Container Barge Service Constantza - Belgrade
Dipl.-Ing. Saša Jovanović Deputy Commercial Manager
General overview• It is a very well known fact that
Serbia is a landlocked country• In such position, orientation
towards the nearby seaports as hubs is a must
• Nevertheless, Danube “Sea” offers vast possibilities for strategic transport orientation towards Constantza port hub
• The Danube “12-lanes highway” offers good possibilities for reaching the maximum benefits – maximum number of TEU at minimal costs
KOPERKOPER
RIJEKARIJEKA
BARBAR
THESSALONICATHESSALONICA
CONSTANTZACONSTANTZA
BELGRADEBELGRADE
HAMBURGHAMBURG
Motivation and first experiences• Then came the idea…• Jugoagent undertook an analysis of cargo flows in Serbia• Results showed that both freight rates and inland haulage routes
from/to traditional export-import ports (in the Adriatic, Aegean, Med and North Sea) were fairly stable
• It seemed that no alternative could be foreseen• But…• As general agents for ZIM ISS Jugoagent strongly supported a
direct Constantza call of ZIM’s Far East liner services from where originate the great share of Serbian import cargoes
• Danube proved to be the best possible option for inland haulage to/from Serbia
• Best partner for inland haulage via the Danube found in Bulgarian River Shipping
• Port of Belgrade offered strong support and exclusive conditions
• Jugoagent activated a strong marketing campaign
• Industry was attracted by attractive rates, acceptable transit time and contingency plans in case of nautical hindrances
• Jugoagent’s clients accepted the challenge
• Official opening of the eastbound service took place in the Port of Belgrade on May 12, 2005.
• Port of Belgrade became an important gate for export cargoes to Mediterranean, USA, Middle and Far East and Australia and for import cargoes from Far East and other world areas
• Jugoagent’s service offered the well known advantages:• Direct link with the main Black Sea port of Constantza• Lower tariff rates in comparison with the tariffs of other sea ports
(Rijeka, Bar, Thessalonica, Koper, Hamburg) serving Serbia• Link with direct lines from Far East and other world areas• Opportunity for all shippers dealing in and with Serbia to improve
their competitiveness• Promotion of export of raw material, finished and semi-finished
products, without changing the swappable transport unit• Containers can be manipulated anywhere in the world as their
dimensions are an ISO standard. Transfer infrastructures allow all elements (vehicles) of a transport chain to handle it with relative ease
• Environmentally Sustainable Transport, in line with European initiatives on environment protection and on promotion of using European Inland Waterways Network.
Organization, operational problems and countermeasures
• Line designed to ship max 80 TEU/barge, 10 TEU in length, 4 in row, 2 stacks high
• Service was scheduled to run on a weekly basis, given the satisfaction of minimum cargo volume, otherwise it runs on a bi-weekly basis
• Transit time upstream 7 days, downstream 6 days• Economy of scale could not be applied at present country-wide
volume of only 20.000 TEU/year• This required a genuine solution of integration of the container
barges in the existing convoys running on the route• Since the beginning of service Jugoagent carried some 2500 TEU,
roughly 60% import and 40% export cargoes
Operational problems and countermeasures
Nautical hindrances:-Ice-Extreme water levels
Activation of contingency plan:-Road haulage-Rail haulage
Compliance with reliability and regularity of the service
Containers treated as goods by customs
Some import cargoescould be cleared in determined places only
Short deadlines for exitingthe country of the exportcleared containers
Obsolete and slow customsand border procedures
Intervention byJugoagent
Movement of containersfacilitated (control sheet)
Variety of sites available forcustoms clearance ofcontainerized goods
Deadlines adjusted withrealistic operationalconditions in IWT
Ongoing process incooperation with Govt.
Problem Countermeasure Result
Statistics for 2006
61 51112 142
77
219
11688
204 223169
392
542
385
927
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
I trimester II trimester III trimester IV trimester Total
Container barge line volumes for 2006
Import
Export
Total
Statistics for 2007
141 180
321371
287
658
344
217
561
856
684
1540
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
I trimester II trimester III trimester Total
Container barge line volumes until 30-Sept-07
Import
Export
Total
Trends in 2006-2007Import trends 2006-2007
61
142116
223
141
371344
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Import
Log. (Import)
Export trends 2006-2007
5177 88
169 180
287
217
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Export
Log. (Export)
Total trends 2006-2007
112
219 204
392321
658
561
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Total
Log. (Total)
Development and expansion
• Experienced only slow growth of cargo volumes by IWT• Reasons for that were not the freight rates, but longer
transit time in comparison with the “Adriatic solution”• Recent increase of FCL exports – signs of recovering
economy• Being ready to absorb the substantial growth of the
country’s economy and to offer more attractive options Jugoagent turned to looking for better solutions
• Improvement of transit time through looking for the self-propelled cargo vessel solution
• Expansion of the service both eastwards and westwards
• Looking for a convenient self-propelled vessel, adjusted to nautical conditions on the Danube, capable of carrying reefer containers
• Expansion westwards including ports of Novi Sad and Vukovar, and, in the later stage Budapest
• Expansion downstream and further eastwards, directly connecting via water the region with Black Sea ports of Novorossiysk and Odessa and the huge market of ex Soviet Union where duty free trade agreements with Serbia are in force
• Great opportunity for Serbian exporters of fruit and vegetables and cargoes requiring refrigeration during transport
• Monitoring of the shipping situation and cargo flows in the Adriatic, which in great extent influences the transport via the Danube
• For all these plans and visions Jugoagent counts on its true advantage – its young people, top experts in the shipping industry, well educated, fast learners and multilingual, educated and experienced in the West
Looking two steps ahead
• Jugoagent strongly supports and backs up structural changes in various aspects of the overall system of IWT
• Closely monitoring the latest trends and developments in the EU and resulting programs and initiatives (PINE, NAIADES…)
• Supporting the need for a straightforward national plan of developing of all aspects of IWT
• Existing “Master Plan for IWT Serbia” did give the overview of the most of present problems and recommendations for overcoming them
• However, a concrete, fast and most of all, visible action is still missing
• Jugoagent has its own view on the necessary improvements:
• Improvement and harmonization of the legislative framework with EU legislation
• Improving the existing waterway infrastructure
• Enhancing the overall performance of the port and terminals
• Innovations in ship technology• Human resources and promotion
of IWT education• River Information Services (RIS)• Integration of IWT into intermodal
logistic chains• Marketing issues and
improvement of IWT image
Eager to see more of this on the Danube
Thank you for your attention!
Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 165aBulevar Mihaila Pupina 165a11070 Beograd11070 BeogradTel :Tel : +381 (11) 20 18 700+381 (11) 20 18 700Fax :Fax : +381 (11) 31 12 070+381 (11) 31 12 070e-mail :e-mail : [email protected] :Web : www.jugoagent.netwww.jugoagent.net
Maritime-River AgencyMaritime-River Agency