by Przemysław Myszka
I hope you had a proper summer break, perchance as a ferry or cruise traveller in our beautiful Baltic Sea region. In its southern parts, the weather was rather summer-ish; but like many things in life, it depends on your liking - of the particular temperature indications, how strongly the wind teases your tangles, or how frequently rain ruins your coiffure altogether. While my Mum would label the summer of 2025 as 'nightmarishly autumn,' I more than enjoyed the long forest treks without the sun boiling my doggies (and my brain, for that matter). And that's also the case with transport & logistics: circumstances alter cases.
As a case in point, you'll find in this issue, in the Venture forth column, an apt quote from Wasaline's boss, who stressed that one could either yell one's guts out against the eco-regulations or break one's own ceiling to capitalise on the change. Another bit, this from What's in the Cabinet, shares laments about the latest IMO deal that, according to the organisations mentioned in the news, will fall short of decarbonising the shipping industry. The voices continue that the EU should further push its green agenda to encourage other corners of the world to up their ante. In contrast, other opinions praise the IMO and keelhaul the EU for championing regional regulations. And so on, and so forth.
Amid such uncertainties, we're doing our best to leave no stone unturned in shining a veritable rainbow of perspectives on a given topic. Take, for instance, sustainability. This issue tackles it from the point of view of energy independence (with sludge as your unexpected hero here), next-level ship supply, and onshore power supply (OPS) that goes beyond cold ironing.
The 3-4 edition looks at performance through the lens of buying a new grab for dry bulk handling, digital tools, and perseverance after a business start that was a far cry from hitting the jackpot.
Technology includes another OPS read, this one focusing on its flexibility if the EU and its seaports really want to energise their quay game, so to speak; how machine learning can crunch data on, among other things, vessel-type performance (plus whether you should buy a certain ship now or maybe postpone the purchase); and why and how storage is one of the key ingredients in 'baking' hydrogen a marine fuel of the future.
Speaking of data - the Logistics section goes detailedly into the (still) persisting gap between what terminals think they deliver and what shippers think they get. The column also hosts an article that underpins the notion that hardly anything beats experience, especially with handling project cargo.
In this context, nothing bests reading a journal that has your back when it comes to all things transport & logistics!
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