DACHSER adding new route for its charter service to cover America

COVID-19 update: Impact on DACHSER’s operations in India

Due to the outbreak of second wave of Coronavirus, we would like to give you an update about the impact on DACHSER’s operations in India. The situation as of today, April 28, 2021, is as follow:

DACHSER branches in India

• Most branch offices across India are being kept closed as a precautionary measure due to the sudden rise of COVID cases. Our teams are working from home, with only skeletal staff at the offices and hence there are likely to be delays in responses due to the ongoing crisis.
• As a consequence of the lockdown, there are some operational impacts for air, sea, customs clearance and domestic trucking.

Air freight

• Most countries have barred passenger traffic from India leading to no passenger carrying flights operating on International routes from/to India.
• This has created some additional constraint on already stressed space availability situation.
• Rates are bound to inch upwards for all sectors.
• Transit times too have increased as a consequence of capacity crunch.

Sea freight

• Sea freight was already facing the challenges due to the Suez Canal blockage end of March.
• Ports and terminals are functioning normally, but vessel schedules are impacted on account of the Suez Canal blockage as well as the sudden rise of COVID cases in India.
• Delays, roll overs are expected. Customers are advised to factor in delays of 1-2 weeks while planning their inventories.
• Expect more delays in communication or operations due to increasing COVID infections among staff at ports, customs, CFS and shipping lines.

Customs

• We do not have any unexpected disruptions in cargo movement in India, nor is any work stoppage expected at present.
• Customs clearance activities are functional at the movement.
• Customs is working with less manpower, no Customs Brokers is allowed to meet the customs officials, all processes is done faceless and things are moving in slow phase.

At DACHSER, we have undertaken significant measures to ensure our employees’ health and safety, at the same time continue to manage our day-to-day operations with minimal impact to our customers’ supply chains. Our teams are working diligently by all possible means in these testing times to assist and to overcome the challenges being faced.

Please rest assured that we will keep you updated of any changes to the current situation. hould you have any concerns and/or queries, please feel free to contact your local DACHSER representative in the region.

DACHSER Singapore attains STP certification and upgrades bonded warehouse license

DACHSER Singapore has recently achieved certification under the Secure Trade Partnership (STP) by Singapore Customs, reinforcing its commitment to excellence in supply chain security and compliance. The company will also offer additional enhancement to customers with Licensed Warehouse Schedule Type II.

A crane for Southeast Asia

DACHSER Air & Sea Logistics aided efforts to repair a crane in Indonesia by organizing the tour of a steel jib from Düsseldorf to Jakarta. Measuring 23 meters in length and 3.6 meters in width, the jib spent most of its 55-day trip on board a ship.

IMO 2020 and its impact on sea freight transportation

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is taking initiatives to promote sustainability and reduce harmful sulphur gases emissions. While the new regulation to reduced maximum sulphur content (currently 3.5%) to 0.5% will be fully enforced on January 1, 2020, it is expected that the adjustment on bunker surcharge will come into effect already at the last quarter of 2019.

• Impact on shippers

With the new regulations to be fully enforced on January 1, 2020, carriers are getting prepared during the course of the year with some options available:

1. Switch to low-sulphur fuel
2. Use Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems which commonly known as a “scrubber” to clean up the sulphur oxide emitted from the vessel’s engine.
3. Change the fleet to Liquefied Natural Gas Ships that are powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). LNG is considered as a cleaner fuel with less emission of greenhouse gases including sulphur oxide.

To ensure a smooth transition, carriers have to implement the above changes before January 1, 2020. Due to the investment in clean energy and cleaning systems, there will be an adjustment to the bunker surcharge formula which is expected to be effective from the last quarter of 2019.

• What is IMO 2020?

IMO is proactively taking steps to reduce marine pollution and minimize the vessels’ impact on global warming. Currently, most of the cargo ships use heavy fuel oil which is derived from crude oil and contains sulphur oxide. The gases can cause acid rain and trigger respiratory diseases. Therefore, the tolerant of sulphur oxide emissions has been tightened progressively throughout the past decade.

Also known as “IMO 2020 fuel sulphur regulation”, IMO 2020 is an initiative from the IMO which aims to reduce sulphur oxide emissions from ships.

By the deadline of January 1, 2020, all carriers will have to comply with the new regulation, which imposes a 0.5% global sulphur cap on fuel content and replaces the current limit of 3.5%.

If you have any questions regarding this topic, please feel free to reach out to your local DACHSER representative.