DEAR FRIENDS,
I am writing to you on the important occasion of the Containerisation International Awards Ceremony to share some background on World Food Programme’s humanitarian shipping operations.
WFP’s Ocean Transportation Service, part of the logistics division, is charged with the cost-efficient and effective delivery of humanitarian assistance to populations in need. Occupying a pivotal role in the organisation, the service bridges the upstream (planning and sourcing) and downstream (logistics delivery) of our supply chain.
Our unique position and direct links to industry allow insight and analysis of latest trends and developments in the shipping market, and our dedicated shipping service optimises lead times, provides agility and reliability to our country offices, and reduces risks to the WFP.
About half of WFP’s food is transported by sea during its journey to final destination. In 2014, this represented nearly 2m tonnes, of which 53% was shipped by WFP-chartered vessels and 47% on liner vessels (reaching 45,000 teu). A significant number of shipments were also organised to transport urgently-needed non-food items.
A team of Rome-based experts with industry experience carry out careful planning, contracting and co-ordination of each shipment to ensure appropriate, often innovative ocean transportation solutions. Counting on our BIMCO-approved WorldFood99 Charter Party and close co-operation with the major shipping lines, WFP has the capacity to divert lifesaving cargoes at short notice, and our shipping experts are immediately deployed when and where required to augment our emergency response.
With well over 40 shipping lines used annually, WFP greatly values the strong partnership and collaboration with the carriers. Through your support and with the provision of reliable, predictable and quality shipping services, including the prioritisation of WFP cargo, you directly contribute to WFP’s global efforts to provide critical assistance when and where it is needed, be it during sudden emergencies when time saves lives or during recovery periods when families and communities aspire to rebuild their lives and recover their livelihoods.
WFP trade lanes are usually far from the main routes and are considered niche markets, often to small feeder ports, and often include passage through perilous waters, such as off the coast of Somalia, where special arrangements have been made with naval forces to provide additional protection to WFP humanitarian shipments under EU mandate.
During 2014, the WFP responded to multiple major, corporate level emergencies, such as the Philippines, South Sudan, Syria and Ebola, each with its own complex shipping requirements.
In the Syria emergency, with land corridors into the conflict-torn country being virtually locked, most of the WFP-purchased food had to be shipped by sea. Early on, we established an agile response strategy that included the use of the few container lines left serving the Syrian ports supported by WFP-chartered vessels both contracted under time charter, consecutive voyage and/or spot charter arrangements.
This complementary strategy allowed us to quickly shift between break bulk and containers and in response to increases/reductions in shipping capacity as required, depending on the programme requirements pipeline and operational situation at the receiving ends. With nearly 10,000 containers — equivalent to 225,000 tonnes — shipped into Syrian ports, as well as Beirut in Lebanon, it was vital to ensure continued vessel space and container equipment availability, while also aiming for best possible freight rates.
To achieve this, in tandem with supply contracts, partnerships were established with six container carriers, leading to competitive freights while also ensuring continued container availability in line with cargo readiness and project demand.
WFP, on its part, ensured detailed tracking of containers and, with its logistics teams on the ground, good turnaround of container equipment to minimise delays and additional cost to the carriers, despite the operational challenges and volatile situation inside the country.
Combined with the charter volume of 185,000 tonnes, in 2014, WFP shipped well over 400,000 tonnes by sea into Syria and Lebanon, or an average of nearly 34,000 tonnes a month, through these win-win commercial partnerships between WFP, shipping lines and vessel owners.
A similarly agile approach was adopted for the Ebola emergency response, where land borders in the affected countries were virtually closed. Given the sudden port restrictions occurring with a domino effect across the West African region, the exceptional sanitation measures imposed by national authorities, and the uncertainties on how the Ebola crisis could further disrupt vital supply lines, WFP contracted under time charter the 2008-built general cargo vessel Falkenberg for three months to augment liner capacity and have a flexible asset in place directly controlled by WFP.
Part of our commitment to the owners and crew was to put in place adequate sanitation measures while in port during operations — beyond the health and sanitation protocols established by each port authority. Our solution was to bundle all cargo into jumbo big bags, thus reducing the need for local stevedores having to board the vessel.
The vessel successfully delivered some 13,000 tonnes of mixed food commodities into the Ebola-affected region loaded from Cotonou, Dakar and Las Palmas, and 7,000 tonnes of bulk sorghum was shipped in the interim from Las Palmas into Douala for Chad, while well over 30,000 tonnes of WFP food assistance continued to be delivered through the regular container lines.
Throughout the crisis the WHO, UN relief agencies and the IMO have called upon the international shipping community not to suspend their service to the three most affected countries, as that would have aggravated the humanitarian crisis even further.
Despite the operational challenges and occasional re-routing of vessels, the international shipping community met its responsibility and has continued providing vital shipping services, both for relief and commercial goods, to the affected countries.
On the occasion of the Containerisation International Awards Ceremony, our team would like to thank all members of the liner industry for your commitment and engagement.
We look forward to continued collaboration during 2015 and beyond.
Sincerely,
Judith Anne Thimke
Chief, Ocean Transportation Service
World Food Programme
Rome, Italy
[email protected]
