Global Logistics News Update for the Week

UK – There are only a few days left to get your nominations in for the Amazon everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards. In a year where the industry has been so instrumental in keeping the country moving (quite literally), now is your opportunity to share your story, or to show someone in your team that you recognise their outstanding contribution to the sector.

Whether you’re nominating yourself or a woman (or man) you know who inspires you, the Awards offer the chance to boost personal and company profiles and inspire those coming after. Make your free entry via the website or contact Aga on aga@everywoman.com

UK – GERMANY – German-based international supply chain firm Miebach Consulting and global real estate professional services outfit JLL have announced they have entered into a strategic business alliance to integrate their respective real estate, technology, sustainability supply chain and material flow expertise.

The aim is to assist clients with a supply chain solution including the real estate financial element, offering customers and the market a joint value proposition helping them face the supply chain operational and financial challenges that have been exacerbated by Covid-19 pandemic. The pair say companies will benefit from deeper insights of how factors such as automation, digitalisation, building specification and global network optimisation will shape the warehouse of the future.

KENYA – SOUTH AFRICA – UAE – Astral Aviation, which acquired a B767-200F from Air Transport Services in October, is to deploy the freighter aircraft on the Nairobi – Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE) route, with effect from 3rd February 2021. This will offer a capacity of 80 tonnes per week of flowers and vegetables to the UAE.

Astral will also upgrade its B767-200F on its Nairobi – Johannesburg route which it currently operates with a B727-200F thus increasing the total capacity to 160 tonnes per week to South Africa. The freighter will also offer capacity on high-priority for the distribution of the Covid vaccine to and within Africa in addition to humanitarian cargo.

IRELAND – GERMANY – The addition of four more Liebherr STS cranes to the Port of Bremerhaven stock means there are ten similar units now operational there. Identical to their predecessors they are amongst the largest STS cranes in the world with an outreach of 73 metres, a span of 30.48 metres and a backreach of 25 metres and a safe working load of 75 tonnes.

Liebherr Automation Systems facilitate semi-automatic moves, with manual intervention only required when operating below a predefined safe height. The port operates straddle carriers on the landside and the cranes are equipped with a yard monitoring system, which scans the operational area for obstacles, hazards or straddle carriers, and will allow placement of the container at the target position only when it is safe to do so.

Innovative straddle carrier lane covers open only over the active lane, providing protection for those on the ground. Stack and vessel anti-collision, in addition to a vessel drift compensation system, provides safety when operating. crane to crane, and crane to ship, laser anti-collision systems provide further safety when the crane is travelling or booming down.

CANADA – Neptune Cyber and Davie Shipbuilding, Canada's biggest shipbuilder, have launched a C$1.7million, five-year R&D partnership with Polytechnique Montréal, the engineering teaching and research institution, to commercialise cyber security developments for critical maritime infrastructure.

With the ever increasing cyber threat the acceleration of digitisation, automation and hyper-connectivity in the maritime domain has created new challenges for transport, cargo and naval ships as well as ports, with all now new targets for cyber criminals. For the project Neptune Cyber and Davie will contribute C$1.7million, of which C$500,000 will be in cash and C$1.2million in support and equipment for the duration of the project.

UAE – Abu Dhabi Ports’ maritime arm SAFEEN, has signed an agreement with Allianz Marine & Logistics Services (AMLS), to launch a new international provider of integrated maritime logistic services. Operating under the title of Offshore Support and Logistics Services Company (OFCO – Offshore International), headquartered in Abu Dhabi, the new joint venture will provide onshore and offshore integrated logistics solutions and subsea services in the GCC region and beyond.

OFCO’s broad range of services will be aimed towards large offshore infrastructure projects, which include ongoing operations within the regional oil and gas sector, as well as future projects set to be launched in the coming years.

US – In addition to the discovery of a new Baleen whale species living in the Gulf of Mexico, NOAA Fisheries, also known as the National Marine Fisheries Service, an office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within the Department of Commerce, has issued a new voluntary right whale Slow Zone vessel speed restriction after the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Stellwagen Bank Slocum buoy acoustically detected the presence of right whales 35 nautical miles east of Boston on 25 January.

The Boston, MA Slow Zone is in effect through to February 9, 2021 and joins the existing voluntary Slow Zones where mariners are requested to avoid or transit at 10 knots or less inside the areas where persistent aggregations of right whales have been sighted. Full details HERE.

Photo: A Right Whale sounds off the US coast.