Buddy Greene, Former President of IFPTA, Has Passed

From Alan Bog, President, IFPTA

Dear Members,

It is with great sadness we learned this week that Buddy Greene passed away on 14 September. Buddy was my predecessor as President of IFPTA.

I had the privilege of working with him as a Director and Officer of the Association since I was first elected to the Board in 1999.

From the start I was impressed by his dedication, his attention to detail and his thoroughness. He became President after the sudden loss of Paul Doiron.

Buddy was a strong President. He led us through a difficult period when our partner at the time was having difficulties and at the time saved the Transport Symposium in Mobile, and we have grown in strength since then.

Buddy was a gentleman, and a good friend; he will be missed by all of us at IFPTA and by many friends in the industry.

I was extremely flattered when he asked the Board of Directors to elect me to take over the Presidency from him when he stepped down at the Savannah Symposium. Since then he has been very supportive and always available if I needed any advice.

On behalf of IFPTA, I am sure you will join me in sending our deepest sympathy to his dear wife Pat.

I asked Scott Menzies, who worked alongside Buddy as Secretary of IFPTA for many years, to write a few words about him. I am sure you will find his contribution very moving.

Remembering Buddy Greene

One of the greatest blessings in our life has been getting to know Buddy and Pat Greene. We lost Buddy on September 14th and he will be missed by a mountain of people who got to know him over a long and successful career at Cooper /T. Smith.

Buddy loved the IFPTA and he loved the shipping community. As soon as you met Buddy you quickly learned that he knew more about our industry than anyone you would ever meet. He could tell you exactly what kind of productivity you could make on any carrier’s ship with just about any commodity.

How did he know all this? . . . because he did it!

Buddy was also a whiz with numbers and could calculate so quickly it would make your head spin. It did not matter whether you were a shipper, a carrier, a producer, a forwarder or a competitor. He just liked people and they liked him.

Getting to know Buddy and Pat over the many decades of Transport Symposiums he made you feel like family because for him, you were.

Buddy led the IFPTA as President through some good and bad times, but never faltered in his commitment of how important the Association was for our industry. At that time, relationships were everything, and as soon as you met Buddy you were in a relationship.

We are going to miss his great sense of humor and wonderful laugh. We are going to miss his amazing depth of knowledge about our industry and his tremendous loyalty to the IFPTA. Mostly, we are going miss a very special man who touched many hearts in the best possible way.

Thank you Buddy for your leadership, friendship, loyalty and the feeling of family. Thank you Pat for sharing Buddy with us. We all send our deepest sympathies and love.

Scott & Susie Menzies

MSC Belgium Launches Quayside Fumigation Service

Sept. 13, 2021 - MSC has launched a quayside fumigation service at MSC PSA European Terminal, Antwerp, following a successful pilot phase. MSC is the only company, carrier or otherwise to offer fumigation at quay in Belgium. This unique service optimises the supply chain for customers, speeds up turnaround for fumigated cargo and increases intermodal transport options and flexibility.

Partnership with Descroes for fumigation

MSC has partnered with disinfection specialists Descroes to ensure a first-class service. “Descroes supports our other portside fumigation services, so it was a natural fit to expand this successful partnership for our new quayside offering,” explains Jerri Smet, Intermodal Manager at MSC Belgium. “Quayside fumigation fulfils our customers’ needs for increased flexibility and accelerated turnaround times and unlocks access to intermodal services that would previously have been inaccessible.”

Intermodal network

Quayside fumigation allows MSC to capitalize on former investments made to its vast intermodal network, with the goal of delivering seamless, integrated supply chain solutions for countries shipping forestry products from northern Europe, such as Belgium, Austria, France and Germany.

“Containers can arrive by road, rail or barge and be fumigated on-quay, eliminating the need for additional haulage to and from an external fumigation zone, and increasing flexibility within the supply chain,” adds Marc Beerlandt, Managing Director at MSC Belgium.

Unique location at MPET

MPET’s unique location enables the expansion of fumigation services to the wood log industry and helps to simplify the supply chain.

“We are pleased to facilitate this value-added service and are looking forward to the growth of the fumigation zone. Thanks to the multi connections at the quay, we contribute to the efficiency of the global supply chain of wood logs,” says Harold Kunst, CEO MPET.

Lars Koch, Commercial Manager at MPET adds “this new service is a good example of how we can co-create services with our customers. I’m looking forward to seeing the further developments of similar kinds of projects.”

Focus on wood logs

MSC has extensive experience shipping logs to the Far East and has catered its fumigation service to the specific needs of its wood customers worldwide. Dedicated in-house experts ensure a seamless, hassle-free service transporting forestry products to the Far East and beyond, which has become crucial for customers shipping wood and logs to Asia due to the spruce bark beetle infestation.

Customers exporting goods to Australia will also be able to benefit from fumigation services at either end of the journey, ensuring compliance with new Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BSMB) regulations in place between September 2021 and May 2022.

Combine with VGM weighing

To complement the new quayside fumigation service, MSC Belgium also offers quayside Verified Gross Mass (VGM) weighing, with specialised equipment directly adjacent to its fumigation facilities, for easy access and efficient turn-around post fumigation. In addition, VGM Data can be instantly submitted to MSC via cloud, to further simplify the customer experience.

SOURCE: MSC

Postponement of PPI Transport Symposium 24

Aug. 4, 2021  - The IFPTA Board of Directors held an emergency board meeting at the end of last week at which it was unanimously agreed that the Transport Symposium scheduled to be held in Jacksonville, Florida in September should be postponed. This decision was immediately relayed to our partners Fastmarkets.

This decision was taken in the light of the current spike in COVID-19 cases in Florida. The Board agreed that the health and safety of our members and delegates must be our primary concern.

The Board also recognised that many of our members would be unable to participate in the event due to international travel restrictions, company travel policies and in many cases quarantine on return to their home country.

While the event could have been held partially on a virtual basis, one of the great attractions of the Transport Symposium is the great networking opportunity it represents, with members getting to meet with friends and colleagues from the industry all over the world.

We are working with our partners to fix a suitable date to reschedule the event, most likely in September 2022.

I would like to thank Tom Mutz, Rhoda Voth and Rick Schiappacasse for all their efforts over the last 9 months in putting together a fantastic programme. While I know they are disappointed, they fully support the decision. I would also to thank the Moderators and Panellists and look forward to welcoming them to the Symposium when it does take place.

Thanks are also due to Cathy Oates and her team at Fastmarkets, for all their hard work on the logistics side of the event.

They will be in touch with sponsors, exhibitors and delegates who had already registered.

Alan Bog, President, IFPTA

The Port of Tarragona Begins to Install the Balears Wharf Bollards

July 15, 2021 - The Port of Tarragona has begun work on installing the bollards on the Balears Wharf. A total of 33 bollards with a capacity of 200 tons each will be installed to provide mooring for the world’s largest cruise liners.

The fenders, which are also being installed at a similar pace, and the bollards are the elements that take the strain of docking and tying up the vessel. Thus, when a ship is slowly approaching in a berthing maneuver, the fenders absorb the momentum of the vessel as it maneuvers, protecting both the dock and the vessel when they come into contact. In conditions of strong winds and waves, the fenders and bollards are responsible for absorbing the vessel's energy, especially when it tends to approach or move away from the dock.

In parallel with the bollard installation, the Port is completing the final metres of the edge beam. The last section has already been concreted with a formwork trolley and only a few sections remain to be finished. This will be done manually due to the difficulty of access.

Facing the final stretch

The Port of Tarragona has begun to prepare the esplanade with the final earthworks ready for future paving. The first lampposts for lighting the dock are also being installed.

When the new infrastructure is in operation it will increase the capacity to receive more visitors and in better conditions. It will have a total berthing line of 700 metres, given that on 240 of the 460 metres it will be possible to tie up on both sides and the area of the Llevant breakwater has also been added. All this means that double the number of cruise ships can dock simultaneously and that the world’s largest cruise liners can be accommodated.

SOURCE: Port of Tarragona