Quarterly March 2012 - Odfjell

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HigHLigHTS odfjell quarterly magazine
Port calls:
Area of improvement
By Margrethe Gudbrandsen
Each year our fleet transports approximately
18.5 million tons of cargo to and
from almost 500 different ports worldwide.
The number of port calls is close to 5,000,
with several berths per port call. The
process of loading and discharging more
than 600 different types of products as
well as cleaning and preparing tanks,
transhipment and barging, are all critical
operations in ports and can be extremely
complex. The maintenance, servicing and
crew-repatriation of vessels also add to
the complexity of port calls.
In this issue of Quarterly, we have focused
on the efficiency of port calls from different
angles. Upon reading you will realise that
planning, competence and communication
are some of the key pre-requisites to improve
efficiency and reduce delays in ports.
Keys to efficient port calls
By Tord Sæle and Jone Abotnes
Port calls can be very challenging for all
of our vessels, however, slightly easier
for our smaller vessels as they are able
to operate on quick turnaround and short
voyages, whereas larger vessels have
longer port calls and have to deal with
very complex cargo operations. Our
terminals are equipped to deal with complex
operations that demanding cargos
require. The terminals and the vessels
are aiming at the same target; to work to
the highest efficiency so that the vessels
spend the shortest time possible at the
terminal. Then the number of vessels
operated by the terminal is maximized
and the vessels spend as little time as
possible in port.
good information flow is imperative
Vessels calling to our own terminals, especially
in our larger hubs, can be very challenging for
all parties involved, not the least for the ship
Ship to shore and ship to ship at Odfjell Terminals (Houston)
with its crew and the terminal with its shore
based personnel. To prepare a vessel and a
terminal for an upcoming port/berth call it
is imperative to get the flow of information
between all parties involved started as early
as possible. Parties involved are the vessels
with their crew, ship operator, port operator,
agent, terminal planners, customer service,
superintendents, brokers, surveyors, charterers,
suppliers and receivers, to mention just
a few.
A key to ensuring efficient loading is communication.
Communicating the wrong
information may have serious implications,
especially in busy ports where everything
hinges on time and proper planning. If a vessel
arrives later than expected, or is delayed at
a berth, or even worse; tanks to be loaded are
refused and the vessel is asked to vacate the
berth, the end consequence may be that the
vessel looses its place in the berth lineup and
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as a result spends far too much time in port
resulting in a loss of income for the company.
The ship- and port operators together with
the agents are the links between all the other
parties. It is their responsibility to get hold of
as much specific information regarding each
cargo to be discharged and loaded as early
possible, and to distribute this information
accordingly. The earlier the vessel can get
information the better, and our brokers are
working hard to book all the available tank
space as early as possible. This is, however,
very challenging in today’s market.
Preparation of vessel
For the vessel it is important to get information
such as tank inspection requirements
for the next cargo to be loaded, the number
of shore lines for discharging or loading of
each cargo, line sizes to prepare manifold
reducers, vapour return requirements and line