b'NOVEMBER 2024BREAKBULK QUARTERLY 47(REACHcontinued from page 40) the reliance on specialized vessels that may be in shorttion, which will enable an increase in LNG production heavy-liftcargoes,offeringanalternative tothemoresupply and help manage the risk of delays. in West Africa.conventional transport modes such as project carriers andTo summarize, the ability to plan long-term, lever- Berninet also flagged huge demand for agricultural ro/ro, Berninet noted. age reliable global services, and increase the efficiencyand natural resources, including minerals, which in turn and security of transport through container liner servicesis driving shipments of high-sided and heavy vehicles, d ynAmici ndustriAls ectOrs specifically,addressesthelogisticalchallengesoftheamong them tractors and wagons from China to a number Turning to the outlook for the market, for the near- project cargo/breakbulk segment, helping industries stayof African countries. For example, Sinotruk is supplying term and beyond, the expectation is for robust growth,agile and competitive in an evolving marketplace. many dump trucks from Asia to ports in Mozambique, although the trajectory will be heavily influenced byOn the supply side, Berninet pressed the point thatdestined for a gold mine project in Zimbabwe.the performance and dynamism of key industrial sectors,the market faces a shortage of specialized vessels due such as energy, infrastructure, mining, and heavy manu- to slow fleet expansion and limited new orders, which facturing. At the same time, oil and gas continue to besees ageing ships remaining in service, resulting in high(GLOBALcontinued from page 44)significant. operational costs. On relations with Everetts nearby competitor ports, The transition to renewable energy, particularly inThissupply-demandimbalance,combinedwithLefeber says: I always joke that Im Seattle and Taco-wind and solar, will boost demand for specialized logis- the pressure for sustainability and cleaner fuels, createsmas biggest cheerleader, because I want as much con-tics,alongsidetheon-goinginvestmentsbeingunder- a prime opportunity for the container carriers. With ourtainerized cargo to be at Seattle and Tacoma as possible, taken in carbon capture, hydrogen, and energy storagesolid positioning, expertise, and flexibility, we will con- and then we can specialize and continue to focus on our systems, Berninet observed. tinue to advocate containerization as a reliable option forbreakbulk cargo. Large infrastructure projects, technological advance- project shippers, leveraging our strengths to onboard newAll of us have our niche and I want to make sure ments in industries like big tech, semiconductor manu- customers and drive future success. that we work together to bring value to the Puget Sound facturing and small modular reactors (SMRs), and supplyregion.chain diversification, in response to geopolitical tensions,A FricAs strOngg rOWth Looking ahead, Lefeber said Everett is definitely will also drive demand for project cargo. Committed to expanding its geographical footprint,interested in supporting the offshore wind energy in CMA CGM views Africa as offering significant growthCaliforniathe Golden State aims to develop 5 giga-t OOr igid Andc Ostly potential in the project cargo/breakbulk segment. watts (GW) of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 25 As for the main challenges facing the project cargo/ African container terminals with lifting capacities ofGW by 2045. breakbulksectortoday,Berninetsinglesoutwhatheover 60-80 metric tons are increasingly interested in han- Though president-elect Trump has vowed to end off-describes as the management of the increasing complex- dling project cargoes, Lekki Freeport, Nigerias premiershore wind development, analysts say unwinding a decade ity and scale of industrial projects. deep-sea port, which is managed by CMA CGM, being aof Biden-era subsidies for clean-energy projectsand the He continued: These projects often require large,prime example. red-state jobs that followedwill be near-impossible.specialized equipment and materials that are difficult toRecent projects led by Berninets teams include theAs a supply chain port, we think that our facilities transport and face supply chain disruptions, fluctuatingtransport of equipment for the construction of a new ter- are very well suited for offshore wind, plus our labor freight costs, and capacity constraints. In this context,minal at the port of Cotonou, in the West African state ofmarket, so that is definitely an area of focus, says Lefe-traditionalbreakbulkandprojectcarriershippingisBenina key transit port to land-locked states such asber. Though we think its years out at the moment.often too rigid or costly to meet the dynamic needs ofNiger, Burkina Faso and Maliwhich will offer 20 hect- Theres going to be cargo no matter what type of these industries. ares of capacity dedicated to bulk and breakbulk products. energy it is, there will always be project business tied to Astrategicsolution,heunderlined,istheuseofIntheenergysector,Africaisoneofthemostenergyit just depends on what those energy projects are.container liner services, which offer several advantages:dynamic regions for hydrocarbons, LNG and hydrogenOn the task ahead of her, Lefeber concludes: Weve long-term planning, visibility, and flexibility. projects and the need to replace Russian oil and gas withjust put in over $150,000,000 in infrastructure so, really, Shippers can benefit from consistent shipping sched- alternative sources is set to boost demand for Africanmy focus right now is on making sure that the infrastruc-ulesandglobalreachwithmultipleport-pairoffers,energy suppliers, he said. ture investment is being fully utilized and trying to get ensuring that their project timelines remain on track, Ber- The CMA CGM division is also participating in theadditional shipping business to Everett.ninet explained. transportation of several components for the Expro/ENIIts the only industry where you build itand they These services also streamline logistics by reducingLNG pre-treatment facility, currently under construc- shall come.EUROPE - GREAT LAKES SERVICELiner servicebetween Europeand the Great LakesContainer service between Antwerp and Valleyfield, Cleveland and Duluth CONTAINERS Liner owned equipment door-to-door serviceBULK CARGOMore info:www.spliethoff.com or [email protected] CARGO'