topic Green logistics

What contribution can the maritime transport

and logistics industry make to environmental

protection?

List of advertisementsBLG Page 31bremenports Page 32 Eurogate Page 2JadeWeserPort Page 19

All editions are also available as an e-paper in German and English. Scan the code or go to www.bremenports.de/logisticspilot

P R E V I E W

August 2016: Green logistics Closing date for submitting advertisements 24.6.2016

Save the Space

Secure a spot for your advertisement in the international logistics magazine for German ports: LOGISTICS PILOT. Media information can be found at www.bremenports.de/logisticspilot

E D I T I O N A U G U ST

Focus topics of the upcoming editions:

2016

This magazine is a

joint project of

bremenports GmbH & Co. KG

Bremische Hafenvertretung e. V.

JadeWeserPort-Marketing GmbH & Co. KG

Seaports of Niedersachsen GmbH

VIA BREMEN Foundation

Your contact: Anastasia Lenz, Marketing – bremenports GmbH & Co. KG, Phone: +49 421 30901-602, E-mail: [email protected]


FASHION AND SPORTS · SHIPPING AND FORWARDING · AUTOMOBILE · AUTOMOBILE · AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING INDUSTRY · ENGINEERING INDUSTRY · ENGINEERING INDUSTRY ELECTRONICS · FOOD

Looking for a made-to-measure solution? Then you‘ve come to the right place. Now you might ask – why this company? Because we prove it every single day – with our experience, passion and the tradition of Hanseatic integrity. Our word is our bond.

www.blg-logistics.com

FASHION AND SPORTS · SHIPPING AND FORWARDING · AUTOMOBILE · AUTOMOBILE · AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING INDUSTRY · ENGINEERING INDUSTRY · ENGINEERING INDUSTRY ELECTRONICS · FOOD

Looking for a made-to-measure solution? Then you‘ve come to the right place. Now you might ask – why this company? Because we prove it every single day – with our experience, passion and the tradition of Hanseatic integrity. Our word is our bond.

www.blg-logistics.com

Every year, the terminals in Bremerhaven handle more than five million standard contai-ners. A five-kilometre long quay, 14 berths for mega-container vessels and efficient cargo handling companies make the seaport one of the world’s leading hubs for intermodal transports.

www.bremenports.de/en/location

StackS of experience

andree Wendt, straddle carrier driver at eUroGate in Bremerhaven

magazine for ports, shipping and logistics june 2016...dear readers, the container has been helping...

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