World Maritime News
WMNF 2019/12/12
EU sets port cyber attack protection plan
Cyber-attack risks facing the port ecosystem and how to combat them have been outlined in a new report released by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA). Titled “Port Cyber-security – Good practices for cybersecurity in the maritime sector”, the report was developed in collaboration with several EU ports. It is aiming at providing a useful foundation on which chief information officers (CIOs) and chief information security officers (CISOs) of port authorities and terminal operators can build their cybersecurity at port level, involving all stakeholders engaged in port operations;
- Raise awareness of cyber-security matters at port level and infuse a cyber-security culture.
- Enforce the technical cyber-security basics, like network segregation, updates management, password hardening and segregation of rights.
- Consider security by design in applications, especially as ports use many systems, some of which are opened to third parties for data exchange.
- Enforce detection and response capabilities at port level to react as fast as possible to any cyber-attack before it impacts port operation, safety or security.
In the US, the Port of Los Angeles is creating “Cyber Resilience Center” that would serve as a clearinghouse for sharing information on potential cyber-threats among the port’s stakeholders. Read more: https://www.enisa.europa.eu/publications/port-cybersecurity-good-practices-for-cybersecurity-in-the-maritime-sector?mod=article_inline https://www.joc.com/port-news/eu-sets-port-cyber-attack-protection-plan_20191202.html
Indian tech startups target traditional forwarders
While it remains to be seen how far government regulatory reforms in the works will help transform Indian freight transportation, technology-driven forwarding marketplaces are rapidly stepping up their offerings and reach to break into the country’s relationship-based nature of international logistics. Chennai-based FreightBro is seen as front-runner in that encroachment by digital brokers on traditional freight forwarder markets. “Technology is the core of innovation and the only means to devise solutions to all industry related inefficiencies”, Raghavendran Viswanathan, CEO and co-founder of FreightBro said. FreightBro has become the first Indian startup to join “Digital Hub Logistics Hamburg”, a platform designed to support digital transportation that already features the Hamburg Port Authority, Lufthansa, DAKOSY, Volkswagen, Shell, HHLA and the city of Hamburg. Read more: https://www.joc.com/international-logistics/logistics-technology/indian-tech-startups-target-traditional-forwarders_20191126.html
Lack of digital standardization is a growing issue
A lack of standardization is said to be impeding the maritime industry’s ability to take advantage of digitalization. The lack of standardization in the IT systems available to shipping is a common frustration among industry professionals, both vendors and users. Kenneth Lim, chief technology officer at the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore recognized that standardization had its own benefits and said that this standardization of the digital tools and data sharing will require a lot of effort of all us. Standardization is a growing issue as it results in duplication of procedures. All agrees that much of the maritime industry’s legacy technology infrastructure did not lend itself to east integration, which limited company’s ability to fully grasp the opportunities created by access to better communications and maximize the potential value of their data. Read more: https://lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com/LL1130181/Lack-of-digital-standardisation-is-a-growing-issue
Targeted buys steadily build Maersk’s global logistics network
Over the next three to five years, Maersk will continue to acquire a host of smaller logistics providers and technology platforms in multiple geographies with the ultimate goal of being able to offer a standardized suite of end-to-end logistics solutions on a global scale, according to Maersk’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer Vincent Clerk. Maersk in early December announced an acquisition activity in the tech sector, making investments in a Copenhagen-based telecommunication startup, in a flagship customer, the Swiss agribusiness Syngenta for its 4PL business, in a new container visibility smartphone app, and a new cohort of startups participating in its India technology accelerator program, OceanPro. Maersk was making targeted acquisition to plug specific holes in its portfolio of services, although it still has some way to go before it can claim success in its transformation from a provider of ocean shipping to an integrated container logistics company. Read more: https://www.joc.com/maritime-news/targeted-buys-steadily-build-maersk%E2%80%99s-global-logistics-network_20191209.html https://www.joc.com/maritime-news/container-lines/maersk-line/spate-news-out-maersk-reflects-reinvention-pressures_20191206.html
Sudden removal of China rail subsidies would hurt volumes
Managing Director of LTE Netherlands said on November 26 that Chinese subsidies can cover up to half the transport cost on the rail network to Europe and that if the financial support was removed over a short period, it would have a huge impact on volumes. Subsidies are set to be scaled down from 2020, but the market has been given no definite time frame and the thought of rapid reduction was very much on the minds of those attending the Europe Silk Road Summit. Read more: https://www.joc.com/rail-intermodal/sudden-removal-china-rail-subsidies-would-hurt-volumes_20191126.html
Chinese ownership of foreign ports concerns is overstated
Fears about Chinese terminal operators taking a disproportionate market share beyond their own region have been overstated, according to Drewry senior analyst Neil Davidson. The share of traffic by three major Chinese port operators – Cosco, China Merchant and Hutchison – showed little evidence of major shift into markets outside of China, he stated. Although Chinese players had made some major acquisitions, the global container port market remained large, so it was inevitable that there would be many other investors active in the market. The Chinese government has recognized that there is some destructive competition and uncoordinated capacity expansion in a number of Chinese ports and has instructed that they merge together to coordinate activities. Overseas expansion would remain on the cards, but China’s Belt and Road Initiative was taking a lower profile than it had in the past, particularly in light of the trade war. Read more: https://lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com/LL1130247/Chinese-ownership-of-foreign-ports-concerns-are-overstated
Port of Virginia – expanding port appointment system and dredging project
The Port of Virginia will require trucking companies to have appointments to pick up or drop off containers from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning December 9, extending the mandatory window an additional hour and leaving only two hours at the end of the day for unfettered access. Appointments have been well received by trucking companies after a start in March 2018 and truck drivers understand the merits. Toda nearly three out of four trucks visiting Norfolk International Terminals book an appointment and about two thirds going to Virginia International Gateway do so. Dredging at the Port of Virginia to take its channel depth to 16.7 m by 2024 has started. When the work is completed, Virginia will be the only east coast port with the capability to handle the biggest container ships afloat today. Our trade with Asia is expanding and the ships working the Asia-US east coast trade are growing to accommodate the volume, according to Virginia Port Authority chief executive John Reinhart. In September, at the Lloyds’s List Americas Awards in Huston, the Port of Virginia won the Excellence in Port Management and Infrastructure Award in recognition of its huge investment in dredging, recruitment and training. Read more: https://lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com/LL1130255/Port-of-Virginia-dredging-project-starts https://www.joc.com/port-news/port-productivity/virginia-expanding-port-appointment-system_20191203.html
Gothenburg terminal aiming to be fossil fuel free in 2020
The Port of Gothenburg’s container terminal will operate exclusively on renewable energy beginning in 2020. The terminal is run by APM Terminals, which has launched a program to eradicate fossil fuel use there. This includes electrically operated cranes and gates, terminal buildings headed by biogas and container handling equipment powered by fossil-free diesel product HVO100. This October, it decided to reduce port-related carbon emissions by 70% by 2030. Not only within the port itself, but also throughout an area extending from the outer port entrance 15 km west, right up to the city boundary, The Port Authority said. Read more: https://lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com/LL1130289/Gothenburg-terminal-aiming-to-be-fossil-fuel-free-in-2020
Biofuels approaching commercial use
The introduction of sulphur limits from January 1 is likely to provide a boost for biofuels as the cost differential between the LSFO falls. CMA CGM has completed a trial of biofuels that it undertook with IKEA Transport & Logistics Services, following trials of heavy fuel oil-equivalent biofuel on the 16,000 teu CMA CGM Alexander Von Humboldt during a Europe-Asia voyage in October. Biofuel was used in a blend with conventional fossil-based marine fuels to power a vessel on a major oceangoing route. The use of biofuel oil showed a positive result, providing the technical compatibility of sustainable marine biofuels, CMA CGM said. Danish ship owner Norden plans to test a second biofuel alternative on one of its vessels, using technology developed by Kvasir Technologies that converts lignin biomass into a liquid marine fuel. Norden said the plant material element, lignin, is regarded as a waste product, so is easily accessible and available in large quantities for conversion to a liquid biofuel. GoodShipping chief executive Dirk Kronemeijer points out that the biofuels market, while a tiny slice of the market for conventional fuel, has grown from nothing in a short time frame. The move toward electric cars should also help increase biofuel availability, as cars currently absorb 90% of the world’s biofuel. He said that as the quest of zero-carbon shipping progresses, biofuels should account for around a quarter of shipping fuels by 2050. Other options like ammonia, methanol and hydrogen will also emerge, he said. Read more: https://lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com/LL1130229/Biofuels-approaching-commercial-use https://lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com/LL1130183/CMA-CGM-completes-successful-biofuel-trial https://lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com/LL1130275/Norden-to-test-biofuel-bunkers https://www.joc.com/maritime-news/cma-cgm-extracts-presidential-support-green-fuel-drive_20191204.html