Tank & ISO Containers
January/February 2018
B ULK D ISTRIBUTOR
7
ITCO meeting hears merger progress
O
ver 150 delegates attended the ITCO
Members Meeting, held in Amsterdam
on 16-17 October 2017.
This was the last ITCO meeting before the
organisation completes the merger with the Asian
Tank Container Organisation (@tco) effective from
the start of 2018.
ITCO President Reg Lee reported on progress
with the merger. He confirmed that @TCO
members had been invited to transfer their
membership to ITCO, as from 1 January 2018.
The accounts of @TCO were to be closed at the
end of 2017, but @TCO Ltd will be maintained as
a dormant company, with Reg Lee as the sole
director. A new website for the two merged
organisations will be developed.
One of the most successful initiatives undertaken
by @TCO is the Depot Audit Scheme. In this
regard, Graham Wood has agreed to continue to
administer the audit process until 31 December
2018.
There were three keynote presentations. Dr
Thorsten Bieker, vice president Rail & Site Services
at BASF, focused on the global
chemicals company’s use of tank
containers for its integrated storage
and logistics.
Later, Mark Bennett, director of
Bennett Consulting, gave an overview
of container shipping looking at the
implications of mergers and alliances
for carriers, ports and shippers. He
also reviewed the current changes in
the container shipping industry, the
The Tank Container Village at transport logistic was very busy with a total of 56 exhibition
stands
impact of Hanjin bankruptcy, before
examining the impact on the tank
container industry.
2017 and gave an update on the programme for
Arie den Bleker, from Inland Transport, Rail and
the next 12 months. Current membership stands
Road Transport, Enforcement/Dangerous Goods, at 171 from 30 countries and it is fair to say that
the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and the
ITCO is a global organisation with members on
Environment, gave a report on the tank container
five continents.
inspection programme in the Port of Rotterdam.
He reported that at the board meeting the
He reviewed the developments over the past year,
previous day it was agreed to merge the Tank
covered the marking of IMO tanks and the
Service Providers and the Inspection/Surveying
different ways of enforcement by the ILT.
Divisions effective from 1 January 2018.
ITCO secretary Patrick Hicks reviewed activities in
Among ITCO’s accomplishments during the year
Continued from page 6
discharging. The intermodality encapsulated in the tank container’s
design means it provides a more flexible solution for end
customers who do not need large scale volumes of gas.
By next year, China is projected to become the world’s second
largest LNG importer. The Chinese government is stepping up its
efforts in combatting air pollution and LNG imports have more
than tripled in the past six years.
The country is in the midst of an ambitious effort to convert
millions of homes to natural gas heaters this winter and increase
the industrial use of natural gas. However, with limited reserves of
its own, the country is turning to producers with abundant
resources, including Canada, to deliver natural gas.
“Our Government is pleased to see this pilot project launch its
first shipment of LNG to China,” said Michelle Mungall, minister of
energy, mines and petroleum resources. “The opportunities for
good jobs as we reduce carbon emissions in the transition to
cleaner fuels is just getting started.”
FortisBC has been liquefying natural gas at Tilbury since 1971,
when the facility opened to supplement Lower Mainland supply
during the coldest winter days. More recently, natural gas is
supplied to remote communities and heavy duty vehicle fleets.
Through its marine bunkering process, FortisBC can also transport
LNG to fuel vessels along Canada’s West Coast.
Next-gen Den
Hartogh
containers
T
he first of Den Hartogh’s next generation 30ft dry bulk
containers is now in daily service.
Manufactured in the UK for the European Market, the containers
incorporate new designs, enabling high yield strength, without
losing vision for high capacity.
Some 500 containers have been put into service and a further
fleet expansion programme will follow this year.
Den Hartogh Trucking recently received the Ecostars certificate for
sustainable transport and was even awarded the maximum five
gold stars. To receive this certificate the company was audited, the
summary in the audit report stating: “it is clear that Den Hartogh
Trucking focuses on clean transport and is aware of the influence it
has on a cleaner living environment in the Rotterdam region”.
The audit addressed, among other things, fleet composition (100
percent 5 stars), fuel management, developing driving skills, vehicle
selection and preventive maintenance, and support systems.
WWW.BLUEPACK.DK
was the publication of the fifth Tank Container
Fleet Survey in May 2017. In addition, the
‘E-Learning: Modules 1,2,3 & 4 were launched in
January 2017, and a review process is being
undertaken based on feedback.
ITCO also released an updated ACC document
– launched in July. Although currently in English, a
Chinese language version is being prepared.
As 2017 saw the biennial transport logistic
exhibition in Munich, the Tank Container Village
was very busy with a total of 56 exhibition stands.
In 2018,
ITCO is preparing to host another village at
transport logistic China, which takes place in
Shanghai on 16-18 May. Nineteen stands had
been reserved by the time of the annual meeting
leaving nine still available.
Meanwhile, in addition to the 2018 members
meeting scheduled for September/October, a
regional meeting is planned for Singapore, with a
provisional date of 14 November.
Finally, the membership fee was reduced in 2017
from €2,100 to €1,900.