Category Archives: Ports

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Online port community system ‘game-changer’ for India’s shipping industry

Sam Whelan, Asia correspondent, has written an interesting piece about a new port communication and collaboration system that is revolutionizing how Indian p[orts operate. It’s called PC51x, and it connects port users via secure messaging to exchange paperwork, financial info, and other messages. In trials, it reduced cost and time for interaction drastically.

And it did NOT involve blockchain. In fact, it uses only technology developed years ago and tested severely by those years of practice. It seems that for the user it operates like one of those doctor portals we have all become accustomed to in the US; annoying, but much faster and less annoying than waiting for her to call back (!@?^%$#!). And capable of much faster integration if those communicating have a desire to make it better and faster.

They have announced a portal type interface. This type of function is like what we used to call ‘middleware’, connecting systems with different data specifications and requirements, and letting them work out how to use the data. It makes a lot of sense to me.

I think any port could copy this with a little hard nose bargaining with those it collaborates with. Getting truckers on board might be more difficult without a good look at the systems they use every day. But for many others it makes sense.

But should the port be the driver? I think there is potential for 3PLs to usurp the role for their cargoes. Then we’d have to link in their systems. Hard, but not impractical, and easier than forcing all their shippers to use the port’s message portal. Everyone would benefit. And more players such as banks and customs could participate as well. Better that this should be driven by a lot of smaller players (if ports can be thought of as smaller) than by a national or global standards initiative, especially one from a single source. Let it evolve, I say.

via Online port community system a ‘game-changer’ for India’s shipping industry – The Loadstar

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Posted on May 30, 2019 by just2bruce in Advanced Computing, Leadership, Logistics, Ports, Shipping, Strategy, Supply Chains

Tagged entrepreneurship, innovation, Logistics, ocean shipping, performance, ports, Shipping, technology, transportation

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Sensors, ‘grey boxes’ and opportunities

Sam Whelan, Asia correspondent of the Loadstar has a short article about a vision DPWorld has for integrating data and logistics. He describes some innovative activities. In Yiwu, China DPWorld has an agreement for a project that allows customers to clear cargo through customs before it leaves for Jebel Ali. The DP World representative also pointed out that in the future, each item in a box may carry a sensor. Box handling equipment could make use of the sensor data (eg, promised delivery dates) to route boxes by a faster or slower route.

It isn’t clear to me how the second method will work out– I’m reminded of the old Fedex cartoon where the delivery man is swimming ashore to a client on a desert island with a wrapped package, but the stranded client says “But my birthday is tomorrow!”. Rerouting a collection of cargo on the basis of, say, average due date, is fraught with problems. Are the partners in each supply chain ready for early delivery, or do they want it, or will they actually pay to have it delayed? I used to have a copy of this cartoon which I showed to my logistics and operations classes, but it’s gotten lost over the years.

There’s no question that improving customs clearance and in fact throughput at any stage will benefit from accurate and easy data interchange. But for that, you need some standardization, and for it to transform the industry the standards need to be common for the whole industry. I’m reminded of the effort it took to translate US freight codes to the Harmonized codes used in international traffic.

Standards need to be set, and where they deal with complementary processes they need to be set broadly so that everyone can participate. That requires some joint standard setting. It happened for INCOterms, it happened for disk drive interface standards, it happened (more or less) for EDI; but it takes a village. One or two firms can’t do it.

via Sensors, ‘grey boxes’ and opportunities in an age where ‘data is the new container’ – The Loadstar

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Posted on May 23, 2019 by just2bruce in Logistics, Ports, Supply Chains

Tagged Big Data, innovation, Logistics, Software, standards, technology, trade, transportation

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Hamburg deepens Elbe channel

The project will cost $700 million, and it went through a long series of legal battles, mostly about environmental issues. But now the project is ready to begin. The Port of Hamburg let the contract to DEME engineering, as World Maritime News reported. Dredging Today reported that the contract has a value of EUR 238 million (including VAT). The article below contains many facts about the project’s scale, but does not offer a completion target date.

It is interesting to point out, as Alexander Whiteman did in his Loadstar article, that Hamburg, by virtue of its inland location, is also able to link with rail service via the One Belt One Road initiative of China, as well as multiple barge routes.

The Maritime Executive reported that the project was approved finally in August of 2018. But such a large investment takes time to get ramped up.

There is still some resistance to the project and there are a few appeal opportunities left. But it seems very unlikely that opponents will take them up.

The port has recently experienced an upsurge in container traffic. According to Port of Hamburg, almost one-third of the container traffic is related to China. Seaborne cargo throughput reached 34.6 million tons, up 6%. Container handling reached 2.3 million TEUs. Some of this was due to four new transatlantic services run by THE alliance.

And hinterland traffic grew 8.0 percent. Hamburg is famous for offering many feeder links, including around 2100 block train (unit train in US lingo) connections.

Part of the upswing is due to volatility induced by the tariff games going on in the world right now. Firms are stocking up before the tariffs go into effect. Whether the upward trend will continue is unclear, but certainly deepening the Elbe waterway will offer ocean carriers greater flexibility in route selection.

I have a special fondness for the Port of Hamburg after visiting it for the IAME conference in 2016.

screenshot-Dredging today 2019-05-21 via DEME Bags Elbe Deepening Contract – Dredging Today