Category Archives: International

Bollore Logistics India has successfully moved aid & relief and healthcare shipments from Mumbai, to Yangon, Myanmar. The company has successfully organised these tasks through two charter flights. The first flight was carried out on April 29, 2020 with Spice Jet using Boeing 737-700F and the second flight was operated on May 15, 2020 on Indigo’s Airbus A 320, a passenger aircraft used as a makeshift freighter. India team closely monitored the charter planning and cargo execution to ensure cargo readiness for loading prior to flight arrival to avoid any last-minute delays and rollovers. The team proposed the most economical and time bound solution in close coordination with Myanmar, to the clients who awarded their shipments from various locations within India.

The Singapore-headquartered shipping company Pacific International Lines (PIL) has introduced a new India service named China-India Express (CIX) connecting Tianjin and Qingdao in North China to Indian ports Nhava Shava and Mundra. With the maiden voyage to leave from Tianjin Port on June 5, the service also links Kaohsiung in Taiwan, Singapore, Port Klang in Malaysia and Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka. Rotation of CIX Tianjin – Qingdao – Kaohsiung – Singapore – Port Klang (West) – Nhava Sheva – Mundra – Colombo – Port Klang (West) – Singapore – Tianjin.

Mapletree, a Singapore-based developer-cum-investor, has invested Rs 300 crore in a logistics park project of Pune-based KSH Infra Industrial Park. The deal pertains to 0.7 million square feet (sq. ft) of Grade A logistics park KSH in Chakan, Pune. This deal is part of a 1.2 million sq. ft park that the firm is developing in the Chakan area of the city. The entire development and leasing of the project will be undertaken by KSH Infra. KSH Infra Industrial Park has entered into a forward sale agreement with Mapletree, wherein the investor has committed to buy the park at a pre-agreed valuation along with pre-defined technical specifications. The park is EDGE Certified and lays great impetus on the importance of green development. The entire park aims to be healthier, more productive, and help reduce stress on the environment. The buildings are designed to be more energy and resource-efficient, resulting in energy savings, and a reduction in utility costs in the long term for its clients.

After the resumption of exports to Bangladesh through Bengal’s Petrapole land port, stakeholders in the neighbouring country have expressed despair, saying the situation has led to a crisis in industrial output and skyrocketing of prices of perishables there. According to the stakeholders, unavailability of drivers to take cargo to Bangladesh and problems related to parking of trucks in Petrapole has led to the crisis. “Even though trade has resumed, but due to complexity in your systems, export-import is not taking place to its potential of 500-700 trucks a day. A mere 10-20 trucks crossing the border will not achieve any business purpose,” Mafizur Rahman Sajan, President, Benapole body, said in the letter to the FIEO.

SpiceJet has added Moscow to its growing international cargo network, operating its maiden cargo flight from Hyderabad to Moscow carrying more than 16 tonnes of pharma supplies. The airline has deployed its Boeing 737 freighter aircraft for this cargo flight to Domodedovo Airport. “Moscow is the latest addition to our fast expanding cargo network which spans over 35 international destinations. We have added six new international destinations in the last 10 days. Since the lockdown began, SpiceJet has operated more than 2200 cargo flights and has carried around 15,700 tonnes of cargo,” says Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, SpiceJet. SpiceJet has operated special cargo flights to and from Abu Dhabi, Almaty, Baghdad, Bahrain, Bangkok, Bishkek, Cambodia, Cairo, Cebu, Colombo, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Huangzhou, Incheon, Jakarta, Kabul, Kathmandu, Khartoum, Kyrgyzstan, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Male, Myanmar, Shanghai, Singapore, Sharjah, Sulaymaniyah, Tashkent, Ukraine, to name a few.

Raising the bar of warehousing in India, Rhenus Logistics has opened a new mega warehouse at Gurugram in North India. The 350,000 square feet state-of-the-art facility will enable Rhenus to provide more scalable storage options and solutions, strengthening its integrated logistics services and solutions offerings for customers across the country. “With 69 offices in India and more than 1,600 employees nationwide, Rhenus India is committed to be the first choice for an integrated logistics solution and service provider. We partner with our customers to be the single point-of-contact for the entire supply chain, trusted with our advantage in terms of our trained manpower, consistent systems and processes. The strategically-located new warehouse affirms our commitment to our customers, as we step up on our offerings, and raise the bar for warehouses here,” said Vivek Arya, Managing Director, Rhenus Logistics India.

With the recommencement of exports to Bangladesh through Bengal’s Petrapole land port, 100 local trucks got permission to go into the neighbouring country. The trade will be allowed for 12 hours daily. All Bangladesh-bound vehicles stranded in and around the Petrapole check post, around 80-km from Calcutta, will be cleared by June 14. The local administration has also asked traders to be ready with another pool of 50 drivers outside the ICP area for any exigency. Bilateral trade through this land port, the largest facility on the Indo-Bangla border, was stopped on May 2 after two days of operation, following protests by locals who were afraid that truck drivers and labourers might spread the coronavirus infection. According to FIEO, “A large number of trucks are stranded near the border due to the lockdown. We have agreed to follow the instructions given by the administration.”

A US-based online payment platform for the cargo industry, PayCargo has entered into a partnership with IBS Software to broaden its digital payment network and enable carriers and ground handling companies to digitalise and simplify their payment systems with a substantial reduction in manual efforts. The move will be particularly helpful to PayCargo in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in view of the growing necessity for work-from-home culture and a soaring demand for reliable online freight payment platform solution. For IBS Software, a leading SaaS provider of core IT platforms for the air freight industry, the partnership is part of its ongoing initiatives to enable rapid adoption of digitalization for its customers, including many of the world’s largest airlines and cargo ground handlers.

Amidst acute shortage of trucks in lockdown, Maersk has announced that it has ramped up rail services for manufacturers to help them move their cargo to ports for export. The company’s solution includes moving goods straight from the exporters’ manufacturing facilities on rail to the required port or moving the cargo first to the closest Inland Container Depot by road and then loading it on to rail. The advantages of moving cargo on rail have been more than just overcoming the unavailability of road transport. From the perspective of the customers, they get most of their logistics needs fulfilled at the one-stop-shop that Maersk is offering by combining ocean and landside transportation and offering integrated logistics solutions.

FFFAI in association with FIATA has recently organised a webinar to give a global perspective on the consequences of Covid-19 pandemic on the logistics industry. Keynote speakers of this international webinar were AV Vijaykumar, Chairman, FFFAI and Basil Pieterson, President, FIATA. Commenting on the present crisis and challenges owing to Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown Vijaykumar, says, “We will, as have been our approach and past experiences, overcome with no damage. But the reality of the possible damage could inflict on the human life and the human race changed the complexion of handling the pandemic on a global scale.” Pieterson applauds the inclusion of freight forwarding within many nation’s definitions of essential services. “However, more needs to be done. Greater consistency in global responses, together with the implementation of facilitative measures, are required to ensure the continuance of well functioning supply chains to move essential goods to where they are most needed throughout this crisis and beyond,” he adds.