cargo ships and ports in extreme weather – how we helped
TRANSCRIPT
Dec 07, 2018 08:10 CET
Cargo ships and ports in extreme weather– how we helped our customers
When entering the winter season, extreme weather is a commonphenomenon and a big storm can knock out even the largest cargo ship. Mostmodern ships are designed to endure extreme weather and stay on schedule.However, storms that turn into hurricanes, cyclones or typhoons are reallydangerous for ships. But sometimes they are an unavoidable part of life atsea. In this blog post, I share my knowledge on how extreme weatherconditions affect cargo ships and port operations as well as how we helpedour customers when the Port of Rotterdam was hit by recurrent storms.
How extreme weather conditions affect cargo ships and port operations
Extreme weather conditions can have a massive impact on cargo ships andport operations, both in terms of cost and delay. Cargo ships are normally ona very tight schedule and the fuel consumption can be tens of thousands ofdollars per day. When hit by a storm, the losses are not only in days of delaybut also in huge money loss as time may have to be made up with increasedspeed. Inevitably this increases the fuel consumption.
A delay will also cause disruption in several steps of the supply chain – fromport operations to further transportation of intermodal cargo – affecting thecustomers in the end. If hit by heavy winds, ports may be unable to operatetheir cranes, and even have to close down, and extra cargo has to be storedfor a longer period of time due to the port’s storm stop.
Some ports may reduce their delay charges and some terminal operators alsostop their demurrage and detention clocks when the storm arrives, and startthem again once the ports reopen. There is often a negotiation, often basedon force majeure, between carriers and terminals after a storm stop. Carriersmay pay for storage or they decide to move their cargo to another port.
How do cargo ships deal with extreme weather conditions?
As you can imagine, no crew on a cargo ship wants to find itself in the middleof a storm. Trying to minimize every hour of delay is crucial, and most cargoships have implemented safety routines and are equipped with computer-based systems for weather routing to avoid extreme weather conditions.
Weather routing system to optimize the voyage plan and avoid storms
The crew onboard a cargo ship is dependent on reliable weather informationto navigate through a storm. A century ago, weather updates at sea werelimited to Morse code messages based on scarce input. But since the 1980s,direct-printing services were introduced to provide navigational andmeteorological warnings and forecasts directly to the ships.
Today, captains also receive weather maps, satellite images, and otherinformation by email. Some cargo ships, such as Evergreen Line, havecomputer-based weather routing systems installed providing almost real-time weather data in order to optimize the voyage plan.
Cargo loading systems and ballast water ensure hull stability and strength in a storm
When facing a storm at sea, the size and construction of the ship are crucial.Cargo ships are generally designed to be capable of riding out most storms.
The heavier the cargo load, the better the protection. An empty ship may bethe most dangerous scenario when facing a storm at sea.
To ensure cargo ships’ safety and efficiency when sailing empty or with lowcargo volume, they are equipped with computer-based cargo loading andstability systems to adjust the trim, draft, and monitor hull strength. Thevolume and distribution of the ship’s ballast water are calculated to providestabilizing weight and ensure the strength of the hull.
How we helped our customers when recurrent storms hit the port
At the beginning of last year, there were three storm stops in the Port ofRotterdam – one of the largest ports in Europe. Port operations stopped forentire days and, this, in combination with a congested terminal, caused heavydelays up to a month after each storm. Unfortunately, it led to dissatisfiedcustomers who didn’t receive their goods on time.
In this case, it was extremely important to keep the customers updated onthe situation and quickly investigate possible solutions to solve the problem.One alternative was to continue waiting for the congested cargo to beshipped by regular feeders. Another alternative was to select the most urgentcontainers and book a third part feeder vessel to get the goods moving. Thisalternative would require that it was physically possible to reach and pick outthese containers among all other containers stacked on the quay. Booking athird part feeder vessel would also mean additional costs.
However, when there are several storm stops and containers are stuck in theport for weeks, the rent the carrier has to pay for storing their containersstarts to tic. At some point, they reach a certain cost limit for the delay.
To solve the problem, we had to carefully calculate the most cost-efficientand feasible solution. When the operations started again, we decided that thebest thing to do was to book an extra feeder to ship the customers’ cargo toGothenburg, Sweden, for re-distribution from there. By doing this, we clearedthe quayside in Rotterdam, stopped the rent costs, and our customers werehappy to finally get their goods moving!
I hope you found this blog post interesting and that it hopefully gave yousome new insights. Let us pray for less extreme weather and fewer stormstops this season!
For more info on how we can help you with reliable and sustainable containershipping solutions, contact us on our Greencarrier Liner Agency website.
Greencarrier Freight Services is a freight forwarding company that offers smartand sustainable transport solutions and supply chain management services. Fromour offices in the Nordic and Baltic countries, Eastern Europe, Central Asia andChina, we offer global transport solutions. We use all modes of transportincluding ocean, air, road and rail, and take care of your cargo from starting pointto final destination.
Greencarrier is one of the Nordic countries largest privately owned logisticscompanies. We are located in 11 countries worldwide and offer global logisticssolutions with all modes of transport, focusing on knowledge, innovation andsustainable solutions. We work with sustainability in the four areas environment,employees, business and society. We like challenges, and our attitude is: Yes, it'spossible!
Greencarrier Liner Agency is the agent for Evergreen Line – one of the world’sleading international shipping companies. From our offices in the Nordic andBaltic countries, we can offer transport solutions worldwide. Our team consiststoday of 80 employees in 7 countries, with offices in Sweden, Denmark, Norway,Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Greencarrier Liner Agency is a part ofGreencarrier Group one of the Nordic’s largest privately owned transportcompanies.
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