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Binh Duong Customs: Promote the efficiency of container scanning machine
Binh Duong Customs Department has held an opening ceremony of the Customs Clearance Area which was equipped with a container scanning machine at Newport ICD – Song Than under the management of Song Than Customs Branch. This was the second area equipping container scanning machine of Binh Duong Customs Department to reduce time spent on physical inspections for enterprises.
Binh Duong Customs Department said that, currently, all enterprises in the area have applied customs declaration via VACCSM and National Single Window (VNASSC/VCIS). Accordingly, the payment of tax, fees and charges and dossiers via online, banking and scanning goods via container scanning machine is a key mission of the unit implementing customs reform and customs modernisation.
From March 2013, the mobile container scanning machine equipped by General Department and has operated at the Customs Branch Managing Cargo Outside Industrial Park. The scanning cargo via container scanning machine at the unit has guaranteed the efficiency of quick clearance, reducing time, cost and goods’ safety of the enterprises. The average scanning time is 3-5 minutes per container, if adding the time for input data to the system, the stage of cargo physical inspection via scanner will be about 10-15 minutes per declaration. The application of inspection cargo via scanner has brought many benefits for import-export activities, especially for enterprises that have a large volume of import-export goods.
From the early months of 2019 till now, Customs Branch Managing Cargo Outside Industrial Park has scanned 1,978 declarations of 2,772 containers. Violations detected via scanning amounted to 23 cases with a total amount of fines more than 160 million VND and the amount of tax compliance was over 503 million VND. The infringing goods mainly had incorrect declarations of goods names, HS codes which cause a lack of payable tax amounts, and incorrect declared quantity compared to the actual amount of goods subject to tax exemption. The unit has seized two cases of violation of unsatisfactory import quality.
Continuing with the efficiency model of centralised cargo inspection equipping container scanning machine to reducing time of physical inspection for enterprises, at the end of November 2018, Binh Duong Customs also received one more mobile container scanning machine. Manager of Song Than Customs Branch Huynh Van Ut said that, from March 25, the Customs Clearance Area equipped container scanning machine at ICD Newport – Song Than under the management of the Branch has been put into operation.
So far, the unit has carried out cargo inspection through the screening for 680 declarations belonging to 830 containers. The number of violations detected by screening is one. Combined with the container scanning machine being operated at the Customs Branch Managing Cargo Outside Industrial Park, this new container scanner would ensure all import and export containers would be scanned through Binh Duong Customs.
Clearance at berth - Save time and costs
Import goods do not need to be unloaded, customs clearing procedures can be completed immediately the vessels arrive in Cat Lai port, Ho Chi Minh City. This is a breakthrough of HCMC Customs Department in simplifying procedures and cutting clearance time to promote the theme "Customs procedures in logistics and anti-cargo congestion at Cat Lai terminal".
HCMC Customs Department cooperate with Saigon New Port Corporation to deploy this project from the beginning of 2019. The enterprises involved in this project must be reputable enterprises which abide by customs law and the imported goods are not subject to specialized inspection. The implementation of customs procedures must go through customs agents and the enterprises must use Saigon New Port Corporation vehicle services.
The goods will be immediately transported to the warehouse after docking because they have been declared 15 days earlier by the enterprise. For goods subject to actual inspection, they will also be transported directly through the scanner area. If there is nothing suspicious it will be cleared. In the case of doubt, it will be moved to the central inspection area.
HCMC Customs Department and Saigon New Port Corporation have commitments of enterprises in this project. Accordingly, Saigon New Port Corporation will reduce customer expenses by 5-10% if using logistics services of Saigon New Port. The Customs agency will also ensure the most favorable conditions for import and export activities of enterprises, which ensures the channel classification and fastest possible customs clearance.
Following the direction of the Deputy Minister, Deputy General Director Hoang Viet Cuong asked General Department of Customs’ units to consider this as a pilot project of the whole sector, focusing on effective implementation to expand nationwide and shorten the time for customs clearance.
ZIM Eyes 50 Pct Cut in Average CO2 Emissions by 2025
Israel-based liner company Zim Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) has released its first annual sustainability report, devoting special attention to steps aimed at minimizing the company’s carbon footprint. ZIM provided a detailed account of the company’s ongoing sustainability activities and achievements.
The report covers ongoing efforts relating to corporate governance and business ethics, including anti-trust and anti-bribery, as well as corporate social responsibility.
Additionally, the company detailed its steps aimed at minimizing the carbon footprint through reduced emissions, both at sea and ashore.
Speaking about its targets for reduction of emissions, ZIM said that it aims to improve the fleet’s average environmental CO2 and SOx emissions per TEU container unit (gCO2/TEU-km) every year by 2%, reduce emissions by at least an additional 18% between 2019 and 2025, and achieve a 50% reduction in its fleet’s Average CO2 Emission Factor by 2025.
ZIM said that its fleet complies with all mandatory standards and abides by all relevant treaties for the prevention of marine pollution, including IMO resolutions, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) code, flag administration, ballast water management, the Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (SOPEP) regarding oil spills, and other standards regarding sewage, garbage and air pollution, as well as all national, regional and local regulations.
“ZIM has made it a top priority to strengthen its enduring commitment to the highest standards of sustainability and business ethics across all aspects of operation,” Eli Glickman, ZIM President & CEO, said.
“Over recent years we have implemented new modes of operation, work procedures, training and guidelines to enhance sustainability and to uphold our Code of Ethics,” Glickman concluded.
Maersk investing in Traxens
Maersk joins CMA CGM and MSC as an investor in the manufacturer of “smart container” technology.
Traxens, a company that provides equipment so that containers can be tracked, said that A.P. Møller – Maersk will join CMA CGM and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company as a key shareholder and customer.
CMA CGM first invested in the startup in 2012, the year it was founded, and was later joined in 2016 by MSC.
Traxens said Maersk will invest capital in Traxens and have similar shareholder rights as CMA CGM and MSC. Maersk also has committed to order up to 50,000 Traxens devices, a similar order to those placed earlier by CMA CGM and MSC.
Traxens said in a press release that it “can now further focus on strengthening its solution and drive interoperability based on nonproprietary technologies and open standards. The development of Traxens as an open industry solution will benefit the strategic ambition of digitizing the container shipping industry.”
The location of Traxens-equipped containers can be tracked, and the company’s devices can transmit information about temperature, humidity level, shocks, vibrations and when the door of the containers have been opened and closed.
Maersk Invests in Its First Portuguese Startup
Shipping major Maersk has decided to invest in the technologic startup Huub, marking the first ever investment made by the Danish multinational company in a Portuguese startup.
Huub, that defines itself as a “360º brand accelerator”, announced the raise of the new investment round carried out by Maersk’s Corporate Venture unit Maersk Growth.
With this new round, the startup closes its early-stage investment cycle with a total of EUR 4.35 million, the biggest funding ever to be registered in Portugal. This represents more than the double average seed on the USA and surpasses the European average by four times, according to the company.
This recent capital will allow Huub to follow its strategic plan, that includes tripling the current number of brands, expanding European logistics operations and improving effectiveness and competitiveness, before the next investment round.
Through its integrated logistics platform, Huub manages end-to-end interactions from suppliers to final customers on both B2B and direct to consumer in over 125 markets.
HUUB foresees closing the year of 2019 with a revenue of EUR 3.5 million, which represents a growth of around 200% when comparing to the previous year.
CMA CGM, MSC to Become Members of TradeLens Blockchain Platform
Container shipping giants CMA CGM and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) unveiled their decision to join TradeLens, a blockchain-enabled digital shipping platform, jointly developed by A.P. Moller – Maersk and IBM.
With CMA CGM, MSC, Maersk, and other carriers committed to the platform, data for nearly half of the world’s ocean container cargo will be available on TradeLens.
As explained, the addition of the two carriers will provide a significant boost to the TradeLens vision of greater trust, transparency, and collaboration across supply chains to help promote global trade. The companies will promote TradeLens and create complementary services on top of the platform for their clients.
“Digitization is a cornerstone of the CMA CGM Group’s strategy to provide an end-to-end offer tailored to our customers’ needs. We believe that TradeLens, with its commitment to open standards and open governance, is a key platform to help usher in this digital transformation, ‘TradeLens’ network is already showing that participants from across the supply chain ecosystem can derive significant value” Rajesh Krishnamurthy, Executive Vice President, IT & Transformations, CMA CGM Group, commented.
“Digital collaboration is a key to the evolution of the container shipping industry. The TradeLens platform has enormous potential to spur the industry to digitize the supply chain and build collaboration around common standards, We think that the TradeLens Advisory Board, as well as standards bodies such as the Digital Container Shipping Association , will help accelerate that effort” André Simha, Chief Digital & Information Officer, MSC, said.
TradeLens enables participants to connect, share information and collaborate across the shipping supply chain ecosystem. Members gain a comprehensive view of their data and can digitally collaborate as cargo moves around the world, helping create a transparent, secured, immutable record of transactions.
With more than 100 participants on the platform today, TradeLens is already processing over ten million discrete shipping events and thousands of documents each week, providing shippers, carriers, freight forwarders, customs officials, port authorities, inland transportation providers, and others a common view of transactions, which can build trust. A commitment to data ownership rights and permissioned access to data helps ensure privacy and confidentiality while enabling users to collaborate more efficiently with real-time access to shipping data, according to Maersk.
“More than a hundred participants have put their trust in the TradeLens network and are gaining greater transparency and simplicity in the movement of goods. Together we are advancing a shared aim to modernize the world’s trading ecosystems,” Bridget van Kralingen, Senior Vice President, Global Industries, Clients, Platforms & Blockchain, IBM, pointed out.
CMA CGM and MSC will operate a blockchain node, participate in consensus to validate transactions, host data, and assume the critical role of acting as trust anchors, or validators, for the network. The two companies will be on the TradeLens Advisory Board which will include members across the supply chain to advise on standards for neutrality and openness.
CMA CGM outlines adaptations for changing market
French carrier raises cost-saving targets and reports a smaller net loss in the first quarter of 2019.
CMA CGM said that in order to adapt to a changing market it was “taking a new step in its transformation by consolidating its development and implementing an ambitious cost-reduction program.”Among the steps the company outlined in an announcement :
Implementation of a turnaround plan for CEVA Logistics, which it acquired earlier this year. CMA CGM now owns 99.4% of the logistics company and said it was “committed to CEVA’s financial recovery and has already taken major structural decisions paving the way for CEVA’s rapid return to profitability.” Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and chief executive officer of the CMA CGM Group, has been named chairman of the CEVA board of directors; Nicolas Sartini, currently the CEO of APL, will be CEVA’s CEO as of Saturday. A CEVA operations center will be set up in Marseilles, bringing together CEVA’s management teams and support functions for a total of 200 employees.
Intensification of a cost-reduction program. In March the company had said it was seeking to reduce costs by $1.2 billion. On Wednesday it said it had already achieved savings of $245 million and was raising that target to $1.5 billion. It said it expects to meet the goal mainly by streamlining its organization and its maritime routes. The company already has reduced expenses through rationalization of some services, greater operational efficiency, lower logistics costs, new partnerships with suppliers and technical solutions to reduce energy consumption by its fleet.
CMA CGM said it will continue to rationalize its various brands. As of Oct. 1, CMA CGM will be its only brand in the transatlantic, Asia-Europe, Asia-Mediterranean, Asia-Caribbean and Europe-India/Middle East markets. APL will focus on the transpacific, Asia-Indian Subcontinent, intra-Asia (with CNC) and Asia-Oceania markets. APL also will continue to operate its U.S.-flag services. ANL will remain the lead brand for Oceania.
In reporting its first-quarter results, CMA CGM said it had a smaller net loss in the first quarter of 2019 — $43 million — than the $77 million loss it reported in the first quarter of 2018.
The French carrier had a big jump in revenue: $7.41 billion in the first quarter of 2019, 36.9 percent more than the $5.41 billion reported in the first quarter last year. Cargo volumes were 5.16 million TEU in the first quarter, 4.4 percent more than in the first quarter of 2018. Revenue per container increased slightly in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the first quarter of 2018, particularly on the routes serving the United States and Africa.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came to $779 million, of which $423 million corresponds to the impact of IFRS 16 and $144 million to the contribution from CEVA. IFRS 16 is a new lease accounting standard issued by the International Accounting Standards Board that went into effect this year. CMA CGM noted that excluding those two items, the adjusted EBITDA remained broadly stable at $212 million, compared with $217 million for the first quarter of 2018.“Over the quarter as a whole, the rise in costs was contained, in line with revenue growth per TEU. The Group intends to reinforce its cost-reduction program during the coming quarters,” the company said.
Source: World Maritime News, American Shipper, VN Customsnews
