Discussion Held Regarding Members Role on the Private Multimodal Operation
Ethiopian Freight Forwarders and Shipping Agents Association (EFFSAA) held a half-day meeting on Friday January 1st, 2021 at Radisson Blu Hotel regarding members’ role on the private multimodal operation. The session where members of the Association actively participated and raised different vital points was later joined by Director General of the Ethiopian Maritime Affairs Authority, Ato Mekonnen Abera. The Director General briefed meeting participants about the current status of the draft regulation. Following an interesting discussion, the session has passed various decisions and formed two committees accordingly which will carry out responsibilities for the smooth and prompt implementation.
Our association would like to forward its heartfelt gratitude to its esteemed members who actively participated on this successful program.
Ethio-Kenya Road Provides Ethiopia with Better Negotiating Position in Port services
The recently inaugurated Ethio-Kenya road would expand Ethiopia’s options for port services, National Logistics Transformation Council disclosed.
It is to be recalled that this 500-kilometer road, which is also part of the Trans African Highway project, was inaugurated on December 9, 2020 by the leaders of the two countries.
In addition to its contribution to bolster trade, investment and people-to-people relations of the countries, the road will provide Ethiopia with better negotiating position in terms of port services, Logistics expert at the National Logistics Transformation Council (NLTC), Temesgen Yehune told ENA.
According to Temesgen, the road will become vital outlet for Ethiopia to use the Lamu Port – South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor, which is expected to accommodate some 32 ships at a time.
Ethiopia is also believed to immensely benefit from the Lamu Port by facilitating its export and import trade, especially through the southern part of the country, he added. The construction of the Ethio- Kenya road will provide Ethiopia with additional alternatives to help increase the nation’s capability to effectively negotiate in the area of port services in terms of port tariffs among other things, he underlined.
In addition to enhancing Ethiopia’s trade and investment ties with Kenya, it will also serve as a major corridor for exporting Ethiopia’s products to the world market, according to Temesgen.
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Ethiopia, Djibouti agree to refine road services, port operations and parking terminals
Ethiopian Ambassador to Djibouti, Berhanu Tsegaye held discussions with Mr. Aboubaker Oumer Hadi, Chairman of Djibouti Ports International Free Trade Zone on Sunday (December 28) where major agreements were reached to hone the capacity of the road and port operation as well as parking terminals.
According to Ethiopia Mfa, Ambassador Berhanu underscored the need to fast-track the completion of the Dikhil-Daguru Road, which would greatly contribute to the economic development of the two countries.
The two sides agreed on ways of commencing the remaining 80 km of the road in the shortest possible period.
The Ambassador and the Chairperson also exchanged views on ways of improving the capacity of port services by connecting the DMP (Doraleh Multi-Purpose Port) and SGTD (Djibouti Container Terminal) to the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway.
They have agreed to establish a connection at the Horizon oil terminal from the Djibouti side and the oil depot at Awash from the Ethiopian side to the Ethio-Djibouti railway.
This, it was noted, will have various advantages in ensuring the efficient flow of oil cargo and the prevention of illegal oil marketing.
The Port and Free zone Authority also accepted the Ethiopian government’s request for a Title Deed to the oil terminal to set in place an administrative procedure similar to that of the dry parking terminal. The chairman promised to grant the title deed to the Ethiopian side as soon as possible.
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The Next Frontier of Transport, Logistics: Digitisation of Services
The transport services should be demand-driven, where the services are designed to accommodate the need and demands of the residents while encompassing flexibility to interact with other advanced technological systems.
For instance, Demand Responsive Transportation (DRT) is an information technology-based system that specifically requires innovation in route and time concepts, the booking concepts, the network concepts and vehicle allocation concepts. In this manner, the transport system will provide services based on the demands of residents using the applications.
The idea of introducing concept innovation in the logistics sector is also all about improving citizens’ experience of accessing goods in a seamless way. One way of achieving this is using technologies such as blockchain. It can drastically transform the logistics system by facilitating the functioning of the back office and creating a public ledger for every transaction, hence making the system more transparent and efficient.
Such concept innovations are in the interest of making verified information available to citizens and making the transport and logistics services flexible based on the demands of users. This would alone shift the gears drastically, allowing more room for system and process innovation in the transport and logistics sector. This way, we can make a tangible difference in the lives of every citizen as a nation of brave souls.
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Year in Review: Africa’s Maritime Sector
It’s the time of the year when we take stock of our achievements, despite the daunting year 2020 proved to be. Covid-19 rolled back immense developmental progress that many countries had achieved, and economic recovery will dominate the global debate in the coming New Year.
Port development received extensive consideration from governments, with most of the 38 African nations with a coastline having a port development project under way. Despite the pandemic, most of these projects were still in operation, although logistical support was hindered by lockdowns.
By 2020, the African port sector had collectively attracted $50 billion in public and private investments. This has heralded an emergence of world-class ports in Africa spread out in Morocco, South Africa and Egypt. Tangier Med Port was ranked at position 35 in this year’s Lloyd’s List report on the world’s busiest seaports, rubbing shoulders with renowned ports from developed nations such as the UK and USA.
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China to Build Four of the World’s Largest Containerships
China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) has received an order to build four of the world’s largest containerships. The four ships, which will each have a capacity of 24,000 TEU, will rival the recent announcements from Hapag-Lloyd and ONE Network Express, each of which last week also announced orders for ultra large containerships.
Two subsidiary shipyards within CSSC will share this new order with the lead project and design work to be handled by Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding. Hudong Zhonghua will build two of the ships and Jiangnan Shipbuilding will build two additional ships.
In addition to a capacity of 24,100 TEU, Hudong Zhonghua said that the ships would have the largest deadweight tonnage and employ the latest technologies for efficiency, safety, and environmentally friendly operations. The hull design will include a “unique small bulbous bow,” and the ships will be fitted with a “large diameter propeller,” the shipyard said to make them both fast and lower energy consumption. They also said that the ships would be equipped with a “hybrid scrubber desulfurization device.”
Hudong Zhonghua is also promoting a new “double-tower fixed water cannon fire extinguishing system” that it says greatly improves the fire safety performance on deck.
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- https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/china-to-build-four-of-the-world-s-largest-containerships
