ISSUE 1 /2014 1 THIS ISSUE INDEX Drag races in Curacao 19 REGULARS by Bob Langerak Working towards cleaner air 4-5 This issue 2 by Philip Gray Mistaken for the devil 20-21 by Pieter Hartog From the editors 2 In the picture 6-10 Management corner 3 mv Lombok Strait Messina Strait 24 by Michael Evans Clippings 22-23 The history of labelling fruit 11-14 Crow’s nest 33 by Pieter Hartog Port travel guide 25-26 Puerto Bolivar, Ecuador Puzzle page 34 3 Motorcycles enjoy 15 the Seatrade service Unity is strength: Citruship 27-28 Fleetlist 35 by Pieter Hartog by Javier Borreguero & Blas Iturrieta Antwerp-Banjul Challenge 2014: 16 Meeting of Members 2014 29 Rallying to make a difference by Adinda Scheers by Bieke Nijs Colours of the ocean 30-32 There isn’t an ocean too deep 17-18 by Joke van Leeuwen by Jan De Vrij COLOFON Editorial Team Ideas, comments and input can be sent to: The information contained in this Fiona Schimmel, Yntze Buitenwerf, Philip Seatrade Reefer Chartering N.V. magazine is intended solely for the use Gray, Pieter Hartog, Howard Posner and Attn.: Editorial Team “Simply Seatrade” of the individual or entity to whom it Kor Wormmeester Atlantic House (4th fl.), is addressed and others authorised to Noorderlaan 147 receive it. If you are not the intended Layout and Creation 2030 Antwerp recipient you are hereby notified that any Sigmund Belgium disclosure, copying, distribution or taking Phone (32) 3 544 9493 action in reliance of the contents of this Simply Seatrade has been realised thanks E-mail [email protected] information is strictly prohibited and may to the efforts of various contributors. Website www.seatrade.com · Antwerp be unlawful. The editor cannot be held www.seatrade.nl · Groningen liable for the contents and/or opinions www.reedereitriton.de · Leer expressed by writers of articles taken up in this magazine. FROM THE EDITORS As we go to press with this edition of Simply Seatrade, the 2014 World Cup is underway. There have been a number of shocking developments in the preliminary rounds, as Spain and England have been knocked out of the competition by a couple of young upstarts. While we always strive to entertain and even surprise you, we will never leave you disappointed here on these pages. This issue provides us with a bit of history, as we look at the evolution of the banana label and we explore the legend of a marooned 16th Century sailor. We review the challenges of sailing in war zones and take to the desert on an adventure rally. Our world tour includes stops in Curacao and Puerto Bolivar, Ecuador. While Spain has had to abdicate its crown as world football champions, we are proud to let you know about our long relationship with Spanish citrus champions, Citruship. Kick off the shin guards, sit back and enjoy, there’s plenty more where that came from. 2 MANageMENT CORNER So far, 2014 has been a colourful year. A year in which people of different origin, race, gender and religion were mobilised and united in more than one way. We embarked on the impressive Olympic Winter Games in Socchi, Russia, went onwards to the first celebration of "King's Day" in the Netherlands, continued to an exuberant Eurovision Song contest in Denmark and eventually arrived in the land of soccer and samba to enjoy the FIFA World Cup! In Belgium and the Netherlands, the run-up to 'Brazil 2014' gave rise to madness of great magnitude. We saw cars, people, offices and even entire streets being decorated in the national colours. Surely soccer mania reached unparalleled levels in other countries as well. The overall shipping industry is less colourful and still stuck cruise-liner builder Meyer Werft in Papenburg (Germany), a tasty in a vicious cycle, and this is particularly true for the container cooking class and a trip to the "Zuiderzee museum" in Enkhuizen segment. Although new ships may give carriers lower slot costs, (Netherlands). the supply/demand dynamics are out of balance and freight rates remain very volatile. Over the past months, we further reflected on the Seatrade Standard. A survey carried out in the offices and onboard ships This is being accentuated and extended by the constant delivery of revealed useful information where notes of (constructive) criticism new ships. The global cascade is now hurting the balance of many alternated with all-positive feedback. Convinced that the Seatrade trades. The supply/demand imbalance coupled with the desire by Standard has and says it all, it has been decided to say goodbye to most operators to protect their market share is a toxic mix for our tagline for almost two decades: the Triple S policy. overall profitability. This is why all focus is now on reducing costs with all major container carriers. As usual, the pre-summer holiday season is a time for some thorough spring-cleaning. The following ships underwent In the reefer segment the year started off promising. Unfortunately maintenance and repairs in dock: Cool Expreso, Messina Strait, the market slipped on a combination of a lack of chartering activity Nova Florida, Sierra King, Esmeralda, Mexican Bay, Santa Lucia from Chile and Ecuador, and shortage of fruit from Argentina. The and Santa Maria. political crisis in the Ukraine is another factor that continues to hinder the banana trade into the Black Sea and therefore also the Seatrade’s Shipmanagement branch is involved in an extensive demand for reefer tonnage. marketing project. We feel that a new website, brochure and other media with a look and feel of our own, will enhance our image as On a more positive note, demand from Falkland squid rescued an experienced and hands-on 'one-stop' shipmanager; something what might otherwise have been a difficult season for both the we like and are good at! large and small segment. The fleet that is employed in this trade will stay “off” the market until early July and later in case of self- Last but not least… We are nearing the kick off phase of an inflicted congestion at the discharge ports. extensive new-building project in China under the name of "Kiwi project", which involves the building of specialised reefer Within a changing trading environment we are able to participate containerships. With an equally strong reefer capacity, as our successfully by providing customised FDD transportation current fleet, the ships will be the biggest reefers in the Seatrade solutions in niche trades offering shorter delivery times, provide portfolio. The first deliveries are expected in early 2016. flexibility in seasonal volume fluctuations and service ports with dedicated infrastructure. In light of the above developments, we trust that the remainder of this year will be as encouraging as it started, with the Seatrade In the shipmanagement field, the annual crew agency meeting, colours continuing to proudly fly on land and at sea. hosting a mix of Dutch, Filipino and Russian participants, passed with flying colours. Next to presentations and workshops in support of crew performance, the programme included a visit to The Management 3 WORKING TOwaRDS CLEANER AIR Something we all want and need to be prepared to work hard to - Scrubbers to remove the excess sulfur: Sure, they weigh up to 80 achieve; working towards cleaner air. That is one of the things we tons when in operation…and can cost in excess of USD 2 million are working on right now within Seatrade. (without downtime). - Electricity: In fact ”cold ironing” is already becoming more By 1 January 2015 sulfur oxide emissions (SOx) from shipping frequent on certain fixed trade lanes; come alongside the quay must comply with stringent regulations particularly in the USA and plug in! and Northern Europe, the SECA's or so called sulfur emission - Natural gas: Absolutely, though you will run out of gas after a control areas. Just like years ago leaded fuel was banned for your few days… motorcar, and catalytic converters became the norm, shipping is becoming “of age”. Gas powered ships; electric ships; solar So, these technologies are in their infancy when it comes to powered ships? Well, maybe in some cases but just like in the practical implementation in wider deep sea or ocean going motorcar industry how many plugs can you find at your local shipping, with effective use for now restricted to very specific supermarket to connect your electric car to the grid and how types of ships or trade lanes. many petrol stations have the LPG you would need? We would love to run our ships on sea water, but we have not found the So, what can we do? In the majority of the cases we will have to scientist yet who is willing to take on the challenge! use ultra low sulfur fuel (with a maximum of 0.1% sulfur) and problem solved… Well yes, but it is not that simple! In general the So, we must get down to practical solutions, and these are also only readily available fuel with a maximum of 0.1% of SOx will be coupled with the type of ship, trade, age of the ship, and a long Marine Gas Oil, against the regular Low Sulfur Heavy Fuel, which list of etceteras. is used today for a maximum of 1% SOx. 4 The devil is in the detail and here our engineers ashore and on We need to run the ships with this lighter gas oil within the board are working round the clock to ensure that our vessels are ECA areas, and the associated costs need to be absorbed.