Burden on world trade Freighters back up off southern China

As of: 21.06.2021 8:59 a.m.

The container ships are stowed in the fourth largest port in the world. The reason is a corona outbreak in Shenzhen-Yantian. The international movement of goods is impaired – possibly until the end of the year.

From Steffen Wurzel, ARD studio Shanghai

The congestion of the container ships off southern China is worse than that Blockade of the Suez Canal in March This is how Vincent Clerc, manager of the Danish shipping company Maersk, summed it up in a conversation with journalists in mid-June. At times, around 130 container ships from all over the world were anchored off the port of Shenzhen-Yantian, as reported by the Bloomberg news agency.

Weeks-long consequences for world trade

The reason for the traffic jam is a new – albeit small – corona outbreak in the southern Chinese part of Guangdong, where Shenzhen is located. Because the local authorities ordered the port of Shenzhen to be partially closed due to the corona, ships could not dock and cast off. Supply chains worldwide are out of step. German companies in the Guangdong region are also reporting that department stores are sometimes overcrowded. In the meantime, the situation in Guangdong has normalized, but weeks will pass before the backlog has completely cleared, estimates Nick Marro, an analyst for world trade at the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in Hong Kong. The backlog will therefore continue for weeks through the global supply chains.

Traffic jam in the fourth largest port in the world

Shenzhen-Yantian is the fourth largest container port in the world; Last year more than 27 million standard containers (TEU) were handled there. For comparison: In Hamburg there were fewer than nine million containers in 2020, i.e. around a third of them.

The logistics delays are a problem especially for the tech and electronics industry: around 90 percent of all electronics exports from China go through the port of Shenzhen-Yantian. Analyst Nick Marro expects the situation to remain tense, given the global openings after the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Relaxation probably only towards the end of the year

“There is no sign of an end to global consumer demand for goods and products. In many western countries, stocks are usually replenished in the third quarter of the year, which continues to ensure high trading activity,” says Marro. “This suggests that the tensions in global logistics and at the ports will not ease until the fourth quarter of the year.” In China, almost no reports are made of the container ship congestion in front of the port of Shenzhen-Yantian

Container charges increased more than 4 times According to Drewry World, the container freight rate announced on May 27, 2021 for a 40-foot container from Shanghai (China) to Rotterdam (Netherlands) has increased to USD 10,174, up 3.1% from a week earlier and up 485% from a year ago. The global container freight rate index (which includes eight major routes) was up 2%, to $6,257 from a week earlier and 293% higher from a year ago. Freight rates are at their highest levels since 2011. Container freight rates are rising because demand is outstripping supply due to a shortage of 20- and 40-foot containers. In the context of consumer demand and the price of basic raw materials, commodities increased sharply, leading many businesses to increase stockpiling of goods, disruption from the congestion of the Suez Canal at the end of March 2021. Port congestion is causing delays and higher costs for shippers, while ocean carriers enjoy sky-high profits. According to the chairman of a seafood processing company, it is estimated that the freight rate of container ships from Vietnam to Europe has increased more than four times, from 1,700-1,800 USD/container to 7,000-8,000 USD/container compared to before the epidemic occurred. out. Freight rates to the East Coast of the United States have increased more than 1.7 times, from 4,500 USD to 8,000 – 10,000 USD/container. Opportunities are not spread evenly On the listed stock exchange today, the number of enterprises providing shipping services is relatively small. Enterprises such as Hai An Transport and Loading Joint Stock Company (code HAH), PetroVietnam Transportation Joint Stock Corporation (code PVT), Vietnam Shipping Joint Stock Company (code) can be mentioned immediately. VOS)… The shipping market share is still mainly in the hands of foreign enterprises. At PVT, in recent years, the business has continuously pursued a fleet rejuvenation strategy to increase business efficiency, by the end of 2020 owns a fleet of 34 ships. The company operates mainly in the field of transporting crude oil, oil products, transporting LPG…, products related to the parent company is the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN). Therefore, PVT is not able to decide on freight prices, leading to stable gross profit margin and no growth, although oil prices and freight rates have fluctuated in recent years. At VOS, as of December 31, 2020, the company owns a fleet of 12 ships with a total tonnage of 405,112 dwt, including 8 dry and bulk cargo ships; 2 product tankers and 2 container ships. In addition, the enterprise also periodically leases a number of ships to maintain regular fleet operations of 12-14 ships. VOS’s fleet operates regularly in Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, West Africa, Australia, South America… However, the disadvantage of VOS is that the fleet is quite old and has not been renewed due to its financial potential. limited, while import-export businesses often require larger shipments and prefer new generation fleets. HAH owns this advantage, when continuously investing in new ships from 2014 up to now. The Company’s fleet includes 8 ships, serving both domestic and international routes. At the shareholders’ meeting in 2021, HAH’s Board of Directors shared that they continue to plan to invest in more fleets to increase the number of domestic flights, and maintain and develop 2 import and export cargo trips to Hong Kong and Singapore. . In the first quarter of this year, HAH recorded revenue of 359 billion dong, profit after tax of 85.5 billion dong, up 28.4% and 174% respectively over the same period last year. Gross profit margin increased sharply from 19.2% to 27%. After the first 3 months of the year, HAH has completed up to 54.1% of the year’s profit plan. The business said that profit growth was positive in the first quarter of 2021 due to the fact that sea transport activities have started with positive signs and increased transportation demand from the last 6 months of 2020. Along with the company’s investment in the HA View vessel in August 2020, the output of Hai An fleet increased by more than 50% compared to the same period last year. The increase in fleet volume leads to an increase in the output of port operations and depots. Besides, the increase in freight rates and the decrease in raw material prices also had a positive impact on profits.

Abdullah Abdul-Gawad and the “tiny” excavator. Photo: BI

But what happened five days later is quite the opposite.

Ever Given – a container ship the size of a skyscraper was stranded on the banks of the canal on March 23. And Abdul-Gawad’s boss immediately called him to the scene.

“We need you to get in the car and come now because you are the only excavator driver nearby,” the leader told the 28-year-old male employee, who has been driving the excavator since college.

Abdul-Gawad vs “monster”

Liberating Ever Given was a combined effort, with winch, tugboat and excavator. But Abdul-Gawad was the one who really faced the problem. Once at the base of the ship, Abdul-Gawad had no choice but to start digging.

According to his estimates, the bow of Ever Given was stuck below about 6 meters of ground. The stern is also caught on the opposite shore. The ship blocked the Suez Canal, blocking all traffic.

The image of a tiny excavator facing a giant ship made many people laugh. But for Abdul-Gawad the situation is much less humorous. It is really dangerous.

The dreadful contrast between the size of the Ever Given ship and the size of Abdul-Gawad’s excavator. Photo: BI

Taking on the task of shoveling to release the bow, just a small mistake by Abdul-Gawad could cause the ship carrying tens of thousands of containers to collapse.

“I was afraid that the ship would be too tilted on one side or the other. If it leans on me, goodbye the excavator, goodbye Abdul-Gawad.

If you see the contrast between the size of the ship and the size of the excavator, you will find it very frightening. ”

Two other excavators were dispatched to the scene a few days later, but the drivers were too scared to do what Abdul-Gawad was doing. Instead, they were just sticking around clearing the rock that Abdul-Gawad dug.

21 hours / day

Wearing thin flip flops, Abdul-Gawad undertook digging for hours. When the tugs are active, Abdul-Gawad will receive a radio signal to temporarily retreat away.

“But you know, until I dig 5 or 6 meters, there’s still no movement.”

Photo: BI

When pictures of Abdul-Gawad’s excavator began to appear on the Internet, he said he felt as if “people were just making fun of me.”

“And that’s what made me more determined. I think, you’re making fun of me so I’ll prove I can do this. ”

Abdul-Gawad said that for several days, he and his colleagues were only allowed to rest at a barracks of border guards nearby.

“They know that if we go home, we won’t be back in about eight or nine hours,” he said.

Abdul-Gawad and his colleagues only slept about three hours a night. One day, only one hour of sleep.

Success

On March 25, a dedicated dredger – Mashhour – participated in the rescue effort Ever Given. Abdul-Gawad’s job at this time was to move soil, rock and sand from the bow of the ship to another place, while the Mashhour knocked silt off the canal.

This concerted effort – with the help of a high tide – brought hopeful signs the next day. And finally, the campaign was successful on March 29. The image of the Ever Given boat escaping made all the workers shout, and the tugboats honk to celebrate.

Abdul-Gawad said he and his colleagues were “half alive from exhaustion.”

“We were pushed to our limits,” said Abdul-Gawad. “But the moment we saw Ever Given off to sea, all fatigue seemed to vanish.”

Field survey officials. Photo: BI

Scary silence

The Suez Canal is a source of pride in Egypt, being called “Egypt’s Gift to the World” on billboards when it expanded in 2015.

President of Egypt – Abdel Fattah el-Sisi declared: “The Egyptians have ended the crisis of the ship stranded Ever Given despite all difficulties.”

But Abdul-Gawad said he hardly attended any of the celebrations. Apart from a small ceremony held by a newspaper, Abdul-Gawad received little or no official recognition for his role.

“I was invited to a ceremony, where they honor the people who took the ships out to sea.” But it is primarily intended for Suez Canal Authority employees, not including Abdul-Gawad because he works for a subcontractor.

Invitations were also sent to Abdul-Gawad at the last minute only. Because the celebration took place in a city four hours away by car. And Abdul-Gawad received an invitation an hour and a half earlier.

Abdul-Gawad said he felt deeply hurt.

“The Suez Canal Authority patted himself on the chest that they have done a great job. But in the end, without an excavator, the ship wouldn’t go anywhere. It can still get stuck. ”

Image of the jam seen from satellite. Photo: Maxar

In an interview on April 8, Abdul-Gawad said that he and his colleagues still have not received overtime pay, even though they work more than 21 hours a day.

However, Abdul-Gawad said he will look back on those extraordinary days with pride.

“This is an achievement,” he said. “At first it was an achievement for Egypt, but it was also an achievement for me. This event can only happen once in my life. Twice at most. It is something to be proud of.”

The modern world is being “digitized” at a rapid rate. Almost every service, every industry, from finance, industrial enterprises, … to the armed forces, is already networked at one level or another. In the “smart home” with TVs, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, microwave ovens …, and even smart light bulbs are becoming common; On the street, there were the first cars with autonomous driving systems.

Such devices are expected to make people’s lives easier, but certainly these technologies will also be applied in other areas as well. While digital systems and services make the quality of human life much better, in theory all digital systems can be hacked – which is already in practice. positive.

Computer virus

Theoretical basis for the development of the “computer virus” was formed almost simultaneously with the emergence of the computer itself in the mid-20th century. In 1961, engineers Viktor Vysotsky, Doug McIlroy and Robert Morris of the Room Bell’s telephone experiment had developed programs that could make copies of themselves – the first viruses. They are created in the form of a game that engineers call “Darwin”, the purpose of which is to send bots to friends to see which will destroy more of the competitors’ programs and create more copies of itself to fill someone else’s computer.

Cyber ​​weapons are said to be equally complex and are weapons of mass destruction; Source: topwar.ru

In 1981, Virus 1,2,3 and Elk Cloner appeared on Apple II personal computers; a few years later, the first anti-virus programs appeared. The word “computer virus” in fact includes many types of malware: worms, hijackers (rootkits), spyware, zombies, adware, virus blocking (winlock), Trojan viruses (trojans) and their combination. If the first viruses are often written for entertainment, over time they begin to be “commercialized” – to steal personal and financial data, disrupt device operations, encrypt the data. for the purpose of blackmail …

With the advent of electronic money, computer viruses received a new function – bringing the user’s computer “as a slave” to mining cryptocurrency, forming a huge network of computers. botnet infection (before that, botnet also existed, such as to send spam mail or DDoS attack). Opportunities like this cannot help but make the military and intelligence agencies in general with missions – steal something, destroy something …, care.

Computer virus – a strategic weapon

On June 17, 2010, for the first time in history, the win32 / Stuxnet virus – a computer worm that infects not only computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, but also industrial systems that control the processes. automatic production, detected. This worm can be used as a means of gathering unauthorized data (spying) and sabotaging automated process control systems (APCS) of industrial enterprises, power plants, boilers, etc.

According to cybersecurity experts, this virus is the most complex software product, developed by a professional team of dozens of experts. In terms of complexity, it can be compared to a Tomahawk cruise missile, and is designed for cyber operations. The Stuxnet virus has damaged some uranium enrichment centrifuges, slowing down Iran’s nuclear program. Intelligence agencies of Israel and the US are suspected of developing the Stuxnet virus.

Industrial facilities, infrastructure, services … all can be targets of cyber weapons; Source: topwar.ru

Later, other computer viruses were discovered, with a degree of complexity similar to that of win32 / Stuxnet (most suspected of being an Israeli / US product), such as: Duqu, designed to collect confidential data in a confidential manner; Wiper (late April 2012), destroyed all information on some of the servers of one of the largest oil companies in Iran and completely paralyzed its work for a few days; Flame, a spy virus, is believed to be developed specifically for attacks on Iran’s computer infrastructure (can identify mobile devices with Bluetooth module, track location, stealing confidential information and eavesdropping on conversations); Gauss, aimed at stealing financial information: e-mail, passwords, bank account data, cookies, as well as system configuration data; Maadi (suspected of Iran) – can collect information, remotely change computer parameters, record audio and transmit it to remote users …

Application

In the Middle East, for example, the largest producer of liquid natural gas (LNG), has an interest that seriously conflicts with the interests of another country. The Middle East country has a network of oil and gas pipelines, LNG production lines and a fleet of Q-Flex and Q-Max tankers designed to transport LNG and has a military base of the third country. three are on its territory. An armed attack directly on a Middle Eastern country could do more harm than good. Then, the solution might be the use of cyber weapons.

Modern oil and container ships are becoming more and more automated; No less automation is used in LNG plants. Therefore, specialized malware is loaded into the control systems of the Q-Flex and Q-Max tankers, or their LPG storage systems, theoretically permissible at a certain time ( or on an external command, if there is a network connection) creates an artificial accident that completely or partially destroys selected tanks / tanks. It is very likely that flaws in the LNG production process lead to neutralization, including potentially destroying the plant.

Cyber ​​weapons can easily have the same effects as the recent Suez Canal clogging; Source: topwar.ru

An explosion of an LNG carrier due to an accident at the entrance to a port or the failure of the LNG storage device can not only result in damage to the vessel itself, but also damage to coastal infrastructure. The goals could therefore be: undermine the energy supplier’s reputation, with the possibility of consumers reorienting the natural gas market of another country; increasing prices for world energy sources, helping to generate more revenue for the national budget; undermining political activity and interfering in the internal affairs of other countries in the region, due to a decrease in the financial capacity of the country in question.

Depending on the economic damage inflicted, a complete shift in ruling elites could occur, as well as a limited conflict between that state and its neighbors, who may want to take advantage of neighboring countries’ weaknesses to change the balance of power in the region. The crux of this activity is secrecy, so that there is no direct blame without clear evidence. The United States has repeatedly been accused of conducting hostile operations against even its most staunchest allies.

Another option for using cyber weapons has been suggested by a recent incident. A giant ship – an oil tanker or a container ship, passing through a narrow canal, suddenly the control system gives out a series of commands to dramatically change the direction and speed of movement, resulting in the ship spinning break and completely block the channel. It can even be flipped, making it extremely time-consuming and costly to rescue it. The Evergreen Group’s container ship blocking the Suez Canal shows how congestion of shipping arteries affects the global economy. It is especially effective if such incidents occur simultaneously on several channels.

Or most recently, Iran is accusing Israel of terrorizing its Natanz nuclear base network … In the absence of a clear trace of the culprit, it would be extremely difficult to establish – anyone can also be blamed for this. Therefore, the development of industrial-scale cyber weapons is considered to be a top priority. Information technology along with nanotechnology and biotechnology are the cornerstones of dominance in the 21st century, but the development of cyber weapons is much cheaper than the development of promising nano biotechnology. and conventional modern weapons ./.