April 2010 - Seatrade.nl

Seatrade worldwideWith the main task of linking two continents realised througha regular liner service, with fortnight frequency, hooked atHamburg and Antwerp on the one side and at Shanghai,Xingang, Dalian on the other, nowadays the expanded fieldof activities covers a wide geographical range as from theBaltic Sea, North Sea, Mediterranean and US Gulf portsup to Middle East and India, South East and Far East Asiandestinations.Between 2009 and 2011 six innovatively designed ships,with lifting capacity up to 640 tons, will be delivered from aDalian-based shipyard. This investment will only strengthenthe company’s significant market position. Besides,Chipolbrok has modernised some of its other types of shipsSeatrade Antwerp’s Yntze Buitenwerf with Paulette Ducrocq and Jean Yves Depreuxand equipped them with new cranes able to lift piecesweighing up to 300 tons.At Sea Shipping Services we are pleased to be representingthese shipping lines, and we look forward to continueserving them from the capital of the finest country in theworld!The TeamJean Yves DepreuxSea Shipping ServicesManagementJean Yves Depreuxjydepreux@seashipping-services.comTrade Manager (Seatrade)Paulette Ducrocqpducrocq@seashipping-services.comOperations ManagerAlain DurandF.l.t.r. (back) Alain Durand, Paulette Ducrocq, Catherine Breton, JeanYves Depreux and Nicolas BonnevieF.l.t.r. (front) Sylvain Peytour, Pascale Perrissat and Christine SalzertAssistant Operations ManagerChristine SalzertAssistant Projects ManagerPascale PerissatDocumentation DeskCatherine BretonNicolas BonnevieSylvain PeytourAccount/DisbursementCandide BenoitSea Shipping ServicesTrading as ‘Seatrade France’43 rue Raspail, 92300 Levallois PerretPhone (33) 1 47 30 69 80Fax (33) 1 42 70 46 67seatradefrance@seashipping-services.comwww.seashipping-services.com6Simply Seatrade April 2010

On the couch with...Chief Engineer Joop EerhardThis issue brings us to Hoogezand, residence of Joop and hiswife “Sis” Eerhard. Sis is not Mrs Eerhard’s actual name, butas she explains she does not like her first name and peopleall know her as “Sis”. So we will also refer to her as Sis. Joopand Sis have one son, daughter-in-law and grandchild.at the blow of a whistle, start dinner at the blow of a whistleetcetera. In addition, the college could not guarantee dispensationfrom military service, so Joop did not stay very long…Instead he completed a 9-month engineer’s study at the engineers’school in Groningen. Working during the day and studyingat night, it was a tough time. To make some extra money,the compensation for travel, 0.70 cents per day, was not usedfor public transport, a bicycle was used instead.June 1950 Joop’s career at sea started. While working on buildingin the technical installation on mv Johnny, a shelter-deckerowned by Dutchman G. Kuur, who lived in Southampton,Joop was offered a position as 2nd Engineer. Joop acceptedand completed a contract after 14 months, a normal contractperiod in those days. Contracts were only terminated when thevessel happened to be near or in the home country.During newbuilding of mv Anna Hennie, owned by Evert Smitand dentist Tammes, of Scheepvaartkantoor Groningen, locatedin the Boteringestraat in Groningen, Joop was offered theposition of chief engineer. Joop accepted and sailed on theAnna Hennie for two years. He then received a cable offeringa position on mv Oostzee, equipped with a 750HP MAK mainengine, which was a challenge Joop could not refuse and heaccepted; condition was that he should join immediately at theKiel Canal, which he did.Joop Eerhard is a typical engineer, a well known name amongstthe veterans within the Seatrade community. Also within theold clan of shore workers of the shipyards along the WinschoterdiepEerhard is a well known name.Joop Eerhard’s father was an engineer working in a companycalled “Diesel Stoom”, a company installing technical installationsin ships built along the Winschoterdiep. Their trademarkwas that they only used copper pipes in their installations.Not adapting this “trademark” to more modern developmentscaused the bankruptcy of this company in time.The Oostzee was sailing a regular liner service to Iceland. Joopremembers lots of bad weather conditions, which resulted inmany repairs of the engine, cargo and other deck gear. Thiswas his start in Seatrade.When Roelf Tammes had mv Oceaan built, Joop sailed onthis vessel for eight years. The first year the vessel was on thebest route ever! Gothenburg - Amsterdam vv, loading generalcargo in Amsterdam for about one week, then discharge inAfter technical college, Joop started his working life in thesame company. When visiting the shipyards, he more thanonce expressed his desire to sail on the ships.Since he was one of the best in his class, Joop was offered ascholarship for an engineer’s study at “the Ruytercollege” inFlushing by the KPM (Koninklijke Pakket Maatschappij). Thisturned out not to be the right environment for Joop: Disciplinewas high, all was done using a blow on a whistle: Start studySimply Seatrade April 20107

On the couch with...Gothenburg where paper rolls were loaded, also for about oneweek. Here shore power was used. He pictured working onthis line until his retirement! That did not work out: the paperrolls were shipped from Amsterdam to Indonesia, and whenthe relations with Indonesia were terminated, so was the line.The vessel continued on a line Hamburg-Bremen-Ireland andat a later stage for a period of two years the vessel was on atrade between the USA and Brazil.Now, Sis comments on the contract length. Joop entered a contractof about 1.5 years: Their son was just born, so when Joopsigned off, his son could walk and talk! Joop and Sis have goodmemories of the crew on the Oceaan, in particular the bestcook ever, named Rafael. This cook was a master in turning allleftovers into a new fantastically tasty dish.Next, Joop signed onto Seatrade’s first reefer vessel the Arctic.He sailed on this vessel for about seven to eight years. Sincethis was the first reefer vessel, Joop visited Grasso Reefer Technologyat ‘s-Hertogenbosch. At his request to be assigned tothe Service Department, in order to get familiar with the mostcommon problems, the answer was that such department didnot exist, since the installations never had any problem! Thosewere the days…The vessel was rebuilt/equipped to carry meat, which in thosedays was not carried in boxes but rather in carcasses hangingfrom hooks. A construction was built and calculated for theweight of the meat, which worked for a shore facility, but theforces of a moving vessel were not considered: The first voyagewith meat, Yugoslavia-London, was a disaster; all cargo collapsedand came down in one big pile… Obviously the cargowas not in perfect condition on arrival, but still the meat wasdivided into categories: Good: for hospitals and hotels; Satisfactory:for orphanages etc; and Poor: for prison use.After this experience, the transport of meat using the “hangingmethod” was banned.The Eerhards remember 2nd Officer Henk Blauw, nicknamed“grote vent” which means big guy, and Engineer Jan Teunissen.Henk and Jan always quarrelled and were the best of friendsat the same time. The Eerhards’ son Peter joined once and 2ndOfficer Henk tried to make a seaman out of Peter. Peter wouldhave liked to sail, but then starting no less than his “teacher” inthe rank of 2nd Officer. That never happened…Jan Teunissen still has a special place within the Eerhard family.In those days the crew all made long contracts, so crewchanges and new crewmembers were limited.The Arctic operated on a trade between Vigo and Cape Towntransporting frozen fish. The cargo ex-mv Willem Barentsz wasloaded from a coldstore. Later, the cargo was loaded directlyfrom trawlers and eventually from mother vessel Galicia, amodified passenger vessel. Loading took between one and twoweeks. The mother vessel also provided ice for the fishing vessels.Once, when the ice machine was out of order the Arctichad a return cargo of ice blocks, topped off with bread. Onarrival Cape Town the cargo had become one big ice block anda lot of cutting was required.It was at Cape Town that Engineer Jan Teunissen of mv Marvavisited the Arctic. The Arctic was a modern vessel in thosedays, and Jan Teunissen wanted to join the company. So, Jooprecommended a visit to the office and not much later Teunissenjoined the Arctic as second Engineer.Engineer Teunissen completed a reefer training as KoeltechnischVakman (Reefer technician) A and B. Joop also startedthis long distance course, whereby results were sent by regularmail and exams were taken on board, under supervision of theCaptain and Chief mate; already a modern way of training inthose days! The mail with examination papers arrived late inVigo, so the departure was postponed for one hour for Joopto complete the examination. He passed with flying colours!8Simply Seatrade April 2010

Captain Piet de Vries, reliever of assigned Capt. Nobel, broughthis wife on board. Joop called Sis and invited her to join. Sis,having no more travel experience than going to the village ofEmmen accepted, and son Peter was left with her parents.After the Arctic, the vessels Leo Polaris and Antarctic followed,before Seatrade started an almost non-stop newbuilding programme,starting with the Oceanic, Arctic, Icelandic, Tempo,the ABC vessels, and later on the N and M series, with all butthe ABC’s built at shipyards along the Winschoterdiep, withShipyard Van Diepen being the main supplier. On many ofthese newbuildings Joop was the onsite engineer during newbuilding,and sailed with the vessels during the first threemonths before joining the next newbuild.Chief Engineer Eerhard continued working like this until hisretirement: His last assignment was onboard the Majestic,where he signed off on 29 March 1990 at the Panama Canal.He has been enjoying his retirement ever since.At the age of 79 Joop is still head of the Technical Department,although now in his residential community, taking careof leaking pipes, elevators etcetera. Only when seriously heavywork is required, the service department is called in. Joopintroduced additional fire fighting equipment and drills in thebuilding; after consultation with the fire department the advicewas to leave the fire fighting to the fire brigade, and evacuatethe building instead of trying to fight the fire…Reflecting on his seafaring career Joop Eerhard recalls thathe has always kept up to speed with developments by doingupgrading training such as Ships automation and security; Weldingcourse; Hydraulics and pneumatics; Heavy fuel courses;Decca automation/ alarm installations; Computer techniques forreefer installations; and MAK main engine training.He concludes that it has been a pleasure throughout his career,although in the final years the introduction of the “marof”(Maritime Officer) was a somewhat less positive experience.This couple has many more entertaining stories to share,though I do not have the space to share them with you; allfantastic stories full of valuable life experience, which mademe laugh a lot that afternoon.We have previously mentioned that it was customary thatpeople had nicknames. Eerhard was known as “Sluwe Joop”,which in translation would be Sly Joop, or to some people“Zwarte Joop” or Black Joop, due to his suntan.Joop is one of those people who should and could write abook about his experiences, and who knows, he still mightone day…Kor WormmeesterSeatrade GroningenSimply Seatrade April 2010 9

In the pictureIn each Simply Seatrade we are introducing one of thevessels managed by any of the pool members; the ship’sparticulars, the trade it is operating in at the time, andthe origin of the vessel’s name will be described, andof course the present crew will be introduced. Thisissue we turn to mv Antigua, managed by SeatradeGroningen B.V.Ships ParticularsCall sign: PJEEFlag:Netherlands AntillesPort of registry: WillemstadLOA: 105.35 metresBeam: 16 metresHold capacity: 199,618 cubic foot,2213 square metresKeel laid: March 1990Delivered: March 1991Entered Pool: 28 June 1996Built at: Juliana Const.Gijonesa S.A. GijonWhat’s in a name?Antigua is an island in the West Indies,part of the Leeward Islands in theCaribbean, and the main island of thecountry of Antigua and Barbuda. Antiguameans “ancient” in Spanish.Christopher Columbus named the island“Antigua” in 1493 in honour of the Virginof La Antigua, found in the Catedralde Santa María de la Sede, in Seville,Spain. A common practice for Spanishexplorers was to name newly discoveredareas after Catholic saints.The island is also known as Wadadli,from the original Amerindian inhabitants,and means approximately “our own”. Itis the largest of the Leeward Islands, andthe most developed and prosperous dueto its upscale tourism industry, offshorebanking, internet gambling servicesand education services, including twomedical schools.(Source: Wikipedia)The vessel’s tradeThe Antigua is on time charter to theFrench company Cobrecaf transportingcargoes of frozen tuna in breakbulk toports in Western Europe.Meet the crewPresently there are 13 crewmemberson board the ship under command ofCaptain Gulenko. The complete crewhas the Russian nationality.We asked the crew the followingquestions:1. What is your most favourite destinationand why?2. When did you start sailing?3. When did you start sailing on Seatrademanaged vessels?4. What is your best memory withSeatrade?Captain Sergey Gulenko1. Last two weeks of August: the Azurecoast, including Nice and Monaco -UEFA super cup finals. This is the bestplace, where I spent holidays with mywife2. 1980 as an AB on the passengervessel Admiral Nakhimov of Black SeaShipping Company3. March 2007 as Chief Officer4. Delivery of the first cargo of yellowfin tuna to Douarnenez (France), ameeting with managers of Cobrecaf,and an excursion to the tuna factoryCobreco, January 2010.Chief Officer Aleksey Andreev1. Port Victoria on Seychelles for itswonderful exotic nature2. 1999 as a 3rd officer on mv Frost 23. May 2005 as 2nd Officer4. Kiwi trading from Tauranga, New Zealand.Second Officer Sergey Kapustin1. Port Ashdod, Israel: visited OldJerusalem2. 1995 as a AB on fv Bagrationovsk3. October 2009 as 2nd Officer4. Port Douarnenez. Meeting withmanagers of Cobrecaf. The story aboutdischarging tuna from our vessel thatwas published in the local newspaper.10Simply Seatrade April 2010

mv AntiguaChief Engineer Alexander Vanyukov1. The trip by private car to spend holidaysin Slovakia with my wife2. 1980 as a oiler on mv Izumrudnyibereg3. June 2009 as Chief Engineer4. Dutch ports of Vlissingen and IJmuiden,meeting with managers of Seatrade onboard mv Antigua.Second Engineer Alexey Loboda1. Ukraine, the town of Sevastopol: visitedall historical places2. 1993 as an oiler on mv Burya3. November 2004 as 3rd Engineer4. Transhipment of tuna in Port Victoria,Seychelles.Third Engineer Anton Skripnikov1. Belgium: visit to the old town ofAntwerp2. 2001 as an oiler on mv Invincible3. December 2007 as 3rd Engineer4. Launch of a rocket during dischargein Port Canaveral (USA) on board mvRunaway Bay4. Port of IJmuiden and meeting withmanagers Seatrade.Bosun Victor Dovgalyuk1. Bangkok: a wonderful and beautifulcity2. 1987 as a AB on mv Pionersk3. July 2008 as Bosun4. Discharge in Port Canaveral (USA) onboard mv Runaway Bay.AB Stepan Suprunyuk1. Thailand’s capital Bangkok: it is abeautiful and exotic city2. 1987 as a AB fv Ozherelie3. July 2008 as AB4. Discharging tuna in Bangkok on mvAntigua.AB Ruslan Zaborskikh1. Germany, the town of Potsdam2. 1991 as a OS on mv Krondshtatskayaslava3. December 2008 as AB4. Discharging tuna in the small village ofPuebla del Caraminal, Spain.4. Loading in the port of Douarnenez,France.Chief Cook Yuriy Koshelev1. Russia’s Leningrad during my studies atits university2. 1985 as a Chief Cook on mv Svyatogor3. February 2003 as Cook4. Port of Antwerpen, January 2010 duringhold upgrading of mv Royal Klipper.Fitter Sergey Andreev1. My home port Kaliningrad, the old andbeautiful Zoo2. 2003 as a fitter on mv Swift Fire3. June 2008 as Fitter4. Transiting the Panama Canal on boardmv Nova Australia.Electrician Victor Gapeev1. China2. 1984 as a cadet on UTS Nikolay Zycar3. January 2009 as El. EngineerOS Vladimir Shmorgay1. Japan, Capital Tokyo2. 1983 as a AB on mv Lenniskiy put3. October 2009 as OSSimply Seatrade April 2010 11

Scales of JusticeEarthquakes and insuranceUnsurprisingly for many readers, the earthquake that affectedChile on 27 February 2010 motivates this article. Although,at first glance, this incident may appear to be completelyunrelated to maritime or legal matters, the connection is lessremote than this glance would suggest. Also, my principalfocus has been insurance law and I have deliberately excludedpolitical, and social considerations from my comments for thesake of brevity.In a nutshell, an insurance contract is simply a contract toallocate risk should a specific (uncertain) event occur. This riskcan range from simple property damage such as automobileaccident or fire insurance to the more elaborate business lossor medical malpractice insurances to the ‘exotic’ insurances(such as Jennifer Lopez’s derriere if we believe certain internetreports). In its simple form, the insurance company agreesto pay up to a certain amount if the defined event occurs inexchange for regular payment (premiums).Insurance companies have detailed statistics that allow themto evaluate and ‘price’ the risk of the insured event occurringand count on the fact that, in aggregate, they will make a profiteven allowing for the fact that some claims will be paid.Thanks to statistics, auto insurers know that an under-24 yearold male is the most likely to be involved in an accident andincrease their premiums accordingly. However, this type ofanalysis is quite different for “catastrophic” events such asacts of nature that can affect a large number of insured at thesame time. Recent examples are the earthquakes in Haiti andChile, the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia and hurricane Katrina.Insuring against natural disasters is particularly complicatedbecause not only they are difficult (or impossible) to predictbut, unlike other events such as car accidents, when they dooccur they affect a large number of insured in a particulararea. As a consequence the insurer is faced with claims fromall or a great majority of his customers in a particular areaoften increasing the insurers incentive to deny cover. Thesituation becomes even more complicated with the ‘causationissue’. Every insurance policy has covered events (for exampledamages caused by fire or hurricanes) and excludes othercauses (floods). In the case of Hurricane Katrina, a significantpart of the damages were caused by flooding due to a failureof the levee/dyke system. The issue then becomes whetherthe loss should be covered by insurance or not. Although thesubject has been discussed extensively for many years it is farfrom being a ‘pacific’ topic and the answer is often unclear.I will use the Chilean earthquake to illustrate some of the‘hidden damages’ that are not immediately apparent to thegeneral public:Reduction of some exports. The earthquake affected manyvineyards and breweries resulting in millions of litres of wineand beer lost.Delay and increased transportation costs. Roads, ports andairports were damaged to different degrees not only causingdelays to users but also delaying the distribution of aid to theaffected areas.Security concerns. Increased security is often required toprevent looting and to ensure aid is properly distributed.The maritime community is not immune from many of theseside effects, as many of their Chilean clients, business partnersand service providers have been affected to some extent.Although advocating in favour of insurance after theearthquake may seem like ‘locking the barn door after thehorse has bolted’ it does not make the suggestion less prudent.Risk is with us whether we like it or not from the moment weget out of bed every morning. May the recent events serve asan opportunity to take a few steps back to re-evaluate the riskswe face in our private and professional lives and, perhaps, takeout that insurance ‘just in case’.Patrick Balaresque12 Simply Seatrade April 2010

Seasonal DemandHistory Repeats ItselfEvery time a new means of communication, transport modeor timesaving device is introduced to the general population,a faction of society nervously lobbies against the dangers ofthese “new fangled” advances.When commercial printing became a viable business enterprisebringing literature and news to the masses, traditionalists -often those who feel most threatened - complained that itwas unfair to burden the common working man with toomuch knowledge or that common folk would be distractedfrom their daily work and children would be wont to dabblein unacceptable behaviour. This sounds little different fromthose who warned against the excesses of the newspaper, thetelegraph, the radio, movies, television and onward into theInternet age. With each passing generation and introductionof new technology, the reactionaries have preached the samecautionary tales of excess.In some respect, the locavore and slow food movements arenot much different in their message. They teach us to slowdown and savour a well-prepared meal that makes use of thebounty of the local harvest. They would have us believe thatfast food is inherently evil and the international sourcing ofingredients is a burden on the environment and an affront tothe palate.Many of us have childhood memories of being taken to alocal harvest festival or farmer’s market at a very young ageand experiencing some exquisite, natural treat for the veryfirst time - whether it be freshly pressed apple cider, the firstasparagus of the season or a sweet ripe peach right off thetree. For those of us of a certain age, oranges were a traditionalChristmas-time treat, while summertime meals eaten outdoorsat twilight often involved big bowls of fresh berries and juicywatermelon. Those memories remain indelibly etched in ourbrains and we often find ourselves spending a lifetime tryingto recapture them. But this chase runs counter to the locavoremovement. The locavores believe that we should only enjoythose crops, which are seasonally available to us within ourlocal community. If we live in Stockholm or New York, howcould we savour a fresh peach in February? Why would wewant to risk diminishing our treasured memories?A simple answer is: Because we always have. As the world hasgrown exponentially faster and more complicated, it has alsobecome smaller and more culturally diverse. As immigrantgroups have spread across the globe, the first thing theyoften bring with them is their food and traditions. Much ofthe world’s fruit and vegetable production was first spreadaround the globe by colonial expansion. Portuguese sailorsfirst introduced bananas to the Americas in the 1500s. Thepropagation of bananas, pineapples, oranges, coconuts,tomatoes, onions and potatoes quickly spread across theglobe. Johnny Appleseed was very much a real person whostarted planting and tending apple orchards in the AmericanMidwest some time around 1800 and continued for nearly thenext 50 years. As the population migrated further west, he wasthere to provide them their beloved apples (of course, in thosedays the apple was used more for the production of hard ciderthan for fresh consumption).With large groups of European immigrants coming to theAmericas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they notonly brought with them their knowledge of working the land,but also seed and marketing savvy. The Italians, Spaniardsand Chinese brought their culinary skills introducing the restof America to new tastes, which quickly became part of themelting pot. By the 1930’s the Southern Hemisphere waswaking up to the potential of the seasonal fruit trade, as manycountries made large investment in expanded production andpromotion of exports. As Latino, Asian and African immigrantgroups have spread around the world in the past 30 years,they have brought with them a taste for more exotic tropicalfruits and vegetables that have fast been integrated into theworld cuisine.Dramatic improvements in post-harvest handling methodologiestogether with improvements in packaging and transport haveallowed that Stockholmer to enjoy that tree-ripened peachin February - a journey of more than 15,000 kilometres.Whether that experience matches that individual’s memory orexpectation of taste is up to that individual. What is undeniableis that the process of moving that peach from farm to consumerhas evolved as spectacularly as the evolution of the telegraphto the smart phone. And as advances in communication havebrought people closer together, the improved technologiesassociated with produce handling and transport has resultedin a spread in demand for those products well beyond thetraditional cities and into the countryside and hinterlands.While the locavores would have us believe that the demandfor certain commodities year-round is a relatively newphenomenon, history says otherwise. Consumers have longsought to satisfy their culinary cravings a full twelve monthsout of the year. The accompanying articles will give you someinsights on the trade and consumption, some dating as farback as 150 years.Howard PosnerSeatrade USASimply Seatrade April 201013

FeatureFrom The New-York Times published 13 June 1865LOCAL INTELLIGENCE~THE TROPICAL FRUIT TRADE~WHERE BANANAS, PINEAPPLES ANDORANGES COME FROMVery many of our readers have seen, duringtheir down-town walks, a group of schoonerslying in the slip just below Fulton Ferry,all of them allied to the gunwale with richand fragrant fruit from tropical climes. Itmay not be generally known, however,that these small vessels bring to this cityall those luscious fruits which attract theattention of the gourmand, give delight andrelief to the sick-bed, and without which ourcosmopolitan life would be almost deemedunendurable.Strange to say, although it is neverthelesstrue, there is but little information to begathered regarding the scope and generalcharacter of this tropical fruit trade. It seemsto have no positive law governing it, nordo those engaged in it appear to be of theclass usually found in a business of suchimportance.The vessels engaged in collecting andbringing fruit to this port are mostly Britishbottoms, and are not at all regular traders.Some of these peculiar craft are representedto be wreckers from Nassau, Cuba,Windward Island and & c., and they are largedealers in old junk. Wrecked goods, vessels,cottons and iron-work are their customaryplunder, the supply of which proving short,they betake themselves to the fruit-growingdistricts, and load their vessels with bananas,pineapples, cocoa-nuts, oranges and lemons.Loaded with a rich cargo of those lusciousedibles, the vessels put for New-York, orwhatever port seems most desirable tothem, and forthwith put themselves andtheir freight into the hands of commissionmerchants, who see to the disposing of thecargo. A number of American vessels are,however, yearly chartered by the merchantsdealing in such commodities and theselatter trade regularly in an orthodox manner.Payments for fruit at the plantations aregenerally made in specie, occasionallyvaried, however, by bartering of goods, whena Captain goes out on a speculating tour ofhis own. In such cases flour, sugar, tea andNew England rum form the leading articlesof merchandise – the rum preponderating.Some few cottons and ginghams for thenatives form a part also.These vessels trade along the SouthAmerican coast, touching at Cuban andWest Indian ports, including Kingston,Jamaica. Bananas mostly from Baracoa,Ruatan and Matanzas; cocoa-nuts, fromBrazil; pineapples from Cuba, Matanzas andNassau.The fruit from these climes is represented bydealers as being unusually poor, owing to anunprecedented drought of over three months’duration. The pineapples are especiallylacking in quality, as well as size, somespecimens not being as good as “secondcuttings” of former years. Bananas aremiddling, while scarcely any change is to beperceived in cocoa-nuts. In fact, the trade isbrisk, but supply is very short.It is astonishing how much waste ensuesfrom the fruit decaying while in transit forthis port, whole cargoes sometimes beingin this manner, and the crew are alwaysengaged, while on the voyage homeward, inculling out the diseased fruit; still sometimesthey do not succeed in checking this greatdrawback to a cheap supply. Each vesselcarries from 3,000 to 5,000 bunches ofbananas and from 12,000 to 45,000 dozenpineapples or cocoa-nuts on each trip.They frequently bring a few barrels of raresea shells, half a dozen or so of turtles orterrapins, and in the case of the foreignvessels already alluded to, a considerablequantity of junk and old iron constitutes aportion of their cargo. The voyages of thefruit drogher generally consists of from tento fifteen days, although from Cuba the tripsare naturally shorter.Box fruit -consisting of oranges, lemonsand limes - come mostly from the Island ofSicily, and the vessels are mostly laden at theports of Palermo and Messina, and the fruitis conveyed to this port in sailing vesselsof the larger class and steam vessels. TheMentown lemons, usually known in the tradeas “French lemons” generally begin to comein about the middle of February, and theirseason ends the later part of June or the firstof July, sometimes lasting until August, inunusually prosperous seasons. The Malagaoranges and lemons come into marketabout August and remain until January, thuscompleting the year.In Cuban fruits the trade is always lively, onaccount of the regularity of the supplies andthe ready sale always found for such fruit.Havana oranges generally make their firstappearance in November, and last throughthe Winter until March. Limes also arrivein large quantities from Cuba, and form noinconsiderable part of the trade.Baracoa bananas and cocoa-nuts havetheir season from March to July, whenthe Carthagenian fruit assumes full sway.Matanzas pineapples last from May throughto July, and the Nassau fruit, the sugar-loafspecies, come in from May until the end ofAugust.An instructive lesson might be learned,regarding the mystery of the cheap fruitconstantly hawked about the streets ofthe city, by a visit to one of the schoonersdischarging its fragrant cargo. Pineapplesnow range from $10 to $16 per hundredaccording to quality and size. But it easilyseen how the apple women manage to makea living when the spectator observes severalof these enterprising dealers buy “specks”at $6 and $8 per hundred. A still lowergrade is reached by paying $2 per barrel forpineapples almost half rotten. Bananas areculled and sold in the same manner.Altogether the tropical fruit trade is a curiousand instructive study both on account ofthe seeming fund of interesting informationgained, and almost insurmountable difficultyin obtaining it.14Simply Seatrade April 2010

Seasonal DemandPublished in The New York Times on 17 March 1872THE TROPICALFRUIT TRADEIts Early History and Development – Amount of Importationsand Capital Invested – Interesting ParticularsThe fruit trade, both foreign and domestic, has within a shortperiod of years grown to be one of great importance. The tradein oranges and lemons from the Mediterranean ports continuesto increase, and to form a source of much revenue to the UnitedStates Government, while the trade in the West India fruitshas also been considerably developed, forming a new field forcapitalists in which to speculate. This speculation in tropicalfruits, as well as in those imported from European ports, hasunfortunately frequently turned out very disastrously to thoseengaged in it, as owing to the perishable nature of the fruit,importers are just as likely to meet with losses as to make profits.Below we give a short sketch of the early history of the trade, theannual amount of importations, and other facts of interest bearingon the question.WEST INDIA FRUITPine-apples were imported in small quantities from the Bahamasin the year 1825, and were sold at Burling-slip, and a few bunchesof bananas were occasionally imported during the Spring andSummer months. At that period the cost of pine-apples did notvary much from that of the present time. The export price rangedfrom forty to fifty cents per dozen, and they were retailed at $7to $8 per hundred. Importers paid ten to fifteen cents per bunchfor bananas, and retailed them at fifty to seventy-five cents. Thepines then imported were known as bird’s-eye pines, a superiorvariety, but rarely seen in the market at the present day. At a laterperiod the red or strawberry pines were imported from Matanzas.The trade increased from 1825 to 1830, and in the later year thefirm of J. & T. Pearsall, received a cargo of bananas and cocoanutsfrom Baracoa. The first cargo of pine-apples was importedfrom Cuba in 1828 by Capt. William Rowe, and they were sold$8 and $9 per hundred. The cholera in 1832 affected the trade toa considerable extent, and from 1834 to 1845 the imports werenot materially increased. About 1845 pine-apples and orangeswere imported in large quantities from Havana on the decks ofthe line of packets owned by Moses Taylor, Spofford & Tileston,and others. From 1845 to 1855 the increase in the trade was rapid,and proved remunerative to the importers, except in the years1849 and 1853, when cholera again visited the City. From 1853to the present period the trade has vastly increased, the capitalemployed during the past few years being estimated at about$1,000,000 annually. Bananas come chiefly from Baracoa, whilesmaller quantities come from Aspinwall, Ruatan and Granadain Central America. The number of bunches annually importedmay be estimated at about 280,000. The average cost at Baracoain 1870 was sixty cents per bunch, which were sold here at about$1.75 per bunch by the bin. Fully twenty-five per cent, perishin the voyage. The first bananas ever brought to this City wasin 1804, by Capt. John N. Chester, of the schooner Reynard,consisting of about thirty bunches. On the voyage to this City theCaptain fell in with three French frigates, on one of which wasJerome Bonaparte, then on his way to Baltimore to marry MissPatterson. The Captain presented him with a bunch of bananasand some pines, which were thankfully received.Cocoa-nuts come principally from Baracoa, San Blas, Bocadel Toro, Ruatan, Honduras, Old Providence, Granada,Provincetown, Carthagena, Kingston, Jamaica, Caroli andAspinwall. Baracoa alone supplies about half the entire quantityimported. The annual number of cocoa-nuts imported does notfall much below 5,000,000, and the percentage of loss by decayis about sixteen. The nuts from Central America are superiorin quality to all others. The recent establishment of two largemanufactories in this vicinity for preparing dessicated nuts forculinary purposes has greatly increased the demand for them.The cost of cocoa-nuts at the place of exportation is about $20 an1,000. The principal causes of loss on cocoa-nuts arise sometimesfrom the great length of time occupied in collecting full cargoesalong the coast of Central America, causing large numbers ofthem to become dry and sour. The eyes of all, or nearly all, cocoanutsare sealed or covered with pitch before being put into vessels,but from the heat generated in the holds, from vermin, andsometimes from sea water, the eyes of the nuts become unsealed,thereby admitting the air, which renders them valueless.Simply Seatrade April 201015

FeaturePine-apples are imported from Eleuthera, San Salvador,Matanzas, Havana, Abacoa, Baracoa and Ponce, P.R. Eleutherasupplies nearly seventy per cent, of the importation, whichnumber annually about 3,360,000. The average percentage of lossby decay is 34, 0r in round numbers about, one-third. Orangescome from Havana, Mayaguez, Ponce, P.R., Baracoa, Abacoa,Gayanalla, Dominique, Aguadilla, Nassau and San Salvador. Thenumber of oranges imported annually varies from 15,000,000to 18,000,000, more than half of which arrive from Havana, andabout 3,000,000 from Mayaguez. The loss by decay is very large,averaging 43 per cent. The percentage of loss on this variety offruit, is much greater than that of any other kind, which is duechiefly to the fact that the oranges are shaken or beaten off thetrees, instead of being carefully picked by hand, and sometimesare carted from the interior of the island by ox-teams, over almostimpassable roads, to the sea-board, and are not infrequently putinto the vessel while wet by rain or seawater. The average cost oforanges at the various West India ports is about $4.75 per 1,000,and they are sold here on an average of about $7 per barrel, or $20per 1,000, at wholesale. Increased attention has, within the pastfew years, been given to the cultivation of the orange in Louisianaand Florida, with fair prospect of success. A violent hurricanein October, 1870, at Havana, destroyed almost the entire cropof oranges, which lessened the subsequent importations, andthe quality became inferior to former years. The importationof oranges from the West Indies usually terminates about themiddle of March. Of grape fruit (a species of orange) only a smallquantity is imported. The loss by decay, is about thirty per cent.Of shaddocks (also a species of the orange) about 70,000 areimported annually, and the loss by decay in these is only eightper cent. Of limes, 500 barrels were imported in 1870, the loss bydecay being forty two per cent.A large proportion of the fruit imported into this City is, withina few hours after its arrival, shipped to all parts of the country.The quantity retained for consumption in this City is very large,and it is calculated that more fruit is consumed in New Yorkthan in either London or Paris. Two of the largest preservers ofpine-apples in this City purchase annually half a million of pinesfor canning. The perishable nature of this fruit, together with itsextreme delicacy, renders it impossible for reshipment to distantparts of northern climates.The ordinary passage from the West Indies in fair weather is fromnine to twelve days, but in rough weather the passage occupiesnearly twice the length of time. When this is the case, the resultis the loss of a large portion of the entire cargo. The duty onfruits imported from West India is twenty-five per cent in gold,except on bananas and limes, which arge charged only twenty percent. The revenue derived from the source exceeds $100,000 perannum.THE FOREIGN FRUIT TRADEThe Mediterranean fruit trade being less liable to the adversecaprices of fortune than the West India, trade has grown togigantic proportions. Importers have availed themselves of theadvantage offered by steam communication with Italy, andthe sailing vessel, which were a few years ago the sole reliance,are being rapidly run out of the trade. Oranges and lemons areimported from Palermo, Messina, Naples, Malaga, Menton,Valencia, Catama and Genoa. Orange and lemon trees attainabout the size and height of apple-trees in this country, and arrivein the bearing state in from the three to five years. A full-grownorange-tree produced from 500 to 3,000 orange annually. Thefruit is first gathered and packed in the garden, the stem being cutshort. From the garden the fruit goes to the repacking magazine,where it is removed from the boxes and repacked for shipment.In assorting the fruit, if any of it is found to be without a stem,it is rejected. About the year 1830, the importation of box fruitwas quite limited, the whole number of boxes not exceeding15,000 or 20,000. The cost of the fruit at the places of shipmentwas from seventy-five to eighty cents per box; the cost on itsdelivery at this port was $1.25, and it was resold at $1.50 per box.From that time to the present the annual importations of boxfruit have steadily increased, until within a few years past theyhave assumed vast proportions. Sailing vessels were exclusivelyemployed in the transportation of fruit to New-York until 1860,when the experiment was made of substituting steamer, whichhowever, proved a failure. They were not adapted to the trade,and another attempt was made to establish a regular line ofsteamers between Palermo and this port, and the experiment hasproved a success. The percentage of loss by decay of fruit hasbeen considerably diminished by the introduction of steamers.The capital employed in the trade is over $4,000,000. The totalnumber of orange imported annually is about 110,000,000,principally from Palerma, Messina and Naples, numberingaltogether half a million of boxes. About half the entireimportations arrive during the months of March and April. Theaverage percentage of loss during 1870, was thirty-size. Thenumber of lemons imported during that year was 85,664,000,number of boxes 243,790. March, April, May, June and July arethe months in which the largest importations take place. Thepercentage of loss in 1870 was twenty-eight. The cargoes are soldby auction soon after their arrival. The fruit is sold in the pricevarying according to the quality. The value of oranges and lemonsimported from Mediterranean ports in 1870 was $1,218,379,and the duty amounted to $304,594.75. The past twenty yearshas been remarkable, and it still continues to progress, affordinginducements to capitalists to still further develop the trade inoranges and lemons.16Simply Seatrade April 2010

Seasonal DemandAn excerpt from Workers of the Nation, an encyclopedia of the occupations of the American people and a record ofbusiness, professional and industrial achievements at the beginning of the twentieth century, published in 1903CHAPTER XI[…]FRUIT, FLOWERS AND MARKET PRODUCETHE FRUIT INDUSTRYProbably in no other class of products of the soil has there been a greater percentage of increase in volume in recent years than in fruitgrowing. At a Fruit Growers’ Convention in California it was stated that the shipments from California orchards alone increased fromsixteen thousand carloads in 1890 to more than sixty-six thousand carloads in 1900, over four hundred per cent in ten years.[…]The fruit imports, including nuts, of the United States, in 1902, amounted in round numbers to $20,000,000 worth; the exports to$11,000,000 worth; of the former half was lemons and bananas; of the latter a third was apples.A fruit merchant says: Surely the science of keeping fruit has been evolved to a high degree of perfection when the great ocean liners,no matter what flag they fly, no longer patronize the European fruit markets for their supplies tot eh return voyage to America, but stockup here in the New York market for the entire round trip. Indeed, in the handling of fruits, the most wonderful progress has been madeduring the last few years, and the years to some will show still more rapid strides not only in scientific and artistic handling, but in theimportance of the traffic and the advance in intellectual and social standing of those whose lives are devoted to the broadening anduplifting of this business, This is the day of scientific specialization in the fruit trade as in other branches of business. Volumes havebeen written, State colleges have been endowed, and the lives of eminent men have been devoted to horticulture. The time has nowcome for an equal enthusiasm and energy in the handling of these gifts of nature after they leave the hands of the husbandman.CLASSIFICATION OF FRUITTechnically speaking, fruits may be divided into two classes, deciduous and citrus, the first including all fruits, except berries, growingat certain seasons, once a year. Citrus fruits embrace the oranges, lemons, and grape-fruit, bearing all the year, and not perceptiblyshedding their leaves, which seem always green.[…]FRUIT TRANSPORTATION AND COLD STORAGEYou may handle cotton, hardware, personal baggage, with a hook, a bang and a hurrah. But fruit - notice that the ‘longshoremen handleeach particular crate as though it was a baby’. Come into the refrigerator cars, see how carefully the crates are piled, slats between thecases so that the air can circulate freely over and under each. The fruit within the boxes was packed with even greater care. At each endof the refrigerator car is an ice tank, by which the temperature in transit is kept at about 40 degrees [Fahrenheit, red.]. For preservationof fruit, many experiments have been tried – charcoal lining for the roof of the car, electric fans attached to the axles- but refrigerationalone has made possible the rapid developments of the commercial fruit industry.Without the modern cold storage facilities, also, the fruit trade could not have been developed to its present large proportions.[…]As a matter of course, fruit growers are dependent on transportation facilities for the marketing of their products.[…]OCEAN CARRIAGE OF FRUITThe method of carrying fruit across seas is interesting. A fleet of nearly 150 steamers, specially constructed, plies between the principalfruit ports of the tropics, the Mediterranean, and America. Ten million dollars’ worth of perishable merchandise, at least, is brought toNew York annually in these vessels, and every banana, every cocoanut, peach and pear, is in good condition. For the fruit steamers haveconcealed walls of charcoal which are impervious to heat; they have separated deck planks giving air circulation to the cargo below;they have cold storage apparatus; they are, on the high seas, what the refrigerator car is on land.Some fruit from the United States is shipped a little green, and allowed to ripen slowly on the voyage; the temperature being kept asnear to forty degrees Fahrenheit as practicable. Apples, pears and oranges make up the most of these shipments, with a few grapes.Apples, oranges and lemons were shipped in excellent condition from New South Wales to Chicago at the time of the ColumbianExposition. The possibilities of ocean transportation of fruit are thus shown to be capable of indefinite expansion.[…]Simply Seatrade April 201017

FeatureThis article appeared in the Chicago Daily Tribune on 12 March 1911Strange Fruits Chicago Eats:Imports from Every Land By Hollis W. Field.When the Chicago gourmet desires tohave something strangely rare in the lineof surprising fruits for breakfast in a firstclass restaurant he is dependent almostwholly upon the island of Jamaica for theproduction of the novelty.From Nov. 1 to March 1 Kunze’s strip ofRandolph street sidewalk is crowded atthe building line with men, women, andchildren, most of whom have questions thewould like to ask regarding those thingswhich the see through the plate glass of thewindow.Have you ever eaten a mango - the realname of the fruit? If you haven’t probablyyou wouldn’t look at it twice with any ideaof cutting into it for a breakfast dish. It isabout the size and shape of a veal kidney.It has a russet brown coat between that ofthe potato and a russet apple. It is heavy inproportion to its size, suggesting sogginess.It is served on a fruit dish with fruit knifeaccompaniment. Peeling the skin from thefruit, it appears as a mellow, fine fiberedfruit akin to the consistency of a ripepeach. After which the flavor is beyondcomparison. This flavor isn’t like any otherone thing in the common fruits catalogue,but when one has eaten of it a few timeshe becomes “addicted” to the mango. Thereare ranges of price for the Jamaica mangofrom 50 cents a dozen in a season of plentyto $2.50 a dozen when January blasts sweepChicago. Florida has been experimentingwith the mango, and successfully. It is atree fruit, with the mango far out on thestem ends of the branches.~Sapodilla Looks Like Potato.Just a little more common and cheaper isthe Jamaica sapodilla, also a tree fruit, butso unlike anything growing above groundthat it is almost impossible to reconcilefacts. It appears as a dark skinned, roundedpotato with the suggestion of the bulbs ofChinese and Japanese lilies. It is served likethe mango on a fruit plate. The fruit is of adull pear color, with a distinct pear flavor,but so sweet as to be almost a confection. Itis easily shipped and its prices range from40 cents to $1 a dozen.Another of the strange Jamaica fruitsthat is attracting attention is the “Jack”fruit, grown from trees and probably thelargest fruit that clings to tree branches.A good specimen is eighteen inches highand corresponding in diameter with thepineapple. But instead of the pineapple’sbarbed, protecting spines, the “Jack” fruithas a rind almost exactly like that of the‘osage orange’, which adorns the farmer’shedge fence trees. It is akin to pineapple,but with flavors of its own. And when thegreen coating is cut away, the fruit lacks thefibrous matter of the pineapple.~Fruits from South Africa.“Fruits from South Africa”, the reader islikely to exclaim. “What kinds of fruitdo we receive from that far portion of theglobe?”South Africa? O, well, we get the finestof all the January and February peaches,plums, apricots, and nectarines on themarket. Not one is other than commonplacein classification. Why? For the reason thatCape Colony is English in its settlementsand characteristics. And from Cape Colonyto Randolph street, Chicago, is only thirtydays – almost to the literal hour of arrivalof a consignment by steamer and by railexpress.The reason for the South African fruits isthe midwinter demand of Chicago for thesefruits, out of season for months, perhaps,in our southlands. As fruits, however, theyare of exceptional flavor, and color, andtexture. The fruit steamers carry the fruitsin storage rooms, landing at New York forexpress shipments.“And it is the American expressman whodoes things to your shipments,” saidMr Kunze. “This is not a kick on thecompanies,” he added, “but a few years agothe railroads suffered from the ‘baggagesmasher.’ Today we seem to have the‘express smasher’, especially in the UnitesStates and working in and out of the smallercity offices. An express shipment of fruitstoday comes in best condition from the portof New York. Most of the imported fruitscome in baskets of one pattern or another.Packing has come to be a fine art among theshippers of the foreign fruit products, andif the contents of such a package is damagewe have reason to know that it has beenhandled roughly in railroad transportation.~English the Grape Growers.When it comes to table grapes in aChicago midwinter, we give the palm tothe Englishman and to his hothouse grapebunches, which in Chicago bring from $1to $2.50 a pound, while the range of weightof each bunch is from a pound and a halfto two pounds net. This is the extremelydark grape, each fruit on the bunch a sphereand as large as an ordinary plum. The nextgrape in size and price is grown in Belgium,showing a light brown, accordingly as thesun touches it.18Simply Seatrade April 2010

Seasonal DemandFor a long time experiments were made inthe packing of these grapes. Sawdust wasimpossible because too close fitting andmaking for compression, at the same time“littering” the bunch with the dust. Cotton,paper, and peculiarly adapted excelsiors arenow in use. On show in a cool case behindplate glass these grapes appear as if just offthe vine that produced them.One of the strange features concerning astrange vegetable that a little more thanfills the place of asparagus lies in the factthat the absurd little vegetable “shrimptails” come from Japan, but so far cannotbe bought save in the New York jobbingmarket.This is the “Japanese crown”, an almostwhite small root of a certain palm. In shapethey resemble the buttons on the tail of abig rattlesnake. One of these “crowns”lying out of doors would suggest to thestranger then if he frightened it the thingwould crawl away after the manner of the“thousand legged worm”. It is cooked andserved in the same manner as asparagus andis becoming a popular dish. It is receivedin a fifteen pound crate of New Yorkmanufacture and retails at 50 cents a pound.Do you know that the year-aroundcantaloupe is established? It has been, butif you saw the Spanish connection in thestring of that popular fruit-vegetable you’dhardly try it under anything but a guarantee.It is as large and of the same smooth skinand shape as the old fashioned watermelon.The “Spanish golden” cantaloupe is thecommon name to the trade. The meat ofthe melon, eight inches in diameter, willaverage three inches wide to the slice.The seeds are deposited in a small channelwhich shows in slicing the melon in halffrom end to end. One of these melons willcost you $2.50 at retail.Chicago in the early 1900’sSimply Seatrade April 201019

FeatureThis article appeared in the Los Angeles Times on 19 January 1930, written by E. Roedel, the former German Consul at Los AngelesIt’s a MadScramble,MatesBattle for World Fruit Trade a Grand Free-for-all Since OtherLands Learned Our MethodsThere is at present a world-wide movement to expand marketsfor agricultural products, especially for vegetables, fruits andfruit products. Every fruit-producing country is adopting plansto get a greater share of this important world business, andcountries with soil adaptable for fruit production are reachingdeep into their pockets and organizing their facilities to get inline.One of the many changes brought about in Europe during andsince the war is the new attitude toward food values and foodcombinations. There has appeared in Germany, as well as inother countries, a flood of books regarding proper eating andfood reform. Europeans are coming around to the belief that theselection of food should take into consideration the content ofmineral salts, the still mysterious vitamin, calorific values andthe like. Haphazard diet, based on habit or desire, is looked uponwith an increasing disfavor. Exaggeration and fads and isms areto be noted there, as here, but the outstanding fact remains thatEurope and in the fact a large part of the world have becomefruit-minded.Increased demand, naturally, stimulates the desire to supply.The United States, and that means largely its most importantfruit-producing section, California, has been one of the greatestbeneficiaries of this change in dietetic ideas. This businesshas come to us because of our tremendous, well-organized,standardized and increasing production for a large domesticmarket, coupled with the fact that competition abroad has beenlargely in those fruits for which we could develop an increasedhome consumption. This home consumption has for now beenon the increase and we have looked upon our foreign outlets,more or less, as a matter of course.Increased foreign demand, better shipping facilities, world-wideeconomic changes, are bringing about conditions which willforce us seriously to take stock of our relations to our foreignmarkets. Central and Northern European countries, as well asGreat Britain, are becoming veritable economic battlefields, andwe will do well to look at our preparedness to meet present andcoming competition.Others are busyThe Argentine government, which not long ago sent citrus fruitexperts to California, recently sent them to South Africa todetermine the types of oranges best suited to Argentine climateand soil, and also had a commission in Europe for the purpose ofstudying market needs and market possibilities.Its Hamburg consular representative in a recent report suggestsattempts to export peaches into Germany, and recommends theestablishment of a dried-fruit industry in the South Americancountry. It is a fact that citrus fruit is being planted on a largescale in the province of Missiones, whence cheap watertransportation to coast ports is available. The Rio Negro Valleyhas the often-asserted ambition of becoming the ArgentineCalifornia, and already is adding fruit to its grain and meatexports. And that the sales end is not neglected is evidenced bythe fact that a few weeks ago Argentine capitalists opened storesin Great Britain for the purpose of selling Argentine fruit directto the consumer.Chile also is giving thought to the development and expansionof its fruit trade. In November, 1928, the Chilean parliamentplaced 10,000,000 pesos at the disposal of the President of therepublic for the promotion of Chilean fruit business during thesucceeding five years. Of this, 2,000,000 pesos was to go towardthe erection of five experimental stations and 2,400,000 morefor their maintenance. Some 1,500,000 pesos was intendedfor the purchase of nursery stock; 500,000 pesos was for theinvestigation of plant disease and insect control, another 500,000for employing experts. The sum of 600,000 pesos was designedto defray the cost of export experiments. Chile has strict lawscovering standardization and inspection of export fruits. Theagricultural sections have been divided into export districts, andin each there is an export committee which donates its servicefree, acting as export tribunal and as adviser to the Departmentof Commerce. Each committee consists of one representativeof the agricultural producers, two members representing thelocal Chamber of Commerce, one member representing thegovernment and one revenue official.In Brazil, the Department of Agriculture is making strenuousefforts, using every known propaganda medium, to encouragethe planting of oranges and eucalyptus trees. Of the latter10,000,000 have been planted for box shook. The province ofRio Grande do Sul, which has been thrown open to immigrantagriculturists (this is the only immigration project which theGerman government has licensed to operate in Germany)receives special attention from the government. Brazilianoranges are today almost all handled, sorted and packedin packing-houses, under special regulations issued by theDepartment of Commerce. The formation of co-operativesales organizations modeled along the lines of the CaliforniaFruit Exchange us under way. The forecast for the 1929 crop is12,000,000 boxes, of which the greatest part will be exported.Other South American countries are entering European markets.Uruguay is planning propaganda activity in Europe to increase20Simply Seatrade April 2010

Seasonal Demandits orange shipments; Paraguay expects to sell there this yearabout 150,000 boxes of oranges.The improvements in standardization and packing of Italian,Spanish and Palestine citrus fruit is too well known to bediscussed here.Deciduous Fruits, TooBut deciduous fruits will also find greater competition in theEuropean field. Spain, Italy, Jugo-Slavia, Russia, even Rumania,are constant exhibitors at the famous German “Messen” inLeipzig, at Frankfort-on-the-Main and in the large new markethalls erected in the most large German cities. The German fruitstore today is an entirely different institution than that of theprewar green grocer who incidentally sold fruit. There are schoolsfor window and store decorators, and contests designed to bringout the best in decorative design. There are special windowdisplays with only Spanish or only Italian products; Russia isrepresented with fruit arrangements and attractive posters anddisplay cards furnished by the soviet government commercialoffices.[…]Soviet Seeks Trade[…]The British Empire is making great strides in the sale of fruitsfrom its colonies and dominions. The Los Angeles Times recentlypublished quotations from a British newspaper as reported by aGerman fruit trade journal, which said in part:“England is constantly increasing the volume of its propagandafor the use of its products. It is evident that customers are givingmore and greater interest to products from England and hercolonies. Because the housewife did not know the differencebetween British products and those of foreign origin, a plan ofshow-window advertising of British products with British labelshas been instituted.“At present, one-fifth of the fruit consumed by England and hercolonies is of British origin. Every indication points toward aconsistently increasing percentage. The export houses of thedominions spare no pains to crowd out of the market foreigncompetitors in spite of the present powerful position of the latter.The salesmen of the British colonies study the needs of theircustomers in the different markets. In addition, they advertiseintensively in the news and trade papers. The results are certain.“in this connection it is interesting to note that now almost 50per cent of all important apples are from the British colonies anddominions. In 1927. it was only 30 per cent.“Last November, an order was given that all apples should bestamped ‘Empire’ or ‘Foreign’ or with the name of the countrywhere they were produced. Thus the consumer will be able todistinguish between empire and foreign-grown fruit.“A greater expansion is to be noted in the pear market. The fourchief exportation points are Canada, New Zealand, Australia andSouth Africa. Importations of this fruit were twice as large in 1928as in 1927.[…]“South African fruit export laws are rigid and conducive toexpanding markets. The government is giving particular attentionto grapefruit exported to England by having the fruit packed inspecial paper and requiring that only good specimens be shipped.“New Zealand is the youngest member of the fruit-producinggroup. Despite the long water haul, excellent refrigeration isbringing its fruit to England in good condition. A great cooperativeorganization taking in British consumers, dealers andproducers is promising to make for even greater progress in thedevelopment of consumption of home-grown fruits.”[…]We Can Learn MuchWhat co-operation and determination can d, and what we canlearn from our cousins and competitors, is well illustrated bythe following: In1926, the Imperial Economic Commissionreported on the fruit trade in the empire and stated that Jamaicaclaimed neglect because there was no direct steamship linebetween Jamaica and Great Britain and continental Europe. Thegovernments of Great Britain, Canada and Jamaica acted at onceand formed the Jamaica Producers’ Association, said to consist of9000 planters. The “Direct Jamaica Fruit S.S. Line” was foundedand on May 6, last year, the first steamer arrived in London with70,000 bunches of bananas and a large shipment of citrus fruit.Now this steamship line has four specially-built direct vessels.What the European fruit market demands today of any largeshipper into this much contested area is, to put it briefly, closercontact with h buyer, contact with the consumer and propagandafor the goods offered.[…]Simply Seatrade April 201021

PresentingA natural gateway for foodIn the south of the Netherlands, in the province of Zeeland liesthe port of Vlissingen (or Flushing, as most readers will knowit). In this issue of Simply Seatrade we present Kloosterboer,the terminal where Seatrade vessels usually call.The handling of chilled, frozen and ambient food products isprovided in the port of Vlissingen (Flushing) by Kloosterboer.For shippers of food products, Kloosterboer in Vlissingen-Oost is a natural gateway to markets in Europe, with excellenthandling and storage facilities and smooth and efficienttransport links. The terminal has all the necessary handlingfacilities in place for these highly sensitive cargoes. Fruit,fruit juices and concentrates, fish, meat, dairy products andother food products are imported from around the world. Theproducts are carefully discharged and stored for distributionby road, waterways and rail to markets all over Europe.Meanwhile, fresh vegetables, onions and potatoes fromthe Netherlands, France and southern Europe are exportedthrough Vlissingen to West Africa, Russia, and other northerndestinations.KloosterboerKloosterboer in Vlissingen is part of an international logisticsgroup specialised in chilled and frozen foods. The KloosterboerCompany is family owned. They have other terminals in theNetherlands: Rotterdam, Elst and IJmuiden. Additionally, theyown coldstores in France, the United States and Canada.The company was founded in 1925 as a vegetable trader.In 1960, Kloosterboer officially transferred from themerchandising business to the management of coldstore andfreezing warehouses. Over the decades, Kloosterboer addedstevedoring, forwarding and custom services. An ever growingnumber of loyal customers, together with many dedicatedand skilled employees have made it possible to grow into thecompany of today: a successful logistic service provider intemperature-controlled products.Kloosterboer handles a vast variety of frozen and chilledproducts. The customers are located all over the world andKloosterboer often serves as their gateway in Europe providingall of their logistical needs. The focus is both on continuousimprovement of service level and on adding ‘new services’utilising the latest technologies. The newly built, 35-metrehigh automatic coldstore in Harnes, France serves as a perfectexample.22Simply Seatrade April 2010

KloosterboerIn Vlissingen, both conventional and containerised cargoes can be handled. Adedicated container terminal has been operational since 2004. KloosterboerVlissingen handles a wide range of food products including fruit, fruit juices andconcentrates, fish, meat, dairy products, onions, vegetables and potatoes as wellas dry products such as dried milk and nuts. The company has 175,000 tons ofcoldstorage capacity and 35,000 tons of ambient storage plus a dedicated fresh fruitstorage capacity of 35,000 pallets.The company also provides ship agency, forwarding and groupage, dispatch,repacking, sampling, sorting and weighing services. It has a blending station for fruitjuices and concentrates as well as an aseptic processing plant. For the processing offruit juices and concentrates, the company has five production lines with 16 blendingtanks in Vlissingen capable of handling 190,000 tons of juices and concentrates ayear. This facility conforms to HACCP and ISO rules.360 QualitySeatrade vessels have been calling at the port of Vlissingen for many years.Kloosterboer is an affiliate member of the 360 Quality Association and subscribesto the 360 Quality Code. On 27 June 2008, Kloosterboer was the first terminal toreceive official 360 Quality endorsement. In fact, Kloosterboer had already beenworking under these guidelines when - in its original format - the Zero DamageConcept was instituted as a pilot project on the Florida to Flushing (Fla-Flu) servicenearly a decade earlier. The objective at the time was to achieve a service that wascompetitive with a container service: Handling damage needed to be eliminatedfrom the supply chain, with feedback given to all parties involved.After the successful pilot project on the Fla-Flu trade, with specific shipments oflarge quantities of juice in drums, the 360 Quality Code has now been applied to theTurkey and South Africa fresh fruit trades. In general, we can state that 360 Qualityhas made an essential contribution to improve the quality of discharge operationsand procedures. However, the most important factor remains the realization of allparties in the logistical chain of the impact damage has on the relationship withthe (mutual) clients. Or from a different point of view, taking appropriate steps andadjusting procedures has proven important in the prevention of damage.John DaneKloosterboer VlissingenPhotographs courtesy of Annet Eekman and René CastelSimply Seatrade April 201023

La VueltaCosta Rican International Cycling Tour, 16-28 December 2009On 16 December, the 45thedition of the Costa RicanInternational Cycling Tourbegan its 12-day trek aroundCosta Rica. The ‘Vuelta’ as it islocally known has been a CostaRican tradition since 1965. Thebicycle tour was the third majorinternational sporting event toarrive in Costa Rica during 2009: in August the World SurfingGames were hosted in Jaco, while in November the JacquesVabre Transat international sailboat race ended at PuertoLimon.During those 12 days in December, 98 bikers of 10 participatingteams were competing to ride the 1308 kilometres as fast aspossible. Five of the teams were Costa Rican, while the otherscame from Canada, Russia, Guatemala, Colombia, and theNetherlands. Unfortunately the Ecuadorian team could notjoin due to lack of sponsorship.The Dutch team, ‘Grontmij-Team Amsterdam’, was sponsoredby several Dutch companies with offices in Costa Rica,including Seatrade. This team is an elite and sub-23 team,and it was the first time ever a team from the Netherlandsparticipated. With nine out of the twelve stages going throughmountainous terrain, this was quite an undertaking. ‘Grontmij-Team Amsterdam’ scored best during the sprints and on theflatter stages in the coastal regions, despite extremely hottemperatures, with Jan Lof excelling.Needless to say they were all happy when on 28 Decemberthe final finish line was reached, and the team ended overallseventh place.The 45th Vuelta was won by the Colombian team fromMedellin, with the Costa Rican BCR-Pizzahut team comingin close, in second place. Historically, the tour has beendominated so far by Costa Rica and Colombia, who haveprovided the winning riders in 28 of the last 29 races.Everyone on Team Amsterdam agreed that it was a greatexperience and with team leader Martijn van Es we arealready working on their next participation towards the endof 2010 for the Vuelta’s 46th edition - the goal is definitely toenter the top five this year.For those who want to know more about this team, visitwww.teamamsterdam.nl or follow them on Twitter.Pieter HartogSeatrade Costa Rica24 Simply Seatrade April 2010

Seatradenewbuilding activity in JapanAfter a long time without new ships being built for Seatrade,construction has finally started on a new series of specialisedreefer/container vessels at the Kitanihon shipyard in the northof Japan. The keel of the first vessel was laid on 8 January ofthis year and progress is swift. Of the three vessels confirmedso far two vessels are scheduled to be completed before theend of 2010.The Kitanihon shipyard has already constructed many ships forSeatrade in the past, most notably the Stream, Maxi Stream,and the Santa types, all of which were built in theperiod 1998-2000. The current vessels are afurther extension and improvement of theMaxi Stream design, albeit significantlylarger, with an overall length of 165 metres,beam of 25 metres and an underdeck cargocapacity of 650,000 cubic feet.To facilitate the construction of these shipsthe yard has had to increase the length of itsdock to suit these vessels.The names of these vessels, Baltic Klipper, Atlantic Klipperand Celtic Klipper mark a long cooperation between Seatradeand Messrs Jaczon of Scheveningen, who have once againparticipated in this project by taking ownership of the secondvessel, the Atlantic Klipper.At this moment, the dock construction of the lead vessel, theBaltic Klipper is progressing at a rapid pace. When issuing thisSimply Seatrade, the vessel is almost ready for her float out,after which she will be completed over a further four-monthperiod.In the meantime, the first block construction work on theAtlantic Klipper has started and the keel laying ceremony wasconducted on 13 April in the presence of Jaczon and Seatraderepresentatives.All construction activities are witnessed by our site team,headed by Barend Eeltink, who is assisted by our Japaneseinspectors from Toritec. Our site team managerreports: “Block erection is on schedule and by themiddle of March the shipyard claimed 67% ofall blocks were produced. Coating process ofthe engine room flat bottom part is finishedand dock supports are installed”.Production of lower and upper engine roomblocks are in both finished and assemblystages. Connecting blocks from engine roomto the cargo area like FOT No. 2 with cofferdamsare also assembled and as from this part the vessel hasgrown forward, aft and in height. From cargo holds No. 3 andNo. 4, B, C, and D-decks and corresponding hull parts areassembled. Production schedule and delivery data remain asagreed.”With one vessel undergoing outfitting and another one beingassembled in dock, our team will be pretty busy over thecoming months.Marco ScholtensSeatrade GroningenKeel laying ceremony hull No. 391(Baltic Klipper)Status of construction end MarchFirst block in the construction dockShaft section and rudder carrier installedend March (view from stern)Simply Seatrade April 201025

F.l.t.r. mv New Hirotsuki, mv Montelaura of Calvopesca, one ofthe main supporters in the tuna trade, and mv Sierra Cazorla. alldischarging brine frozen tuna from Abidjan in Puebla de Caraminalon 10 February 2010.The latter vessel has since been sold, and has left Seatradeoperations.Justin, son of Jarek Cisek, NewbuildingDepartment Seatrade GroningenKaya, son of Natalie Radovanovich,Seatrade New ZealandLoes, daughter of Bram Postma, ITDepartment Seatrade GroningenNathan, son of Kevin Appleton,Seatrade New Zealand

Dusk and dawn; some nice photos to share with you, complimentsof Tienco de Vries of Seatrade GroningenIt has been a rather long process, but at last on Friday 29 January thenew Seatrade Antwerp website went live!Visit www.seatrade.com to find company and trade information; notonly contact details and directions on how to reach the Antwerpoffice, but also information and directions for some of Seatrade’sagents network around the globe; daily updated vessel specifications,and also our fleetlist and vessel leaflets are now downloadable; andso much more.In Antwerp we all agree the change was long overdue, and theresult is a great improvement. Do feel free to share your opinion andcomments with us!The Website Team (Adinda, Fiona, Johan,Michiel S., Paul M. and Remco)Seatrade Antwerp3-5 February 2010 marked busy days again in Berlin as thefresh produce industry convened there for Fruit Logistica.This edition some 53,000 visitors of 130 differentnationalities visited the stands of 2,302 exhibitors from 71countries. Quite a few of those visited the restyled 360Quality stand, where Seatrade was represented, and enjoyedsome refreshments and snacks.Happy Hour in the stand on the opening day was a greatsuccess, and is sure to be repeated in 2011 when the fairtakes place 9-11 February.

Photo contest1Thank you to all for joining in our photocompetition! The winners within the theme“Best destination” are:1. C/O Evgeniy DenisovAlaska rules!!!2 32. OS Dale J. CentenoThe beautiful and sacred places of Aegion,Greece3. Sammy TijsmansA diving pier at Marsa Alam, EgyptCongratulations!Theme for the next issue will be:DEVELOPMENTPrizes:1st place: 100 Euro2nd place: 50 Euro3rd place: 10 EuroCriteria- All readers of Simply Seatrade can participate- When sending your picture, please mention; your name,rank (if applicable), vessel or company- Send a description about what we can see in your photo- If you submit a photo taken by others, please obtainpermission from the photographer and clarify whose nameshould be used for the photo credits- Photos must be of good quality and a high resolution(minimum 1200 x 800 pixels)- Both paper and digital photos can be handed in.- You allow Seatrade full use of the photo for printing incalendars, brochures, presentations and publications on theinternet, etcetera.Where to send your pictures?Seatrade Groningen BVAttn.: Karin Staal / Photo contestLaan Corpus Den Hoorn 2009728 JS GroningenThe Netherlandsorkarin.staal@seatrade.nl with subject: Photo contestDEADLINE: 15 July 201028 Simply Seatrade April 2010

Working withTAL InternationalTAL International Container Corp. ,or TAL, was one of the pioneersof containerisation. We were founded in 1963 soon afterthe development of containerised trade, and today we serve virtuallyevery major shipping line in the world.TAL provides equipment from over 190 worldwide locations.TAL’s equipment fleet includes approximately 1.1 million TEUs(twenty-foot equivalent units) of dry cargo, refrigerated and opentopcontainers. In addition our fleet contains flat racks, tanks,generator units and container chassis’ as well.We have a worldwide network of 19 offices and 190 depot facilitiesin all major port areas. We offer our customers a variety ofleasing options designed to help them manage uncertain cargodemand, balance trade flows, manage seasonality and financetheir growth. Our lease structures are often specifically tailoredto our customers’ unique operating and financial requirements.TAL is also a market leader in several operational services for theshipping industry. Our TRADER division sells used containers forTAL and several shipping lines. Furthermore, TRADER is the largestseller of used containers in the world. Our GREYSLOT divisionbrokers available vessel slots to transport thousands of ourcustomers’ empty containers each month back to high demandareas.2009 was an exceptionally challenging year for the containershipping industry. The financial crisis and resulting global economicrecession severely impacted global trade, and containerisedtrade volumes decreased for the first time in more than thirtyyears. This difficult environment created many challenges for TALand its business partners.The TAL office in Belgium is inregular contact with Seatrade’soffice in Antwerp where commercialand operational topics arediscussed. TAL’s personnel in NewZealand and Seatrade representativesover there continue to haveco-operation with current equipmenton lease. The main equipmenton lease to Seatrade is highcube refrigerated containers withsome increase in dry containerslast year.close. The real value in containers is that they must be reliableand well built for the tough sea environment. TAL’s equipmentdesign, and in particular its reefers are some of the strongest builtcontainers in the market.Our own TAL employees are always present before and duringproduction, regardless which equipment we are building. Thisis a big investment in personnel for TAL, since steel, foam, aluminium,paint, and weld quality samples are analysed. This qualitycontrol insures that Seatrade’s customers are getting the bestquality container to load their product in for the life of the leasewithout seeing any rust, corrosion, or excessive damage.Another large topic for shipping lines has become the power savingsand carbon footprint of each refrigerated machine. Seatrademade that switch two years ago when they leased TK Magnumsfrom TAL. These machines have one of lowest power consumptionsin the industry, reducing costs and saving the environmentfor future generations.TAL continues to inspect older containers and reefer machineswith manufactures to help reduce operating costs and improveappearance of the container for the life of the lease. We were oneof the first leasing companies to adapt the interior and exteriorscuff liner. The use of hot zinc spray on the exterior, instead of justpaint, along with many other roof and sub floor supports are notcommonly implemented in standard reefer box specifications.TAL appreciates Seatrade’s support with all the reefer containersthey lease and we know that both companies will have a longfuture together.Hessel NederveenTAL AntwerpTAL values Seatrade as a partnerand our common bond of operatingthe best quality equipmentpossible keeps the two companiesSimply Seatrade April 201029

VisitingIn each Simply Seatrade a group of crewmembers are given the opportunity to explore the area around a port where theirvessel is calling; what is it like, where to go for something to eat or drink, what can you do in the few hours while the shipis in port, etcetera. In this issue we bring you the report of the crew of mv Royal Klipper who had the opportunity to visitIstanbul while the vessel was in dry-dock in Tuzla.We arrived at Tuzla, Turkey on 21 November 2009. The RoyalKlipper, under the able command of Capt. Jan Büter, wasscheduled for dry-docking. On the date of arrival, the drydock was not yet free for entry. On 23 November we went inand were guided into the dry dock by two tugs. Because wewere not the only ship in the dock, we had to wait for anothership to enter. That evening the water was pumped out andafter several hours the dry dock was dry. The ship was nowfully exposed to fresh air, instead of salty water.While in Tuzla, the crew got the opportunity to make a tourto Istanbul. The crew was divided into two groups. With thecompany of Capt. J. Büter, 3/O B.B. Abarquez, 3/Eng. J.A.Sanuco, AB/OT R. Ocampo, AB M.F. Tiad, AB G. Marquezand Oiler/OT R. Mancenido we took off at 8 o’clock in themorning. Istanbul was just two hours driving from Tuzla.On arrival in Istanbul we first went to the Blue Mosque. TheBlue Mosque is also known as the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, andis one of the principal mosques in the city. The mosque wasbuilt between 1609 and 1616 for Sultan Ahmet I by MehmetAga, a pupil of Sinan, considered to be the greatest architect ofthe early Ottoman Empire. The building is known as the BlueMosque on account of the predominantly blue and green tilework and painted decoration of its interior.Four minarets rise from the corners of the mosque. The painteddecorations on the domes and upper sections of the mosqueare modern imitations of 16th and 17thcentury designs. The lower walls, however, are covered withoriginal tiles from the nearby town of Iznik, well known inthe 16th and 17th centuries for this type of work. The tilesare painted with roses, carnations, tulips, lilies, and otherflower motifs in subdued shades of blue and green. The floraland geometrical arabesques painted on the wooden ceilingunder the sultan’s lodge are also original. Other notablefeatures include the doors and shutters, made of wood inlaidwith ivory, shell, and mother-of-pearl; the marble mimbar, astepped platform used for preaching; and the mihrab, a nichethat indicates the direction of the Muslim holy city of Mecca.In the mihrab there is a stone from the Kaaba, the centralshrine of Islam in Mecca.After our visit to the Blue Mosque we walked a few steps to theHagia Sophia. Hagia Sophia (Church of the Holy Wisdom) wasbuilt in Constantinople (now Istanbul) between 532 and 537under the auspices of Roman Emperor Justinian I. InnovativeByzantine technology allowed architects Anthemius ofTralles and Isidore of Miletus to design a basilica with animmense dome over an open, square space. The originaldome collapsed after an earthquake and was replaced in 563.The church became a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of1453, and is now a museum. Its huge size and daring technicalinnovations make it one of the world’s key monuments.After seeing the impressive Haghia Sophia we went to anothertop monument, the Topkapi Palace. From 1465 to 1853, theTopkapi Palace served as the main residenceof the sultans of the OttomanEmpire and the headquarters oftheir government. The OttomanEmpire was a dynastic state in whatis now called Turkey. The empire3130Simply Seatrade24

Istanbul6910758was founded in the late 13th century and dismantled inthe early 20th century.The construction of the Topkapi Palace began in1459 on the order of Sultan Muhammad II, who hadconquered Constantinople six years before. Muhammadinstalled his court in the palace in 1465. After numerousexpansions and occasional fires, the court was moved to theDolmabahçe Palace in 1853. The Topkapi Palace served asa residence for the harems of former sultans until 1909. Itbecame a museum in 1924 after the founding of the Republicof Turkey.Topkapi’s buildings, separated by gates between four largecourtyards and several gardens, include the divan, in whichthe grand viziers (chief ministers) and other governmentofficials worked; a school for the Ottoman civil service; andprivate quarters, such as the palace kitchens, the imperialwardrobe, and the harem’s living quarters. The museum’sexhibits, displayed in these and other buildings, includeselections from the sultans’ collections of clocks, armour, andweapons; Chinese and European ceramics and glassware;imperial costumes; and diamonds and other jewels. Themuseum also houses relics of the prophet Muhammad. Whilewe were visiting the Topkapi Palace, we also had a greatlunch. We all enjoyed the typical Turkish culinary delightsof the meal. Also the great view over the Bosporus and theAsian side of Istanbul wasmagnificent.As last part of our tour wewent to Istanbul’s famous Grand Bazaar (Kapalı Çars˛ı).The bazaar is a covered market that includes more than 4,000shops, banks, restaurants, and mosques. During Ottoman rule,the bazaar was an important centre for the trade in jewelleryand gold. The market gradually expanded as roofs and wallswere extended to permit comfortable trade in all weatherconditions. Nowadays, you can still see that it was made fortrading gold and jewellery: we were overwhelmed by it!After one and a half hour of walking around and loosingorientation, we headed back to the beginning of the GrandBazaar. At 7 o’clock we returned to the bus and enjoyed thenight seeing while saying goodbye to the beautiful and greatcultural city called Istanbul.On behalf of the crew we want to thank, Captain Büter anda special thanks to Seatrade’s Superintendent Cor Jonker forgiving us the opportunity to see the European cultural capitalof 2010: Istanbul.I/Cdt M.Frehling and I/Cdt J.TanisStudents Hogeschool voor de Zeevaart, RotterdamPhoto 1: Blue Mosque - Photo 2: Inside the Blue Mosque - Photo 3: Sunset by the Blue Mosque - Photo 4: Ceiling of the Blue Mosque - Photo 5: The crew atTopkapi Palace - Photo 6: Topkapi Palace - Photo 7: Hagia Sophia - Photo 8: New Main Engine cylinder liners - Photo 9: Fatih Mehmet Bridge - Photo 10: The RoyalKlipper in dry-dockSimply Seatrade April 201031

Crow’s nestThere’s no place like homeWe’ve already established that I’m cursed by the travel gods.Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy traveling. It’s the getting therethat’s the problem.The adventure doesn’t always end at the airport. Overthe years, hotels have presented their own unique set ofchallenges and in some cases the airlines and hotels appear toconspire against me in some evil tandem.A few years back I was asked to give a speech in CorpusChristi, Texas. The event was scheduled for 8 am, whichmeant having to fly out the day prior. Corpus is one of those“end of the world” destinations that aren’t easily gottento from anywhere. Forget a direct flight from Tampa. Theconventional route would be a connection via Houston. Me,I opted to go via Atlanta with Delta Airlines. While the Deltaflight involved an ungodly three-hour propeller leg betweenAtlanta and Corpus (imagine the feeling and smell of beingstrapped into a port-o-john that in turn is strapped on toa flatbed truck driving over a dirt road), it did offer a laterdeparture out of Tampa and most importantly more frequentflier miles.My Atlanta to Corpus connection was scheduled for 6 pmand I arrived in Atlanta a good two hours beforehand. Atlantais one of the world’s busiest and largest airports. As it’sexpanded, each new concourse is built further out from themain terminal. A subway system connects the terminals, withconcourse T being the furthest away from access to the realworld.With plenty of time to spare, I sauntered over to myconnecting gate (T-43). An hour prior to departure time, theplane had arrived at the gate and was serviced making itready for the flight. The weather was perfect. The flight wasreported to be on schedule. I planted myself in a seat andfiddled with the Blackberry.Not long after, I noticed a flash of light out of the corner ofmy eye. Then all the flight status screens went black. Secondslater, every screen in the airport was flashing the infamousWindows’ blue screen of death. Delta’s entire systemhad crashed. The airport went into a panic. Flights wereimmediately stopped.After two hours the screens were still blank, but we could seeactivity stirring on the jet way. Inbound flights started to maketheir way to empty gates and we heard rumors that otherairlines had resumed outbound flights. Our gate agent assuredus that our flight would take off, as the plane was there andneeded to be in Corpus for a return flight the next morning.As the night went on, the two dozen or so of us booked onthe flight dwindled down to a handful. Four hours later Deltahad managed to get flights moving again. Our plane remainedfirmly planted at gate T-43. By midnight, the airport hadgotten back to some semblance of normalcy. We remainingdiehards were informed that we were waiting on a flight crew.Shortly after 2 am, we got word that the flight crew hadarrived. But, because they had worked beyond their allowedhours and no replacements were available at that late hour,Delta cancelled the flight. We were offered rooms in a localhotel and told we would be booked on the first flight out inthe morning. The first flight to Corpus was scheduled at 8 am,so for me the trip was now a moot point. I had no choice butto argue my case when the rest of the world woke up.Exhausted and frustrated, I took Delta up on the hotel room.With the airport officially closed it also meant the airport’ssubway system was shut down. The schlep from concourse Tto the main terminal is nearly 3 km through dimly lit corridorsdodging mop-wielding janitors. By 3 am I reached the servicedesk and was given a hotel voucher and steered towards aqueue for a shuttle bus. With all the earlier flight delays, localhotels were chock-o-block. The only available beds werea 20-minute ride away. I arrived at the hotel a few minutesbefore 4 am.I had to bang on the front door a few times, to startle the deskclerk awake from his slumber. He grunted a greeting, tookthe voucher and handed me a key. The room was on the 5thfloor. I clearly remember waiting what seemed a lifetime forthat elevator. On the 5th floor, I dizzily wobbled to my room.I inserted the key card. The light flashed green. I opened thedoor and stepped into the darkness.As I groped around for a light switch, a large shadow leaptout of the void. A very large and clearly angry man shouted“What the *#@% are you doing here!”Talk about being scared wide-awake. My heart was poundingout of my chest. I turned and bolted for the door.I’m pretty sure that I flew down five flights of stairs, as I racedback to the front desk. I was so out of breath I half mimed to32 Simply Seatrade April 2010

the desk clerk, who eventually figured out what I was saying.Finally in my own room, I exhaled, dropped on to the bedand lay there - eyes wide open – until the sun came up.By now you would think that people would have figured outhow to use that interior privacy lock on hotel room doors, butI’ll be damned if a similar thing didn’t happen in Las Vegasthis past summer. Unbeknownst to me, my room key alsoopened the door of the neighboring room. This I discoveredwhen I forgot my room number after a late night out. That setoff an entire escapade with hotel security, local police andan Elvis impersonator (long story best saved for another time).For some strange reason, people seem to take offense to mybarging into their rooms at very early hours.Howard PosnerSeatrade USASimply Seatrade April 201033

Games & puzzleSend in & winTriviaDid you read this Simply Seatrade?1. Since when does Seatrade Antwerp have a new website?2. What does the word Antigua mean?3. Since when has Seatrade been involved in the dry cargo trade in France?Crack the code (Sudoku)This puzzle is played over a 9x9 grid, in each row there are 9 slots, some of them are empty and need to be filled. Fill in the gridso that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. The number should appear only once in a row,column or box. Below you find two Sudoku puzzles. In each of the below Sudoku puzzles three slots are coloured. When youhave found the numbers in one or both puzzles, you will have three-digit codes (composed by the numbers in the coloured slots,starting top left and moving horizontally ending bottom right). Send us either one or both codes, and you might be the luckywinner of an exclusive Seatrade watch!EASY9 7 8 6 51 9 35 7 8 26 1 98 7 9 2 49 7 8 36 4 2 59 4 62 8 6 9 7HARD1 4 34 1 9 28 7 96 28 1 659 5 13 9 8 54 3 8Join the competition: Send us theCodes and/or the answers to theTrivia by either E-mail or post, andtry to win one of three Seatradewatches!Deadline for your response is 10July 2010. The names of the winnerswill be published in the Aprilissue of Simply Seatrade.The answers of the puzzle and trivia in the November 2009 issue were:Puzzle: easy code = 821 / hard code = 583 / 527 / 523Trivia: 1) 27-36%; 2) Willemstad, Curacao; 3) ThreeThanks for all the entries!The winners this time are Steven Spliethoff (puzzle - easy), C/ERenover Y. Quiachon, mv Esmeralda (puzzle - hard) and LuizErrandonea (trivia).They will all receive a beautiful Seatrade watch. Congratulations!Send us your response to this issue’s puzzles and win yourself!E-mail: simply-seatrade@seatrade.comAddress: Seatrade Reefer Chartering NV, Attn.: Editorial Team “Simply Seatrade”, PO Box 10.012, 2030 Antwerp 3, BelgiumSend us your response to this issue’s puzzles and win a beautiful Seatrade watch, which is exclusive to winners of the puzzles in Simply Seatrade!34Simply Seatrade April 2010

Vessels operated by Seatrade Reefer Chartering N.V.FleetlistVessel Cbft Sqm Built Vessel Cbft Sqm Built Vessel Cbft Sqm BuiltLombok Strait 626,011 7,341 2002 Spring Bob 460,895 5,540 1984 Nova Galicia 305,010 3,364 1983Luzon Strait 626,011 7,341 2002 Spring Dragon 454,207 5,414 1984 White Dolphin 300,996 3,282 1988Spring Deli 453,088 5,410 1984 Nova Florida 298,320 3,512 1989Atlantic Reefer 600,558 6,870 1998 Damaco Francia 298,217 3,514 1989Pacific Reefer 600,202 6,869 1999 Runaway Bay 516,227 5,852 1992 Nova Friesia 296,538 3,161 1987Aconcagua Bay 512,361 5,894 1992 Rosa 264,452 2,875 1984Hansa Stockholm 590,654 6,687 1991 Humboldt Bay 508,551 5,854 1990 Nova Caledonia 263,003 2,946 1986Hansa Lübeck 590,654 6,687 1990 Himalaya Bay 502,586 5,857 1990Hansa Visby 587,974 6,653 1989 Fuji Bay 502,514 5,858 1990 Fiona 272,314 3,209 1986Hansa Bremen 587,974 6,653 1989 Wind Frost 495,343 5,852 1989 Nostalgic 265,245 3,209 1986Nagoya Bay 490,178 5,608 1983 Neerlandic 265,245 3,209 1985Royal Klipper 580,754 6,613 2000 Cloudy Bay 476,950 5,481 1984 Breiz Klipper 265,246 3,144 1991Comoros Stream 580,754 6,613 2000 Storm Bay 476,278 5,484 1983 Holland Klipper 261,262 2,961 1989Everest Bay 449,201 5,219 1989 Goyen 261,262 2,961 1987Polarstream 564,280 6,495 1999 Whitney Bay 449,175 5,208 1990 Sierra Laurel 260,050 2,925 1998Polarlight 564,160 6,493 1998 Changuinola Bay 440,365 4,862 1988 Sierra Leyre 260,050 2,925 1997Koala Bay 438,802 4,917 1984 Sierra Loba 260,050 2,925 1997Elsebeth 549,326 6,226 1998 Glacier Bay 435,491 5,047 1985 Sierra Lara 260,050 2,925 1996Emerald 548,718 6,244 2000 Sable Bay 435,491 5,047 1983 Nova Zeelandia 238,985 2,684 1986Elvira 548,666 6,244 2000 Kasuga Bay 433,013 4,804 1984 New Takatsuki 237,136 2,552 1991Esmeralda 548,643 6,243 1999 Yasaka Bay 432,949 4,803 1983 Nova Bretagne 236,869 2,535 1990Kashima Bay 432,831 4,805 1984 Nova Australia 234,651 2,656 1984Pacific Mermaid 540,572 6,075 1992 Izumo Bay 432,756 4,803 1983 Polestar 233,432 2,561 1990Atlantic Mermaid 540,026 6,066 1992 Atlantic Hope 412,215 4,677 1984 Nova Terra 230,014 2,535 1985Tasman Mermaid 539,670 6,068 1993 Pioneer Bay 411,868 4,677 1982 Coppename 221,916 2,550 1990Caribbean Mermaid 539,648 6,068 1993 Hudson Bay 409,295 4,794 1983Coral Mermaid 539,634 6,066 1992 Antigua 199,618 2,213 1991Humboldt Rex 439,741 4,942 1998 Antilla 199,618 2,213 1990Timor Stream 535,112 6,004 1998 Season Trader 437,654 4,942 2000 Aruba 199,618 2,213 1990Agulhas Stream 535,109 6,004 1998 Prince of Streams 428,618 4,613 1993 New Hayatsuki 192,443 2,298 1990Benguela Stream 535,109 6,004 1998 Prince of Sounds 419,896 4,521 1993 New Hirotsuki 192,368 2,297 1990Klipper Stream 535,109 6,004 1998 Prince of Waves 402,900 4,569 1993 Jarikaba 191,000 2,215 1986Discovery Bay 534,246 5,922 1997 Prince of Tides 402,574 4,546 1993 Nickerie 190,525 2,213 1985Marine Phoenix 400,884 4,544 1994 Asiatic 191,810 2,144 1986Southern Bay 535,093 5,924 1997 River Phoenix 400,884 4,544 1993Eastern Bay 533,899 5,915 1997 Summer Phoenix 400,884 4,544 1993Hope Bay 531,764 5,939 1996 Sea Phoenix 400,884 4,544 1992 Non-Pool vessels managed by Seatrade Groningen B.V.Mexican Bay 532,061 6,351 1994 Lake Phoenix 400,884 4,544 1992 -Reefers-Fortuna Bay 532,061 6,351 1993 Pacific 398,470 4,736 1996 Vessel Cbft Sqm BuiltIvory Ace 527,511 5,861 1990 Pisang 378,055 4,487 1990 Cala Pino 720,000 7,781 1999/2007Eagle Bay 527,422 5,853 1992 Prince of Seas 371,412 4,121 1993 Cala Pula 720,000 7,781 1999/2006Condor Bay 527,401 5,856 1990 Cool Express 362,350 4,312 1994 Cala Palma 720,000 7,781 2000/2007Buzzard Bay 526,909 5,852 1992 Cala Pedra 720,000 7,781 2000/2007Hawk Bay 526,764 5,851 1992 Royal Reefer 373,776 4,012 1987 Joint Frost 139,335 998 1979Falcon Bay 525,925 5,839 1993 Wealth Reefer 372,951 4,008 1986Frio Hellenic 499,546 5,898 1999 Tama Hope 350,922 3,802 1986 -Container vessels-Tama Star 350,922 3,802 1987 Vessel TEU DWAT BuiltSanta Catharina 463,986 5,140 2000 Cala Pancaldo 2,700 37,212 2007Santa Maria 463,963 5,140 1999 Bristol Bay 355,438 3,826 1984 Cala Pigafetta 2,700 37,274 2008Santa Lucia 463,652 5,140 1999 Boston Bay 355,393 3,826 1983Cold Stream 456,785 5,217 1994 Barents Bay 354,958 3,814 1984Tasman Bay 333,081 3,543 1989Spring Tiger 470,494 5,569 1984 all particulars believed to be correct but not guaranteedSpring Bear 466,871 5,543 1985 Cape Vincente 300,124 3,441 1991Spring Panda 461,816 5,534 1984 Cape Passero 300,124 3,441 1991 Status 30 March 2010Simply Seatrade April 201035

Kiwi Festival 2010‘Zespri Challenge’The Bay of Plenty celebrated its coastal lifestyle and worldclassproduce with a nine-day festival between 26 Februaryto 6 March 2010.Kiwi Festival 2010 was officially launched before keybusiness, community representatives and the media atZESPRI International in Mount Maunganui. The 20 festivalevents celebrated the Bay’s natural beauty, produce from theland and sea and the cultures, talents and interests of Baycommunities.The Kiwi Festival would celebrate the beginning of thekiwifruit harvest, recognize the current and future potential ofother regional produce and position the region as the centreof natural, high quality nutritional products.One of the 20 Festival Events was the remarkable ZespriChallenge. The event was staged at Te Puke (near Tauranga)and 15 teams from kiwifruit post-harvest facilities and alsofrom Zespri competed for the coveted ‘Wooden Trophy” TheTeam Zespri, affectionately known as the Jagermeisters,and named after Zespri CEO Lain Jagerafternoon is a way for the kiwifruit industry to come togetherat one event to celebrate the coming harvest.Teams competed in ‘Top Town’ style games that offer plentyof laughter, fun and celebration. Seatrade as a co-sponsor of‘Zespri Challenge’ had one of the games named in its honour.The game allocated Seatrade was 10-metre high inflatableclimbing wall that depicted our own Mt. Maunganui. To earnpoints, teams had climbers scale the climbing wall and grabvarious Seatrade flags velcro-ed to the side of the wall. Bonuspoint flags were placed on top of the wall and teams usedtheir fastest climbers at the start of the relay race. The girlsseemed to do a little better than the boys!Ex-All Black and TV presenter Marc Ellis was on hand ascommentator on the day and did a great job keeping theparticipants and spectators well informed of happenings in hisusual humorous manner.Dave SouthwoodSeatrade New ZealandSeatrade sponsors f.l.t.r. Andre Marygold, Kevin Appleton, Marc Ellis(presenter), Robin Dillimore (Zespri) and Dave SouthwoodSimply Seatrade is the corporate magazine of the Seatrade group of companies, published in April, August and November