⚠️8 days remaining…

⚠️ 🔒 🚚 Are your transport partners ready for 2023 March 1^st ?

Fluidity and security are at the heart of LE HAVRE professionnals core skills.

On 23 March 1^st the “TCT CODE” becomes mandatory on LE HAVRE port terminals for full containers loaded by road.

More informations : http://www.codetct-umep.org/en/

Youtube video : https://youtu.be/GyRZ5Z1b_po

The Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has moved a step closer in its efforts to institute mandatory reporting requirements for containers lost overboard.

The most recent focus on the safety issues related to lost containers and the need for reporting requirements, as well as efforts to reduce the loss of containers, started at the May 2021 meeting of the Safety Committee in response to a rash of container accidents.

The IMO’s Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers agreed to a draft of new requirements for mandatory reporting of lost freight containers at sea during its most recent meeting, which concluded last week. Highlighting the serious hazard to navigation and safety at sea in general, and in particular to recreational sailing vessels, fishing vessels, and other small craft, the Sub-Committee set out a specific set of amendments to the SOLAS and MARPOL treaties.

In May 2021 when the Maritime Safety Committee agreed to initiate new measures to detect and report containers lost at sea. The Committee sought to define the scope of the problem by emphasizing the growth in container shipping and the sheer volume of containers at sea at any given time.

There are roughly 6,500 containerships currently active, with a combined capacity of nearly 26m teu, according to industry estimates.

In 2019, the World Shipping Council (WSC) reported that the international liner shipping industry transported approximately 226 million containers, with cargo transported valued at more than $4trn.

While the WSC estimated an average total of 1,382 containers were lost at sea each year in the 12 years of 2008 to 2019, an unusually high number of weather-related incidents especially in the winter of 2020-2021 drove the averages higher.

The WSC calculated that in 2020-2021 the average was over 3,100 containers lost each year.

The draft amendments to SOLAS chapter V add new paragraphs specifically addressing danger messages. They would require the master of every ship involved in the loss of freight containers to communicate the particulars of such an incident by appropriate means without delay and to the fullest extent possible to ships in the vicinity, to the nearest coastal State, and also to the flag State. The flag State would be required to report the loss of containers to the IMO.

Among the other provisions is a requirement to report the position and number of containers. Specific clauses focus on the reporting of hazardous materials that might be in the containers.

The drafts next move for approval at the spring 2023 meeting of the full maritime safety committee followed by adoption at the meeting in the fall of 2023. The Sub-Committee agreed that the draft amendments should enter into force on January 1, 2026, and the IMO Secretariat will develop the relevant module under the IMO Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS) for the receipt of reports from flag States.

Source :  September 30, 2022 In Cargo, Insurance Marine News, Keep, Marine Liability 

HAROPA & UMEP mobilized for landside fluidity12.2021 FI UK

In a port such as Le Havre, goods come and go aboard ships. To forward them to the port or to clients in France, inland waterways are more and more favored.

In Le Havre, several operators are specialized in the transport of goods by barge: more and more of these convoys full of containers or bulk (building material, raw materials or waste) can be seen running down canals, the Seine river and anchor in port terminals. Very precise logistics, requiring a high level of organizational skills, hide behind each of these barges.

Regardless of the goods handled, one must indeed anticipate all the steps that will take those goods to the barge but also to their destination: either marine ships if they are exported or a river port (and beyond that a client) if it came by sea.

Relations and contact with bargemen or clients is common in the profession of inland waterways transport organizer: order taking, receipt of goods, transshipment operations monitoring, barge booking, lock schedules checks, etc. All these operations must allow the client to receive his goods as fast as possible and if needs be while managing and coordinating other forwarding means such as road transport.

The Grenelle environmental summit defined that, by 2020, 20% of goods carried in France would have to be transported by other means than by road. In such a prospect inland waterways have an important role to play. In Le Havre, important investments have currently been made to meet these requirements, especially thanks to the creation of a multimodal terminal.

With ever more goods on the river and operators to handle them, employment prospects are positive for those who can boast the right profile. Bachelor degree holders in transport and logistics or inland waterways specialists (ISNI BTS) are welcome.

In Le Havre, close to 400 directs jobs are related to inland waterways and this fast-developing profession will continue to recruit.

Testimonial

Sébastien, an inland waterways operations agent for a maritime company graduated from Institut supérieur de la navigation intérieure (ISNI) in Elbeuf.

After working for five months as an intern (inland waterways crew on a pusher boat along the Seine River) he graduated with a BTS (bachelor degree). “I chose a profession that has different aspects thanks to daily contact and which allows to travel down the Seine river. Thanks to this trade I developed autonomy, thoroughness and good communicational and organizational skills”.

Source: multiple Internet sources, specialized literature, testimonials (Pratic-Export, Pôle-emploi cards, Wikipedia, Onisep, CNRTL, Umep à la Page…)

Working in perfect unison with global trade stakeholders, insurers and brokers are true specialists. As trusted partners they propose custom made insurance products for ever-evolving specific professions.

The world of transport and logistics mobilizes impressive means and invests massive capital: just think about the enormous amount of goods carried by road, sea, inland waterways or by plane across the world; but also consider the amount of ships, vehicles, warehouses necessary to their transit and to make them available in the most suitable manner.

From the initial cover of maritime risk in which they specialized, Le Havre insurers and marine insurance brokers now offer their expertise to the whole supply chain: shipowners, road or waterways haulers, brokers, import and export stakeholders today represent many different profiles intervening at any level of a chain which itself proves international.

A very active and powerful center developed in Le Havre with the expertise of insuring logistics professions: a great global company; 5 specialized brokers also acting for local, national or global clients and about fifty other agents make Le Havre a stronghold of marine insurance.

In a world in which exchanges are more and more subject to contracts, legal responsibility is very subtly segmented; the role of insurers and brokers has become essential for logistics operators whose field of action is multifaceted (i.e. wider and wider): consulting and customer support to assist continuing growth have now become part of the insurers’ and brokers’ mission.

Insurers, for the subscription of more and more specific and accurate products that meet custom made requirements and ever changing issues, use the help of technical sales agents who know their customers’ professions well. Claims managers are legally trained. Brokers also use the help of lawyers specialized in transport law (a special course is taught at Le Havre University) as well as transport specialists: continuing education is an asset. Other bachelor profiles (always with a solid transport law background) or sales agents are also wanted. These professions represent close to 500 direct jobs in Le Havre and experience solid growth.

Source: multiple Internet sources, specialized literature, testimonials (Pratic-Export, Pôle-emploi cards, Wikipedia, Onisep, CNRTL, Umep à la Page…)

This term replaced the term ship broker when the latter saw their privilege disappear under European Law.

Customs brokers are service providers representing the shipping agent. They stand in for foreign captains with authorities, especially Customs.

The mission of Customs brokers encompasses two main functions:

• One, administrative, takes them to calculate and pay harbor dues for ships. They are collected from shipping agents and paid to Customs authorities. They also translate the manifest.
• The other, related to business, takes them to act as intermediaries between ship and other naval equipment buyers and sellers.

This professional is in a relationship with:

• Shipowners who are the “clients of his clients”.
• Shipping agents who are their direct clients.
• Port authorities in which they officiate.
• Customs authorities, since the Customs broker perceives harbor dues and is responsible for their collection after a deposit was agreed.

Source: multiple Internet sources, specialized literature, testimonials (Pratic-Export, Pôle-emploi cards, Wikipedia, Onisep, CNRTL, Umep à la Page…)

The Napoleonic code established the corps of commissaires d’avarie (damage commissioners, surveyors).

They were the first marine surveyors in known history and were in reality public administrators in charge of the coordination and the planning of sailing boats maintenance after they were damaged at sea or during a military campaign.

Before World War 2 the profession of marine surveyor did not really exist as such.  Marine surveyors were then marine engineers for what was related to commerce and naval architects for what was related to leisure boating but also retired deck officers or mechanics.

In the 1950s insurance companies started publishing lists of experts which they assigned according to strictly economic criteria. In the 1960s and 70s the profession changed and diversified.

Today surveyors are technicians who show great knowledge of all marine technologies they acquired thanks to technical education and experience. All the necessary skills required for this activity may be acquired by self-teaching or through engineering education or marine colleges.

About 100 marine surveyors are registered in France in the French yachting directory (Annuaire du nautisme) according to the FIEM (Fédération internationale des experts et conseils maritimes – International Marine Accredited Surveyors Association) which was created in 1983.

Marine surveyors can work for any client in the maritime world: professionals, insurers, institutions, etc.

They may, when working with insurers, advise conservation measures, identify damaged properties, determine the origin of damages, file a liability claim, describe damages, calculate their cost, evaluate wear rates and the coming obsolescence of a ship, etc.

On an administrative level, surveyors may work with Customs authorities to determine, for instance, the value of a ship which is being imported or work with tax services to determine the value of a ship which is included in inherited assets or also work with civil or trade courts for legal expertise.

When working with professionals they may be hired by resellers to inspect ships for sale in order to assess their state, determine the different repairs to perform or by shipyards to monitor works, take note of failures, etc.

They may also come to perform, for cross-examination, damage checks on ships, goods, port equipment, etc.

Marine surveyors may perform their job within the framework of a liberal profession or as employees but may also work for ship classification companies. Marine surveyors, like any other expert, are technicians but are not legally trained.

Source: multiple Internet sources, specialized literature, testimonials (Pratic-Export, Pôle-emploi cards, Wikipedia, Onisep, CNRTL, Umep à la Page…)

The term “transport organizer” relates to several professions:

• Consolidators group together goods coming from different shippers in order to fill containers or trucks as well as possible. Consolidators have a warehouse with platforms, handling equipment and staff.
• Charterers make the needs of clients meet common carrier solutions in exchange for a chartering fee. They bear the transport expenses which they negotiate (sales and purchase) but do not own any warehouse, handling equipment nor do they employ any staff. They have to organize transportation by expediting the carrying vehicle to the shipper to organize a direct delivery to the consignee. They must deal with heavy batches: it used to be considered that chartered batches should at least weigh three tons. Today charterers deal with batches of 1 ton or more.
• Town office operators deal with parcels or LTL shipments and deliver them separately to carriers or other brokers.  They do not take care of transport but only of the transmission to the carrier or to the client depending on whether they ship or receive goods.
• International transport organizers are also often called forwarders. They are, in reality, freight forwarders and customs brokers who manage the multimodal logistical chain from the shipper to the consignee, sometimes at the other end of the world. They act on behalf of the client regarding transport, insurance, Customs clearance, modal choice, etc. They have an extensive network of correspondents abroad.

Source: multiple Internet sources, specialized literature, testimonials (Pratic-Export, Pôle-emploi cards, Wikipedia, Onisep, CNRTL, Umep à la Page…)

As the name suggests, Customs clearance agents are in charge of the Customs clearance of goods (import and export). They act as intermediaries between the client’s transit and accounting departments and Customs authorities.

They must be authorized by French Customs (mandate).

They state the amount of duties and taxes and forward all required information about the goods to Customs authorities. They check the regulatory compliance of the documents provided by the client, sign the file once processed and forward it to the Customs authorities.

In some cases, especially when Customs require it, agents control goods themselves.

Customs clearance agents hold a bachelor degree with a transport and logistics specialization at a minimum and shall prove thorough, organized and show determination and diplomacy. They shall also be able to handle stress well. A very good command of a foreign language, English most of the time, is mandatory. Customs clearance agents shall know  Customs regulations and transit techniques (import and export) perfectly well.

Source: multiple Internet sources, specialized literature, testimonials (Pratic-Export, Pôle-emploi cards, Wikipedia, Onisep, CNRTL, Umep à la Page…)

The duty of import/export employees is to import and export goods on behalf of a client, to comply with contracts agreed, regulations and processes in force.

Depending on the type of goods entrusted by the client they must search and select the different service providers involved, on their own or in collaboration with a sales department.

They must keep up to date with the progress of the transport, provide information to the chain stakeholders and issue invoices. These employees, generally holding a bachelor degree in transport, transport and logistics or International business, must show good interpersonal and organizational skills, thoroughness and readiness. They must master computer technologies.

They may work for shipowners, maritime agents, freight forwarders or logistics providers.

Source: multiple Internet sources, specialized literature, testimonials (Pratic-Export, Pôle-emploi cards, Wikipedia, Onisep, CNRTL, Umep à la Page…)