The Friday Flyer

The news this week that China's economic growth has tumbled to its lowest rate in more than three years may seem to have more relevance to the consumer sector but there may be an impact on heavy lift and project cargo players. While it remains the world's second-largest economy and grew 7.4 percent in the three months ending in September, down from the previous quarter's 7.6 percent, questions are being raised on the potential of lower growth to impact on government infrastructure spending and business investment in plant and machinery.

Many economies outside of China are labouring under shrinking GNPs and growth rates under one percent: what might they give for growth of 7.4 percent, even if it is the lowest growth for Beijing since the first quarter of 2009.

Despite China's downturn, we learned that representatives of five large EPC companies were upbeat on prospects for the project cargo industry during a conference session on the second day of the Breakbulk Americas event in Houston last week, outlining that it was "not all gloom and doom" ahead for the shipping industry. Despite the fact that the global economy is generally seen as being in a poor state, growth remains and there are planned projects under way on almost every continent, noted John Crockett, director of procurement and subcontracts at Houston-based Foster Wheeler USA.

In project cargo network news, industry figure Gary Dale Cearley has relinquished his position of executive director of Bangkok based Global Project Logistics Network (GPLN) with immediate effect. Patrick Dick, founder/owner of GPLN has taken over Cearley's duties. Luzius Haffter, GPLN commercial director, and his team are taking care of day-to-day issues, as well as all network events.

It was 'welcome aboard' at air cargo services provider Heavyweight Air Express, who named industry veteran Ronnie Quinn as its new manager in Argentina; Inter Manager the international trade association for in-house and third party ship managers, who has appointed Gerardo Borromeo as its new president with immediate effect; Militzer&Münch, the international transport logistics company with headquarters in St. Gallen, Switzerland appointed Kostas Sandalcidis to the post of regional managing director responsible for the Middle East and Central Asia; Gary Morter has joined the board of SEKO Logistics UK as executive director to help realise the potential of the company's strategic growth and expansion programme; while shipbroker Marygrace Collins of US-based Bulkore Chartering was elected as the new president of the Federation of National Associations of Shipbrokers and Agents (FONASBA) at the organisation's 43rd annual meeting in Venice.

Sascha Wiesner blew in to offshore wind installation and service solutions provider A2SEA as regional manager for Germany, to replace Martin Huss, who has just taken over a new position as chief strategy officer of A2SEA.

Port news this week saw the Port of Barcelona, in collaboration with the city's Chamber of Commerce, announce a trade mission to Brazil next month. More than 40 entrepreneurs from the shipping and logistics sectors will accompany the port to deepen the relationship between the Port of Barcelona and the Brazilian ports. In the same spirit, to emphasise the importance of Antwerp in world trade for the South China market, the Port of Antwerp is organising a road show that is currently visiting the southern Chinese ports of Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Following a USD839.8 million investment, a second offshore port terminal has been opened at the Port of Cuxhaven, Germany.

The Port of Vancouver, USA has secured USD5.7 million in grant funding that will be used to develop 23.5 ha of the port's Centennial Industrial Park while Port Canaveral in Florida, USA has received approval from the US Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Review Board to widen and deepen its access channel. The UK's Port of Liverpool is close to securing the licences it needs from the Marine Management Organisation to enable it to proceed with the construction of a £300 million (USD481.8 million) in-river container port to be known as Liverpool 2.

In the air, members of the World Customs Organization (WCO) should embrace and implement the principles of the Revised Kyoto Convention and shift from a dependency on paper documents to a full e-Customs environment, says the Global Air Cargo Advisory Group (GACAG) while a unique heavy lift cargo recently flew itself into the ro-ro terminal at the French port of Le Havre, when an EC 145 helicopter of the country's Civil Protection Service landed on the roof of the building. Less than 24 hours later, after having been partly dismantled by technicians, the machine had been loaded on board the Hoegh Traveller of Hoegh Autoliners and had set sail for Fort-de-France, the capital of France's Caribbean overseas department of Martinique.

Interesting cargoes this week saw two Dockwise semi-submersible ships, the 209 m Yacht Express and the smaller 169.5 m Super Servant 4, carry over 1,130 m of luxury yachts from Genoa, Italy, and Palma de Mallorca, Spain to Port Everglades in Florida, USA while Mortrans has transported three large reformer units from Constanza, Romania to Togliatti, Russia. The 217 m Dockwise heavy lift vessel Blue Marlin has completed the delivery from Spain of the new (Landing Helicopter Dock) LHD Canberra for the Royal Australian Navy into Port Phillip in southern Victoria, Australia while the Sarens Group recently lifted two sets of four gigantic jackup legs onto two offshore installation vessels belonging to RWE OLG, a logistics company that is part of RWE Innogy at the Port of Bremerhaven.

On the road, Cory Logistics has expanded with a new office in Birmingham to boost its capabilities through this central location in the heart of the UK while three Terex crane models have been used to support construction efforts of the new Donald Bridge project on the Trans-Canada Highway in south eastern British Columbia.

And, finally: It was 'ahoy' this week as global heavy lift and transportation company ALE started the mammoth task of weighing, transporting, loading-out and loading-in sections of the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier being built for the UK's Royal Navy.

The project was awarded to ALE by heavy lift and shipping specialist Henry Abram & Sons, which is the lead partner in a consortium of contractors, delivering the full transportation solution that supports the build programme of two aircraft carriers - the HMS Queen Elizabeth and sister ship HMS Prince of Wales - for the Royal Navy.

The sections weighing between 30 tonnes and 11,000 tonnes are being fabricated in five shipyards across the UK, including Birkenhead, Portsmouth, Glasgow and Newcastle upon Tyne. The latest section to be loaded-out by self-propelled modular transporter (SPMT) to a sea-going barge was a section that makes up part of the bow. This section weighed over 6,000 tonnes and the process took six hours to complete.

Work is now closing on issue 29 of HLPFI, which will include features on cargo warranty surveying, inland waterways, equipment hire companies, power generation - non-renewable energies, France, the Nordic countries, South Africa as well as Austria and Switzerland. Our supplement will be on the Caspian States and Central Asia.

This is still time to submit editorial contributions or advertising bookings for our November/December edition and consider getting involved in the contents of our final edition of 2012. And, there are still plenty of opportunities to join the likes of Broekman Project Services, CEE, GPLN, DHL, and PCN, by sponsoring our Friday Flyer.

With Halloween just around the corner, here is a treat from HLPFI, rather than a trick.

Right now, until October 31, you can place your employment vacancy on our website for only £500 and get the following - no tricks involved.

Premium posting in the jobs area of our website (over 10,000 unique visitors per month), which includes -

- Company Logo next to job posting

- Hyperlink in jobs area linking through to recruiter profile or to company homepage

- A job listing in the Friday Flyer (sent to over 9,500 individual email addresses every week)

Contact Ian Matheson on +44 (0) 1689 857631 or ian@heavyliftpfi.com for more information on any of the above.