Transport logistics providers in relief aid and operation

The critical role of transport logistics to maintain a smooth and uninterrupted supply line against the backdrop of washed away roads, broken bridges, damaged airport and rail line as relief agencies race against time to get aid supplies to places and victims stricken by the 26 December 2004 Tsunami waves cannot be understated.

 
In this regard, not only have transport logistics services providers quickly come forward to offer their services and facilities free of charge but have themselves chipped in generously in cash and in kinds in the humanitarian relief efforts.

 
In Malaysia, Northport at Port Klang has emerged as a logistics hub as various national and international relief agencies selected the port to consolidate the relief supplies for distribution to affected areas, notably northern Sumatera and Sri Lanka.

 
Northport which has the most extensive network of shipping services than any ports in the country is linked to nine ports in Sumatera with regular shipping services.

 
Last week, RMN frigate, KD Mahawangsa sailed out of Northport, which has set aside cargo consolidation and warehousing space totaling about 50,000 sq ft, laden with more than 500 tonnes of relief supplies for Lhokseumawe Port in Sumatera.

 
Since the relief efforts started, Northport, which has waived all port charges for vessels transporting relief supplies, handled dozens of containers and palletized cargo for Sumatera.

 
Several more containers are expected to be handled over the next few weeks as aid supplies keep pouring into the port from various agencies.

 
In addition to the free use of its facilities, Northport has also contributed RM250, 000 cash, equating a donation of about RM100 per employee to the Malaysia Tsunami Disaster Fund. Northport staff also chipped in with personal donations.

 
The cheque for the amount was handed over to the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak when he was at the port last week to see off KD Mahawansga.

 
Shipping companies have also chipped in to do their part such as the provision of wooden pallets, made possible by Gudang Raya Sdn Bhd, while Saha Group provided manpower and shipping lines, notably Pacific International Lines that provided five shipping containers to transport the goods.

 
Malaysia International Shipping Corporation Bhd, K Line of Japan, Shipping Corporation of India and others also ferried containers from Northport and Westport to Colombo.

 
Elsewhere in the region, Singapore port has also become an international staging point for relief supplies as shipping companies ferry aid supplies.

 
About 30 shipping containers filled with relief supplies have so far left Singapore port for tsunami-struck areas.

 
Like Northport in Malaysia, PSA, the operator of Singapore port, has waived all port handling charges for these containers in support of the relief effort shipping lines are doing their bit by transporting these emergency supplies for free.

 
Singapore-owned American President Line, which is also actively involved in transporting supplies, last week one of its vessels sent eight containers full of relief.

 
More containers are expected to leave Singapore in the coming days.
APL, alone, has another 15 containers waiting to be shipped to the affected areas.

 
Besides shipping lines, some tug and barge companies have also come forward to help especially in river port areas in Indonesia, where the relief workers have difficulty getting to.
Several other shipping groups are also engaged in transporting relief supplies.

 
Singapore-based Keppel Group contributed S$100,000 in aid of Indonesian relief efforts.

 
Keppel companies and subsidiaries are providing a wide range of aid in kind.

 
Keppel Integrated Engineering is working with the Singapore’s Public Utilities Board (PUB) to provide portable water treatment plants to the Maldives and other affected areas to alleviate the fresh water supply crisis.

 
A portable desalination plant designed and built by Keppel Integrated Engineering which can desalinate 240,000 litres of seawater a day has already been sent.

 
Taiwanese- owned Yang Ming Line has offered free shipping for relief goods to Sumatera and Colombo from any port worldwide the line has services.

 
The offer by the Taiwanese line will be for least a one month period from/to the following ports: USA ports-of-call will be New York, Norfolk, VA, Wilmington, NC, Charleston, SC, Savannah, GA, Los Angeles/Long Beach, and Oakland, CA. The ports-of-call in Asia will be Jakarta and Surabaya (Indonesia), Bangkok and Lam Chabang (Thailand), Singapore, Port Kelang and Lame Chabang (Malaysia), and Colombo (Sri Lanka). Yang Ming will extend this free service if need be.

 
A Scottish-based transport group, Stagecoach Group has donated £100,000 to help the international response to the Asian tsunami disaster and also pledged to add to that sum by matching pound-for-pound the fund-raising efforts of its 30,000 employees in the UK, North America and New Zealand.

 
Another UK surface transport operator, FirstGroup, has pledged to donate £65,000 while UK train, bus and coach operator, National Express Group has confirmed that the Group is to donate £40,000 to the DEC.

 
German marine equipment manufacturer, MAN Nutzfahrzeuge has donated €300,000 worth of vehicles for the transport of people and aid supplies within the disaster areas.

 
The two buses and two semi-trailer tractors with complete semi-trailers will be accessed from local subsidiary MAN Truck & Bus in Malaysia.

 
Singapore-owned Temasek Holdings announced that it has set aside US$10 million for relief, recovery and reconstruction support.
Many airlines are also operating special flights, carriers transporting supplies free of charge, and financial aid from both corporate and individual donations.

 
Air Canada, Northwest Airlines, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways and Emirates have agreed to operate special flights to transport supplies to the region.

 
SAS has opened up an airlift between Scandinavia and Thailand, and Qantas operated several special flights to bring travellers home to Australia.

 
In addition, several carriers, including Cathay Pacific, SAS, SIA, AC, Delta Air Lines and Wizz Air, have donated funds to the relief efforts.
Pakistan International Airlines and Singapore Airlines have agreed to airlift material aid to Sri Lanka and Indonesia, free of charge.
China Southern Airlines has taken both of its 747-400 freighters off-line from its standard Europe/China and USA/China commercial service, and has pushed them into emergency airlift duty to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Medan, Indonesia.

 
Aviation Services Group, a Dallas, Texas-based expeditionary logistics service provider, transported a full cargo plane-load of relief supplies, including water, blankets, and plastic sheeting, on a charter flight donated by Aviation Services.

 
A New Zealand Air Force Hercules has flown its fourth mission in to the Indonesian region of Aceh.

 
To date the crew has flown nearly 16 thousand pounds of freight in to the area, plus pallets of rice, milk products and water filtration equipment. They have also flown 16 Indonesian Red Cross workers in to the area and 33 displaced locals out of Aceh.

 
Eighteen members of the Defence Force medical team have arrived in Malaysia. The rest of the team on board a second C-130 Hercules is on route to the area.

 
Logistics services company, TNT has made €1.5 million available for in-kind support, including transporting required material to the affected areas; making warehousing capacity available for temporary storage of emergency equipment and food; making staff available to help co-ordinate warehousing and transportation; and procuring relief supplies and equipment.

 
China’s flagship carrier, COSCO Group delivered a cheque for RMB 10 million to the Red Cross Society of China – reportedly the largest amount in terms of value at one time received by the Red Cross Society of China at present.

 
The company said that the donation was a symbol of support from its 80,000 employees, and pledged that COSCO is ready to take any immediate action for emergency seaborne transportation support around the clock in case of need.

 
Air express carrier, UPS has announced that it will provide US$3 million in aid to those areas devastated by the tsunamis across Southeast Asia.

 
UPS is donating US$2.5 million in in-kind services, US$400,000 in cash grants to relief organisations and up to US$100,000 in employee-matching contributions.

 
UPS is airlifting medical supplies and other emergency relief items to Asia over the next several weeks and has offered to ship up to one million pounds of emergency relief supplies weekly via air, ocean and ground from Europe, Asia and the Americas.

 
Lead logistics provider, DHL including Express, Danzas Air & Ocean and Solutions combined have raised and contributed more than €350,000 in relief activities including flight charters, monetary donations, and contributions in-kind to the tsunami disaster; and about 41 DHL offices across the region are directly involved in relief efforts.

 
To date, DHL has chartered seven flights, via a mix of DHL aircraft and commercial uplift, to deliver more than 126 tonnes of relief supplies to tsunami-affected areas in the region – five to Phuket from Bangkok, one to Colombo from Singapore and another to the Andamans from India.