AUSTRALIA How wheat has fed the world Anmm opens the BOX! sailing the world alone for 300 days Port costs update COAL: nsW exports boom while Australia left in the dark PROFILE PAUL SCURRAH, CEO of BLOCKCHAIN DP World Australia LEgAL: WHAt IS AN UNSAFE PORt? spring/summer 2017 1–3 May 2018, Gold Coast, Queensland Registration for NAV18 is now open AMSA invites you to join 150+ industry colleagues to explore how modern technology is impacting aids to navigation, shipboard navigation systems and people working in the industry. The three-day event explores the future of navigation as emerging technologies gain momentum across the maritime sector. nav18.com NAV18 Advertisement.indd 1 3/11/2017 10:45:22 AM CONTENTS SPRING/SUMMER 2017 6 12 24 02 FROm THE bRIDGE 06 VIEWPOINT Blame it on the Panama Canal; ships size growth costly for 26 Port of Melbourne 08 PROFILE PAUL SCURRAH, CEO of DP World Australia 12 COAL NSW exports boom while Australia left in the dark about its power supplies 18 LINER SHIPPING Battle for public beneft over bureaucratic ideology – Part X of the CCA 20 FREIGHT POLICy A new direction for Australia’s National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy 42 46 22 bUSINESS 22 Is Australia hugging or bashing the panda? 24 Investing overseas – What’s the secret? 26 Blockchain – clearing the way ahead 28 THE SCENE 30 SAFE PORTS Shipping Australia hosts ‘Safe Ports’ breakfast seminar 32 PORT COSTS 36 LEGAL What is an unsafe port? 38 AGRICULTURE How wheat has fed the world 50 52 42 NAVIGATION 42 Around the world in 300 days 46 The world’s frst remotely operated commercial vessel 48 ENVIRONmENT Green shipping focus continues at IMO 50 CONTAINERISATION Australian National Maritime Museum opens the BOX! 52 bOOK REVIEW ELON MUSK - A peep into the mind of someone who dreams about what doesn’t exist then makes it happen? THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF Shipping Australia Ltd Level 1, 101 Sussex Street, Sydney NSW 2000 PO Box Q388 Sydney NSW 1230 P: 02 9266 9911 F: 02 9279 1471 W: www.shippingaustralia.com.au Front Cover: PUbLICATIONS COmmITEE Coal ships line up at Chairman: Ross McAlpine port of Newcastle Vice chairman: Frank Needs Executive editor: Rod Nairn Image: Port of Newcastle Executive assistant: Sharyn Flood Feature writer: Archie Bayvel Graphic designer: Sarah Abrahams E: [email protected] Advertising Co-ordinator: For advertising contact Steve Moxey P: 0400 473 200 E: [email protected] PO BOX 43, Woonona NSW 2517 Shipping Australia Magazine is published for Shipping Australia Ltd by Ontime Publications Ontime Pubications. Spring / Summer 2017 I Shipping Australia Limited 1 From the bridge onsolidation of shipping fruit’ to some governments to lines is continuing to be big remove competition protections Cnews. The latest in the liner from shipping, but the unintended saga is COSCO taking over OOIL consequences may ultimately be (parent of OOCL) which is still subject to reduce competition by making to clearance from the Chinese and it impossible for smaller carriers to European competition regulators; I remain in the market. don’t expect too many hurdles. The The fact it that this hasn’t happened three Japanese lines are sculpting the arrangement for their “ONE” service yet, there are still enough independent ranking as the sixth biggest carrier carriers to continue to provide a when they launch in April 2018, very competitive global shipping and the 14 South Korean lines have environment, and the shippers are signed a memorandum to create still in the box seat. You can get an the Korean Shipping Partnership, update on the status of Australia’s coordinating their services to optimise shipping competition exemptions their competitiveness, and their new in Andrew Chittenden’s article on ofering could also start in early 2018. page 18 but I will add, that since he Interestingly, one of these, SM Line, penned that article, the Competition is a new player who took advantage and Consumer Act amendments to of cheap second- hand tonnage provide the ACCC with the power to after the Hanjin collapse to enter the grant block exemptions have passed market. It seems that it’s not only in through Parliament. the liner sector that bigger is better. Who would have predicted the BBC Chartering and Jumbo have massive impact on global shipping announced a global project alliance design that that little central to optimise their synergies in bids for American country of Panama could By ROD NAIRN AM, CEO, super heavy lift construction cargos. Shipping Australia Limited impose? The new, 50 metre wide The diference here is that this is not a locks opened only 15 months ago consolidation, and each will continue and in that short time the entire to operate separately. design, economic structure and future On the sideline, the Global Shippers of global shipping has changed. The There’s never a Forum and shippers in general, have value of old, 32 metre wide Panamax started to express concerns over the ships has submerged (and taken potential concentration of market Rickmers, who held a feet of these dull moment in power. But who’s responsible? In vessels, with it – though, their phoenix my opinion this a perfect example has risen again with a last minute shipping, it’s just of the adage, “be careful what buy out), but more importantly the you wish for” or in Biblical terms whole philosophy of ship design has “whatever a man soweth, that changed. The long-held paradigm of like being at sea, shall he also reap”. It was the increasing cargo capacity by building lobbying from shipper interests in for longer, deeper draught ships you always need the frst place that put pressure on has been discarded and, with the governments to remove what they limitations of beam lifted, the post- to keep a good described as anachronous, anti- Panamax and new Panamax have competitive protections from shipping substantially increased capacity with conferences and consortia. These shorter, beamier and shallower ships. lookout and be subsequent changes, in conjunction It all makes sense, the removal of an with other economic factors, certainly artifcial beam limitation allows ships ready for the contributed to shipping companies to be more efcient and structurally pursuing growth by consolidation, sound but no-one predicted the unexpected…. in order to compensate for the loss pace or impact of the changes. The of efectiveness of conferences implications for ports is massive, quay and discussion agreements. It cranes need longer reach, channels certainly seemed like ‘low hanging need to be wider instead of deeper 2 Shipping Australia Limited I Spring / Summer 2017 and wharf strength, rather than wharf length, has become the critical factor. Add this to the cascade-down efect within consolidated global container lines, and ship demands are changing fast. You can read more about the implications in this edition’s ‘Viewpoint’. The economic climate for shipping has continued to improve this year, and looking back it is hard to fathom that it is only 18 months since the Baltic Dry Index’s rock bottom low of 290 Points, back in February 2016. Last week it peaked at 1500, that’s fve times that value. Product tanker rates have improved on the back of increasing global demand for diesel, petrol and particularly jet fuel. Container ship charter rates The massed display of maritime support at Pacifc 2017 have continued to kick up, now more than 30 per cent above their few months on record, climate has Parliament to debate. The reception lows at the start of the year. Finally, played a wild card and Australia’s from our members has been… well, there are signs that an upturn of the agricultural exports are expected to un-excited. But while the proposed heavy lift/project cargo sector may be be well down on last year. Whereas changes won’t make much diference sustained. demand outstripped supply for food to SAL members, they will help With that optimism there are no grade containers and ships slots last Australian primary producers and surprises that the outlook for ship season, the situation is likely to be manufacturers get their products builders is also starting to brighten, more in balance this season. Though to domestic markets and sustain with CMA-CGM recently announcing there does seem to be a relative Australian jobs in these sectors. an order for six 22,000 TEU increase in the percentage of grain shipped in containers versus bulk, Our members will continue to bemouths to strengthen their trans- provide international shipping that Pacifc trade position, this will put that might help to shore up container demand. sustains Australia’s economy by even more pressure for bigger ships carrying our exports and supporting to be redeployed onto the smaller You’ll recall that last year’s extreme Australians’ quality of life by bringing north-south routes. The economies demand brought some shonky the products that Australians want of scale of bigger ships will allow practices into focus, with some to buy. Australia would beneft more shipping lines to make a sustainable shippers’ double and triple-booking from a substantial policy change that proft, while strong competition their cargos, artifcially raising really encouraged moving long-haul between lines ensures that the demand, then cancelling excess domestic freight by sea, reducing lowest possible prices are paid by booking at the last minute, leaving road congestion, greenhouse gas shippers and their customers, it’s a carriers with empty slots, while emissions and unnecessary deaths win/win outcome. Those that argue other shippers were unable to book from trucking accidents. otherwise, who opt for holding back space on the vessel.