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ABL France has successfully completed a marine technical study for leading French tidal energy developers Normandie Hydroliennes (NH) and Hydroquest.

The project aims to support the safe development of the tidal turbine pilot projects NH1 and FloWat – located off Normandy, France.

The NH1 and FloWat tidal turbines will be installed close to the Raz Blanchard ferry route, one of the most powerful tidal sites in the world. In order to mitigate the risk of ferries losing position and passing through the tidal turbine farms, an exclusion zone had to de defined and presented to local authorities.

Normandie Hydroliennes (NH) and Hydroquest contracted ABL’s team in France to provide the technical study to justify the required vessel exclusion zone at the project site.

ABL’s study aimed at defining the drifting speed and direction of a relevant vessel-type in different weather conditions. The data it produced was considered in parallel with the distance between the ferry route and farm to define the required exclusion zone. Based on ABL’s marine operational experience, the study took into consideration the captain’s time to react, the number of motors on ferries, the draft of the vessel and other criteria to reduce the risk of contact between the vessel and the tidal turbines.

“ABL’s team was able to respond positively and proactively to our urgent request and provide a quality study on time. We would like to thank the ABL team for their help.” Katia Gautier, Project Director at Normandie Hydroliennes.

“NH1 and FloWat are innovative projects that will generate clean and sustainable electricity from the consistent energy resource produced from ocean currents. As a company committed to driving the energy transition, this study was right up our street, and the urgency of it made it even more fun and challenging.” Leila Brahmia, Snr. Subsea Engineer at ABL in France.

ABL is an independent energy and marine consultancy specializing in solutions to de-risk and drive the energy transition across renewables, maritime and oil and gas sectors. ABL’s French operation also benefits from the expertise of sister company Innosea, a specialist consultancy in marine renewable energies, based in Nantes.

Both ABL and Innosea are part of Oslo-listed ABL Group ASA.

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The German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz LkSG) is a new German law that requires German companies and foreign companies operating in Germany with more than 3,000 employees, to carry out analyses of its supply chain to identify risks to human rights and the environment and to take mitigating actions against these risks and publish the findings annually.

Companies must also establish a complaint procedure for workers to report potential risks. To those companies to which it applies, failing to respect the terms of the law can result in fines of up to two percent of the company’s annual revenues.

The law came into effect in 2023, applying to companies with over 3,000 employees in its first year, however, in 2024, the provisions of the law will be extended to apply to all companies with over 1,000 employees.

Over the next few months, although not required to, Bertling Logistics has determined to comply with the LkSG, which is in line with our ESG policies and will help us actively support our larger clients.

To comply with the LkSG a company must make reasonable efforts to ensure that there are no violations of human rights and/ or legal environmental obligations in its business operations and in its supply chain. This covers any provision of services, regardless of whether it is carried out at a location in Germany or abroad. The supply chain includes the company’s own offices and warehouses, and primarily its direct subcontractors. It must carry out a risk analysis of the supply chain and implement preventive and remedial measures.

These are internationally recognized agreements, in particular the ILO core labor standards, which are referred to in the LkSG and defined as human rights risks, in particular, child and forced labor as well as slavery, disregard of labor protection obligations, and freedom of association, inequality, and withholding of an adequate wage, certain environmental pollution relevant to human rights as well as land deprivation, torture, and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

With regard to the environmental legislation, companies are obliged to conduct due diligence including environment-related obligations arising from the Minamata Convention (risks from involvement in the production and disposal of mercury-containing products) the PoPs Convention (risks from the production or use of certain persistent organic pollutants) and the Basel Convention (risks from the import and export of waste).

What a company must do depends on the appropriateness criteria outlined in the legislation. and considers the following: Nature and scope of the business: for example, risks of the business and nature of products/ services,
The company’s ability to influence the immediate causer: for example, considering the company’s proximity to the risk,the expected severity of the breach: for example, the possibility of breach of duty and intensity of impairment,
the reversibility of the violation, the probability of an injury occurring: for example, the probability related to a possible injury, considering past injury actions, the nature of the causation contribution: for example, directness of causation, joint causation with suppliers or other involved actors. Similarly, causation may exist when an entity contributes in connection with the risk or injury.

Companies must introduce appropriate risk management or adapt their existing risk management. This includes, in particular, responsibilities / financial and personnel capacities in the relevant company departments, such as purchasing, compliance, and sustainability, that implement the law in the company and such responsibilities / financial and personnel capacities that monitor implementation, e.g. in the form of a compliance or human rights officer.

Companies must determine at least once a year whether there is a risk that their own business activities or business activities in the supply chain violate human rights or environmental obligations.

In addition to the regular risk analysis, companies must also conduct a risk analysis on an ad hoc basis if they have substantiated knowledge that a human rights or environmental violation appears possible at an indirect supplier or if significant changes or expansions in the risk situation arise within the scope of business activities.

Companies must adopt a policy statement on their human rights strategy. This policy statement must contain the procedure for complying with human rights and environmental due diligence obligations in the supply chain, the specific risks and the company’s human rights and environmental expectations of its employees and suppliers.

Based on the results of the risk analysis, companies must take or review appropriate preventive and remedial measures. This applies, for example, to supplier selection and supplier control, the creation of (supplier) codes of conduct, the implementation of training courses, the procurement strategy and sustainable contract design, an audit concept, etc.

Companies shall establish, implement, and publish a complaints’ procedure in writing through which (potentially) affected persons and persons who have knowledge of possible violations can report human rights risks and violations.

The fulfillment of human rights and environmental due diligence obligations must be documented. In addition, a report must be prepared and published annually. This report must be submitted to the responsible authority.

If you have any questions regarding the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, please contact Chris Brooks (Director of Risk Quality and Compliance).

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Total Movements, representing Indonesia in the Project Logistics Alliance, is thrilled to announce the successful completion of a multimodal movement of oversized cargo for an airside infrastructure project in South America.

In total, eight pieces, weighing 1200 freight tons, were transported from the supplier’s works in India to the designated discharge port.

The scope of the shipment encompassed road transportation from the supplier’s works to the load port, export custom clearance, and ocean freight of the breakbulk cargo from India to South America.

Highlights of this shipment include:Tailored trailers were swiftly arranged to meet the cargo’s specifications.
The shipment was time-critical; The lifting plan was meticulously coordinated with the supplier; A suitable vessel was secured for shipping the breakbulk cargo, reducing transit time by nearly a month.

Despite the narrow delivery window, Total Movements delivered the oversized cargo promptly and in full compliance with all safety standards. Well done team Total Movements.

The post Total Movements completes delivery to South America appeared first on Project Cargo.

Logistics Plus, our members from India, are pleased to report on a project shipment they recently handled involving a large volume of plant & machinery cargo.

The company delivered a huge volume of cargo for a key client with transportation taking place from Shanghai, China to the West Coast of India.

Logistics Plus shipped a total ninety-nine packages with a volume of 4885 CBM and a weight of 1061 MT! Please find the dimensions of those which required heavy lifts below: 2 x 101 MT // 14.44 x 4.24 x 5.00 meters; 1 x 103 MT // 14.50 x 4.39 x 5.10 meters; 1 x 85 MT // 4.44 x 4.24 x 5.00 meters.

Logistics Plus India Pvt Ltd have a network of offices across the country and they are ideally equipped and experts in project and OOG cargo, breakbulk and chartering.

The post Logistics Plus handles huge volume of cargo for major project appeared first on Project Cargo.

What is the value of a Swedish flag on a ship, and how can we boost the competitiveness of shipping?

Chief of the Royal Swedish Navy, Ewa Skoog Haslum, and the Swedish government’s investigator for the competitiveness of Swedish shipping, Rikard Engström, share their thoughts.

IN RECENT DECADES, many Swedish shipping companies have registered their vessels under foreign flags, usually for economic reasons. This development means Sweden may end up with a merchant fleet that is inadequate for the supply of necessities in the event of a crisis. It could even affect national security. Chief of the Royal Swedish Navy, Ewa Skoog Haslum, is among those raising concerns in the debate about Swedish flagged vessels.

“The great importance of the merchant fleet for Swedish total defence was made clear during both World Wars, and we’re hardly less dependent today considering the increase in trade and our lower degree of self-sufficiency,” she says.

If Sweden joins NATO, the need to safeguard maritime transport will likely increase. As a member, Sweden may not only have to transport NATO formations across the Baltic Sea, but also assist warships from other member countries with services such as bunkering and towage.

Shipping is especially important in wartime, due to the uncertain availability of functioning rail networks, bridges and ships from other countries. Even in peacetime, Sweden is utterly dependent on shipping. Ewa Skoog Haslum emphasizes the necessity of a strong Swedish merchant fleet for both military purposes and national supply.

“In the event of war, we can only count on Swedish flagged vessels,” says Skoog Haslum, before adding:
“The RoRo and RoPax vessels that connect Sweden with other Baltic Sea states, and the coastal tankers needed for industry along the Norrland coast are very important. For military defence, merchant vessels are not only needed both as auxiliaries, i.e. ships temporarily converted into naval vessels, but also for shipping fuel and transporting ground combat units.”

The Chief of the Navy also highlights an additional reason in favour of the Swedish flag, namely that ships flying it are under the protection of Swedish warships even during peacetime – both in Swedish national and international waters. This does not apply to foreign-flagged vessels.

The Government has also highlighted the crucial role shipping plays in Sweden’s security of supply.

In June 2023, Rikard Engström was tasked with investigating and proposing measures regarding stamp duty and tonnage tax, among other ways to strengthen the competitiveness of Swedish shipping. The results will be presented on 29 December 2023, after which it will be up to the government to decide on how to proceed with the proposals.

“When a vessel is entered in the Swedish register of ships, there is a charge equivalent to 0.4 percent of the vessel’s mortgage. Even though this charge may seem small both in terms of percentage and the amount, it sends an important signal,” says Rikard Engström.

Since the tonnage tax was introduced in 2017, the decrease in Swedish-flagged vessels has slowed a little.

“Now we need to get the trend on the rise, and I regard the chances as positive. When we saw the rush to flags of convenience, no one ever thought we would see a war in our own neighbourhood, nor a pandemic. But now we’re in an entirely different situation.”

It’s easy to see that further flagging-out would not be good for Sweden LTD”

However, tax system improvements alone will not make Swedish shipping competitive. A healthy Swedish maritime sector not only requires expertise on board ship, but also in its shipping companies, authorities, banks and insurance companies.

“We also need access to our own repair yards and robust logistics infrastructure in our ports. Thus from the Navy’s perspective, it’s important for the entire maritime sector to grow and that we jointly strengthen the sector’s ability to operate in peacetime crises such as pandemics, the risk of war and war itself,” says Ewa Skoog Haslum.

“It’s important to note that Swedish flagged vessels are unevenly spread across the industry’s segments. We have very few vessels, if any at all, in segments such as container ships and pure bulk carriers, and the number of tugs is also a matter for concern. However, things look much better in segments such as ferries and tankers. If this is good enough, I cannot say, but it’s easy to see that further flagging-out would not be good for Sweden LTD,” says Rikard Engström.

The post Chief of the Royal Swedish Navy has say on competitiveness in shipping appeared first on Project Cargo.