Red Sea Attacks – Maersk/BP Pausing Shipments

There have recently been many stories in the media about shipping firms pausing Red Sea journeys over attacks. For example, the Danish shipping company Maersk has said it is pausing all journeys through the Red Sea. The decision comes after a spate of attacks on vessels launched from a part of Yemen controlled by the Houthis – an Iran-backed rebel movement.

Additionally, BP has paused all Red Sea shipments after rebel attacks, and there are fears of higher oil prices after Red Sea attacks are predicted and the effect on global trade.

In response to this story and these developments, Captain Steve Bomgardner, VP Commercial Markets, Pole Star Global, comments:

“The cost of shipping raw materials or finished products via maritime routes might be affected by decisions made months or years earlier, such as long-term contracts, fuel pricing agreements, or investments in shipping infrastructure. The maritime industry often operates on extended timelines due to the nature of shipping contracts and the time it takes for vessels to move across oceans. Therefore, pricing dynamics in the maritime sector may not always align with immediate events but could be linked to earlier decisions and circumstances.”

Captain Steve Bomgardner (pictured) is a seasoned industry leader with a diverse 20-year background in the maritime industry and green-technology space. Prior to Pole Star he led global commercial development for SailPlan, a maritime green-tech start-up; where he shaped the company’s go-to-market strategy and sales efforts. Captain Bomgardner also serves as a dedicated member of the Board of Directors for Eyesea, a non-profit organization at the forefront of mapping global maritime pollution and debris.

Before SailPlan, Captain Bombgardner held influential positions with two renowned ship registries, the Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA) and the Liberia International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR). During his tenure, he took charge of operations in the Americas and played a pivotal role in establishing and overseeing a new Offshore and LNG division at LISCR. Before venturing into ship registries, Captain Bomgardner devoted the initial 15 years of his career to managing operations in the demanding Offshore Drilling Industry. His expertise was honed aboard some of the industry’s most technologically advanced vessels. Captain Bomgardner holds an MBA from Georgetown University, and a BS degree from Texas A&M University.

Logistics with Heart: Charity Initiatives

The international transport and logistics provider cargo-partner has made significant contributions to various charity projects throughout the past year, reflecting its commitment to social responsibility and community engagement.

Most recently, the Austrian team worked with the Mary’s Meals initiative to transport 3,825 backpacks filled with school supplies and clothing to Malawi (pictured), fostering education for children in need. In February, when Türkiye was hit by devastating earthquakes, cargo-partner’s local team and corporate management worked side by side to provide strong support for local relief efforts: from sending trucks with much-needed supplies to collecting a total of 200,000 € in donations.

The Slovakian team supported the “Koľko lásky” (How much love) project, which collects Christmas gifts for senior citizens. For the past few years, cargo-partner has provided the organization with free warehousing at the iLogistics Center Bratislava and contributed 4,000 € in donations as well as gift boxes prepared by employees. The Manchester office in the UK raised 300 £ for Macmillan Cancer Support through their annual coffee morning to help individuals affected by cancer, while in Ireland, cargo-partner donated 1,000 € to Focus Ireland, an organization that supports homeless people, and also helped raise donations at its anniversary dinner.

In Bulgaria, the company supported the Council of Refugee Women by facilitating the transport and storage of winter clothing and shoes donated by UNICEF. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, cargo-partner transported T-shirts for the humanitarian race organized by “Srce za Djecu” (A heart for children), with some colleagues buying T-shirts and participating in the race.

The company also donated New Year’s gifts for children in cooperation with “Ruku na Srce” (Hand on heart). And cargo-partner Serbia joined forces with the Sport for All association to facilitate the opening of an eco-recreational summer camp at Lake Perućac, promoting environmental protection and a healthy lifestyle for young people.

In addition, cargo-partner’s headquarters will support the association “Die Nachbarinnen” (the neighbours) with a donation of 30,000 euro in January 2024. This association empowers migrant women to cope with challenging situations and improve their integration into society. The employees, themselves migrant women, act as companions and offer their support. In Austria, members of this association also produced laptop bags and pencil cases from truck tarpaulins that were used as give-aways at transport logistic in Munich.

cargo-partner has been supporting the daycare centre and kindergarten for Roma and Sinti children at the Orechov Dvor settlement in Nitra, Slovakia in cooperation with Jugend Eine Welt since 2014. In 2023, cargo-partner contributed 25,000 euro to the Roma project.

Asia: acts of kindness across borders

Across Asia cargo-partner teams demonstrated their dedication to social responsibility through a variety of initiatives. In Singapore, employees volunteered at the Willing Hearts soup kitchen, waking up early to cook hot meals for marginalized citizens. cargo-partner Myanmar cooperated with Apex International Inc. in Japan to facilitate a donation of furniture, clothing, bags and books to Agape Children’s Home in war-torn Myanmar. cargo-partner Malaysia participated in a recycling initiative with Lovely Disabled Home, collecting 150 kg of recyclable materials to help provide employment opportunities for physically and mentally challenged individuals.

cargo-partner Korea also found innovative ways to combine team building with a good cause. In May, the team went on a “plogging” trip, a combination of jogging and litter picking, to promote physical fitness while contributing to a cleaner environment. In September, the team organized a pre-owned item exchange at the office, combined with donations in kind to a local charity. The cargo-partner team in Thailand initiated a project to transform discarded plastic into valuable resources, including monk’s robes and hospital pillows. Finally, cargo-partner’s Xiamen office in China organized a beach clean-up to help combat marine pollution.

USA: lifting spirits and raising awareness In the USA

cargo-partner showcased its commitment to making a positive impact in local communities. The Chicago office welcomed the Matsiko World Orphan Choir, contributing to its mission of uplifting vulnerable children through the unifying power of music while raising awareness of child poverty. Meanwhile, the New York team partnered with the River Fund charity, donating clothes and books to support poverty alleviation initiatives in the heart of the city.

cargo-partner’s Founder and CEO Stefan Krauter said: “I am proud to see the diverse and creative community initiatives undertaken by our teams around the world. These projects reflect our commitment to social responsibility and embody our core value, ‘we take it personally,’ which inspires our teams to give their best every day. Our commitment is not just about transporting goods, it’s about delivering hope and building a better future.”

Distance Sensor Sets Precision Standard

With the launch of its next-generation DT80 distance sensor, SICK claims to have revised the standard for measurement precision in materials handling, warehousing and logistics with a compact and robust device. Equipped with high-performance time-of-flight measurement technology, the SICK DT80 1D laser distance sensor achieves unparalleled accuracy of +/- 2 mm with a resolution of 0.1 mm at ranges up to 80 metres.

The SICK DT80 laser distance sensor uses a class 2 eye-safe laser to detect, measure and position on natural targets with no reflector. SICK has developed the DT80 with simple commissioning and versatile integration in mind, fitting even the tightest of spaces in both mobile and stationary machinery. With a robust metal housing, the DT80 delivers resilient performance despite challenging environmental conditions, such as mechanical vibrations, strong ambient light or extreme temperatures.

The outstanding precision and range of the SICK DT80 offer broad scope for both stationary and mobile machines, both indoors and outdoors. Typical applications in materials handling, warehousing and logistics include height detection of forklifts in automated transport vehicles, positioning of cranes and gantries.

‘Raising the Bar’ in Distance Sensing

“SICK’s development programme for the DT80 laser distance sensor has perfected our time-of-flight measurement technology and raised the bar in this class of mid- to long-range distance sensing,” explains Nick Hartley, SICK’s UK market product manager for distance measurement. “Achieving the best possible precision and repeatability is a constant challenge for many industrial measuring and positioning tasks.

“When engineers can trust the DT80’s repeatable performance, their mobile transport vehicles can operate without interruption and the need for adjustments. Accurate measurement is equally critical in diverse machine operations to ensure product and process quality. Ensuring minimal deviations reduces rejects, saves waste and reduces scrap.”

Simple Set-Up and Commissioning

The DT80 will accurately detect an object that has up to 90% remission at a distance of 80 metres. For objects with extremely dark surfaces and only 6% remission, it still achieves an impressive range of 14 metres. The SICK DT80 can be configured in a variety of combinations of distance and remission, helping to streamline inventories and make servicing more efficient. Setting up the DT80 is quick and easy using the icon-supported colour display. Four on-sensor LEDs also show the sensor’s current status and settings. Alternatively, the DT80 can be configured using HTML-based SOPAS engineering tool or using IO-Link.

Industry 4.0 IO-Link Connectivity

As well as enabling easy configuration, the DT80’s IO-Link connectivity enables data to be transferred and exchanged between sensors, actuators and OT control systems. Using an IO-Link-Master with OPC UA, data from the DT80 can be exported into on-premise and cloud-based analytics and remote diagnostics software, e.g. for condition monitoring.

At only 65 mm x 33 mm x 57 mm (HxWxD), the SICK DT80 is one of the most compact laser distance sensors on the market. Its cast zinc housing, durable PMMA sensor window, IP65 and IP67 protection and high shock and vibration resistance, ensure it operates reliably under the harshest industrial and environmental conditions. Since its housing and connectivity concept mirror SICK’s other DT distance sensors, users can easily upgrade to the SICK DT80 to take advantage of its greater precision and range.

Distance Sensor Sets Precision Standard

With the launch of its next-generation DT80 distance sensor, SICK claims to have revised the standard for measurement precision in materials handling, warehousing and logistics with a compact and robust device. Equipped with high-performance time-of-flight measurement technology, the SICK DT80 1D laser distance sensor achieves unparalleled accuracy of +/- 2 mm with a resolution of 0.1 mm at ranges up to 80 metres.

The SICK DT80 laser distance sensor uses a class 2 eye-safe laser to detect, measure and position on natural targets with no reflector. SICK has developed the DT80 with simple commissioning and versatile integration in mind, fitting even the tightest of spaces in both mobile and stationary machinery. With a robust metal housing, the DT80 delivers resilient performance despite challenging environmental conditions, such as mechanical vibrations, strong ambient light or extreme temperatures.

The outstanding precision and range of the SICK DT80 offer broad scope for both stationary and mobile machines, both indoors and outdoors. Typical applications in materials handling, warehousing and logistics include height detection of forklifts in automated transport vehicles, positioning of cranes and gantries.

‘Raising the Bar’ in Distance Sensing

“SICK’s development programme for the DT80 laser distance sensor has perfected our time-of-flight measurement technology and raised the bar in this class of mid- to long-range distance sensing,” explains Nick Hartley, SICK’s UK market product manager for distance measurement. “Achieving the best possible precision and repeatability is a constant challenge for many industrial measuring and positioning tasks.

“When engineers can trust the DT80’s repeatable performance, their mobile transport vehicles can operate without interruption and the need for adjustments. Accurate measurement is equally critical in diverse machine operations to ensure product and process quality. Ensuring minimal deviations reduces rejects, saves waste and reduces scrap.”

Simple Set-Up and Commissioning

The DT80 will accurately detect an object that has up to 90% remission at a distance of 80 metres. For objects with extremely dark surfaces and only 6% remission, it still achieves an impressive range of 14 metres. The SICK DT80 can be configured in a variety of combinations of distance and remission, helping to streamline inventories and make servicing more efficient. Setting up the DT80 is quick and easy using the icon-supported colour display. Four on-sensor LEDs also show the sensor’s current status and settings. Alternatively, the DT80 can be configured using HTML-based SOPAS engineering tool or using IO-Link.

Industry 4.0 IO-Link Connectivity

As well as enabling easy configuration, the DT80’s IO-Link connectivity enables data to be transferred and exchanged between sensors, actuators and OT control systems. Using an IO-Link-Master with OPC UA, data from the DT80 can be exported into on-premise and cloud-based analytics and remote diagnostics software, e.g. for condition monitoring.

At only 65 mm x 33 mm x 57 mm (HxWxD), the SICK DT80 is one of the most compact laser distance sensors on the market. Its cast zinc housing, durable PMMA sensor window, IP65 and IP67 protection and high shock and vibration resistance, ensure it operates reliably under the harshest industrial and environmental conditions. Since its housing and connectivity concept mirror SICK’s other DT distance sensors, users can easily upgrade to the SICK DT80 to take advantage of its greater precision and range.

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