Maersk Air Cargo for overcoming port congestions

Maersk Air Cargo as the company´s main air freight offering serving the logistics needs of its clients with integrated logistics is expected to be fully operational as of second half of 2022.

Maersk has chosen Denmark’s second largest airport, Billund, as its air freight hub for Maersk Air Cargo with daily flights creating several jobs in the region. Maersk Air Cargo also announced its intent to enter into an agreement with the Flight Personnel Union (FPU) which is a part of the Danish Confederation and Trade Unions (FH).

“Air freight is a crucial enabler of flexibility and agility in global supply chains as it allows our customers to tackle time-critical supply chain challenges and provides transport mode options for high value cargo. We strongly believe in working closely with our customers. Therefore, it is the key for Maersk to also increase our presence in the global air cargo industry by introducing Maersk Air Cargo to cater even better for the needs of our customers,” said Aymeric Chandavoine, Global Head of Logistics and Services.

Maersk’s owned controlled capacity, powered by Maersk Air Cargo, is designed to make supply chain journeys more resilient and intuitive. As a standalone service, Maersk Air Freight can help customers make the most of opportunities by getting their air cargo to the right place at the right time. When combined with our ocean, inland, warehousing and customs services, it will power your supply chain in more ways than one

The new air freight company is the result of the existing in-house aircraft operator, Star Air, which has transferred activities into Maersk Air Cargo, the new carrier supporting existing and new customers and Maersk’s end to end logistics. The process of transferring activities has received excellent support from customers, suppliers, employees and the Danish Civil Aviation Authority.

“Maersk Air Cargo is an important step of the Maersk Air Freight strategy, as it will allow us to offer customers a truly unique combination of air freight integrated with other transport modes. We see an increased and continued demand for air cargo both today and going forward as well as a growing demand for end-to-end logistics, why it is important for us to strengthen our own-controlled capacity and advance further on our air freight strategy,” said Torben Bengtsson, Global Head of Air & LCL (Less than Container Load).

Maersk last operated from Billund in 2005. From the continent Maersk Air Cargo will progressively deploy and operate a controlled capacity of five aircraft – two new B777F and three leased B767-300 cargo aircraft. Three new B767-300 freighters will also be added to the US-China operation, which will be initially handled by a third-party operator. The new aircraft are expected to be operational from second half 2022 and onwards up to 2024.

Billund Airport looks forward to welcoming Maersk Air Cargo, which will also support the growth of the West Danish business community.

“We have had growth, defied the corona and set a new record year in cargo in 2021. It does not happen without good partners, and we do what we can to make our partners good. Now Maersk Air Cargo enters the stage at Billund Airport and raises it a notch. We are incredibly proud that we are being chosen as Maersk's European hub for air freight, and we look forward to developing the collaboration to even new heights,” said Jan Hessellund, CEO of Billund Airport.

Maersk’s ambition is to have approximately one third of its annual air tonnage carried within its own controlled freight network. This will be achieved through a combination of owned and leased aircraft, replicating the structure that the company has within its ocean fleet. The remaining capacity will be provided by strategic commercial carriers and charter flight operators.

 

Five Reasons Why Kashmir Matters

Kashmir has always captured the imagination of the Pakistani people and stirred their emotions. This is partly because of shared religion but also because Pakistan’s largest province, Punjab, and its ruling elite have very close ethnic and cultural association with Kashmir.

But 9/11 led to dwindling preoccupation with Kashmir among Pakistanis. Especially for the generation that grew up in the 2000s and had first-hand experience of terrorism and fear, domestic issues became more pressing. Kashmir, therefore, took a backseat to even those in policy circles. In fact, for many in Pakistan, Kashmir became a needless burden that was sinking the Pakistani ship. “Save Pakistan before saving Kashmir” became a common mantra, especially in the liberal intellectual and elite circles.

Pakistani perceptions underwent another change in 2014 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in India. That coincided with Pakistan’s successful military operations against terrorist groups like the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan that were causing mayhem in the country. With stability inside of Pakistan and the surge of violence in India against Muslims, along with the revocation of Kashmir’s autonomy by the Modi government in 2019, the Kashmir issue returned to the fore of Pakistani imagination, and this time on steroids with Prime Minister Imran Khan at the helm.

As divisive as the Kashmir issue is, it is important for both Pakistan and India to recognize why it is important to resolve the issue. Here are five reasons why Kashmir requires urgent attention:

Peace Either Everywhere or Nowhere

The events of 9/11 proved the point that underdevelopment, violence, and instability in one part of the world will directly impact the rest of the world – even the most developed countries in the West were not safe or secure. This has been the gist of UN calls for integrating security and development to stabilize the Global South to secure the Global North.  This new policy approach was best articulated by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who argued that “famines and instability thousands of miles away lead to conflict, despair, mass migration, and fanaticism that can affect us all.” Therefore, continued violence and subjugation in Kashmir on a slow burn is unlikely to remain within the borders of Kashmir. The repercussions may erupt around the world in different ways.

Status Quo Benefits Only a Few

The Kashmir issue is a byproduct of the British colonial project in India that led to a strained relationship between Pakistan and India. The international community has showed little capacity or interest to resolve the issue for 70 long years. The issue lingered on because the new status quo benefited many actors involved in the region and some external actors that thrive on the war industry. With the Modi government acting unilaterally to revoke Article 370, the status quo has become even more firm and volatile, leaving only extreme options for both sides.

The Untold Costs

Kashmir doesn’t bleed alone; Pakistan and India bleed with it perpetually. For as long as the Kashmir continues to bleed through militarization, killings, rape, and draconian tactics, the chaos will continue to permeate and affect the lives of the people in the region. This is why Pakistan has been insisting on resolving the Kashmir issue for the benefit of Kashmiri people first, and then the overall stability of the region. In many ways, the true potential of India, Pakistan, and Kashmir itself is a hostage to the inability of status quo powers (in this case India) to resolve the Kashmir issue.

Principles Matter

For Pakistan and India, Kashmir isn’t some far away land like Afghanistan was for the United States that it could exit at will. Pakistan and India share borders, cultures, traditions, and much more with the Kashmiris. To then stand for the rights of Kashmir may be exhausting and taxing, but it is principally right. As much as anyone argues otherwise through a reductionist “realist” lens, principles do matter in policymaking and international relations, especially in the mid and long run. Therefore, it is important that the international community fulfills its commitment to the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue.

Rule by Fear

In today’s world we should not allow for governance and fascist practices from the 19th century. Rule by fear or force is untenable. Kashmir is the most militarized region in the world, with India having deployed 900,000 soldiers here and Pakistan around 50,000. More people have died due to border shellings than war between Pakistan and India. Modi’s forceful annexation of Kashmir has renewed a wave of terror and fear in Kashmir with curfews, internet blackouts, growing violence, and killings. Kashmir is not getting safer; it’s only getting more insecure and unsustainable to govern for the Indian government – the effects of which will destabilize the entire region.

Kashmir is an integral part of the Kashmiri people, who have faced the worst consequences of decades of mindless subjugation of their rights. It is convenient for Western countries to ignore the plight of Kashmiris for a larger geopolitical game at play against China, but the prolonged human catastrophe in Kashmir will render the great power competition irrelevant if the unresolved crisis persists.

This article by Dr. Hussain Nadim was originally published in The Diplomat. Dr. Hussain Nadim is the Executive Director of Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) based in Islamabad, Pakistan. For his work in the policy sector, Nadim has received several international awards, including being recognized in the Forbes 30 under 30 list of 2016. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney, M. Phil from University of Cambridge and a BA from George Washington University in International Affairs.

 

bp joins Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation as a strategic partner

bp has joined the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) as a strategic partner, which was marked by a partnership agreement ceremony in Singapore. GCMD was set up to help drive decarbonisation of the maritime industry and bp is pleased to be working with GCMD to help further this aim.

GCMD is based in Singapore – one of the world’s busiest ports. It was set up as a non-profit organization in August last year to help the maritime industry meet or exceed the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) GHG emission reduction goals for 2030 and 2050. It aims to achieve this by creating opportunities for cross-industry collaboration and sharing its projects’ outcomes, aimed at helping fuel the energy transition within the maritime industry. This partnership adds S$10 million (USD$7.4 million) in funding, giving GCMD’s efforts a further boost.

Carol Howle, bp’s executive vice president for trading & shipping, said: “bp has helped shape the shipping industry for more than 100 years. A net zero future for the maritime sector demands industry collaboration, and GCMD is bringing to the forefront the conversations that matter most. As part of GCMD, we look forward to working with key industry players to further progress solutions at the pace and scale needed to help this carbon-intensive sector transition.”

Professor Lynn Loo, GCMD’s chief executive officer, said, “bp’s net zero ambitions and investments in low carbon solutions are aligned with GCMD’s mission and projects. Together with bp and our other partners, we aim to foster collaboration to address challenges and untangle the complexities of decarbonising shipping. We look forward to working closely with and leveraging bp’s experience and expertise in our pilots and trials.”

bp trading & shipping (T&S) is one of the world’s leading energy trading houses. At any one time, about 300 ships are on the water for bp, enabling it to move around 240 million tonnes of product every year. bp will look to leverage GCMD’s findings in its own maritime activities and share developing best practices with its customers through bp’s gas and low carbon energy business that integrates the company’s existing natural gas capabilities with its low and zero carbon businesses and markets, including wind, solar and hydrogen.

bp is also supporting zero carbon supply chains by driving new decarbonisation technologies and capabilities to create innovative zero carbon energy solutions. Safe development of hydrogen, ammonia, biofuel, and carbon markets is a priority for bp, and aligning with the GCMD on these projects provides a strategic fit.

As part of the partnership, Lambros Klaoudatos, bp’s senior vice president of shipping, will sit on GCMD’s board. The strategic partnership with GCMD follows bp’s ties with the Global Maritime Forum (GMF), Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS) in Europe and the Blue Sky Maritime Coalition in the US. Together, these organizations are helping drive decarbonisation of the maritime sector and provide global support for bp’s maritime decarbonisation journey across its key trading and shipping regions in Asia, Europe and the US.

 

Taliban Supreme Leader orders ban on poppy cultivation in Afghanistan

The Taliban's Supreme Leader has ordered a ban on poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, warning that the government would crack down on farmers planting the crop. 

Afghanistan is the world's biggest producer of poppy, the source of sap that is refined into heroin, and in recent years its production and exports have only boomed.

"All Afghans are informed that from now on cultivation of poppy has been strictly prohibited across the country," said a decree issued by Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, AFP reported.

The decree was read out by government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid at a gathering of reporters, foreign diplomats and Taliban officials.

"If anyone violates the decree the crop will be destroyed immediately and the violator will be treated according to the Shariah law," it added.

Iran has been the main victim of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan. It has lost about 4,000 security forces in the battle against drug traffickers over the past four decades. Traffickers mainly use the Iranian soil as a transit route to smuggle opium and heroin to Europe.    

It is not the first time the fundamentalist group has vowed to outlaw the trade. Production was banned in 2000, just before the group was overthrown by US-led forces in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

During their 20-year insurgency against foreign forces, the Taliban heavily taxed farmers cultivating the crop in areas under their control.

It became a key resource for the group to generate funds.

The United States and NATO forces tried to curb poppy cultivation during their two decades in Afghanistan by paying farmers to grow alternative crops such as wheat or saffron.

But their attempts were thwarted by the Taliban who controlled the main poppy-growing regions and derived hundreds of millions of dollars from the trade, experts say.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi rejected claims the Taliban helped fuel poppy cultivation during their insurgency.

"How come it was exported all over the world when they (US-led forces) had full control over Afghanistan," Hanafi said Sunday.

Afghan media reports say production has increased in two southern provinces, Kandahar and Helmand, since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, although data is not available.

Afghanistan has a near monopoly on opium and heroin, accounting for 80 to 90 percent of global output, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

The amount of land planted with poppies hit a record high in 2017 and has averaged around 250,000 hectares in recent years, roughly four times the level of the mid-1990s, UN figures show.

 

US Senate votes 100-0 to limit trade with Russia

The US Senate on Thursday passed legislation to end normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus, capping off weeks of negotiations that had stalled the bill. 

Senators voted 100-0 on the legislation, which ends permanent, normal trade relations with the two countries. The bill also reauthorizes Magnitsky Act sanctions that target human rights violations and corruption with penalties like visa bans or asset freezes.

The Senate is also expected to pass a separate bill to codify the Biden administration’s ban on Russian oil imports on Thursday. The two bills have been effectively linked together in the Senate and were part of a deal announced on Wednesday night.

“No nation whose military is committing war crimes deserves free-trade status with the United States. No vile thug like Putin deserves to stand as an equal with the leaders of the free world,” Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer said ahead of the votes.

Senators were under pressure to reach an agreement before they leave town on Thursday for a two-week break and as Russia continues its weeks-long bloody invasion of Ukraine. That pressure only grew this week after photos emerged over the weekend of destruction in Bucha, a town northwest of Ukraine’s capital, including images of people lying dead in the streets and in mass graves, triggering widespread condemnation.

Biden said that he believed Russia had committed war crimes, while Schumer went further, saying it was “genocide, and Mr. Putin is guilty of it.”

The Senate’s vote is the first Ukraine-related bill it has had a roll call vote on since it passed billions in Ukraine aid as part of a sweeping government funding bill last month.

The trade bill passed the House on March 17, while the bill to codify the Biden administration’s oil ban passed on March 09, 2022.

But they faced headwinds in the Senate, as negotiators faced several potential sticking points. The most high-profile hurdle was a days-long negotiation with Senator Rand Paul over reauthorizing the Magnitsky Act sanctions, which is riding on the trade bill. The House bill changed the Magnitsky Act language from targeting “gross” human rights violations to targeting “serious” human rights violations, codifying a Trump-era executive order.

Negotiators had appeared to cut a deal with Paul last week but indicated as recently as Tuesday that they were still haggling over the language. In the end, the Senate deal sticks with the original Magnitsky Act language currently in law, instead of updating it.

As part of a deal to get votes on the Russia package today, the Senate also passed bipartisan legislation on Wednesday night to establish a lend-lease program for Ukraine, making it easier to send military aid to the country.

“As the world bears witness to the most serious security threat to Europe and our global stability since World War II, this legislation to speed up the process of moving military equipment to the frontlines couldn’t be more urgent,” Senator Jeanne Shaheen said about the bill.

“I appreciate the bipartisan support to pass our legislation in the Senate and urge the House to swiftly follow suit. As this crisis rapidly escalates and Putin bears down on Ukraine, every minute counts,” she added. 

 

Can Naftali Bennett survive as Prime Minister of Israel?

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett stated that MK Idit Silman had been threatened by supporters of opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Religious Zionist head Betzalel Smotrich until she broke and left the coalition on Wednesday.

"Idit was persecuted for months, verbally abused by supporters of Bibi and Smotrich at the most horrific level," said Bennett on Wednesday evening. "She described to me the threats against her husband Shmulik's workplace and her children in Bnei Akiva. She broke in the end."

Bennett stressed that the main thing we need to deal with at the moment is stabilizing the faction and the coalition. He added that all the leaders in the coalition are interested in continuing the current government.

With the resignation of MK Idit Silman from the coalition, here are four possible scenarios of what will come next:

1. Domino effect

Another member of the Knesset quits the coalition and helps the opposition – led by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu – to pass a bill dispersing the Knesset and taking Israel to a new election.

In this event, immediately after the dispersion of the Knesset, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid would become prime minister until the formation of a new government.

For Silman, the ideal situation would be for another member of Yamina to break away from the party so that she can then – together with earlier Yamina rebel MK Amichai Chikli – form a new faction that would be able to merge with an existing party and run in a new election.

2. Gantz jumps ship

Before the Knesset dissolves, Blue and White Chairman Benny Gantz decides to join the opposition and become Israel’s prime minister. This scenario is possible for a few reasons. The first is that Gantz, who currently serves as Defense Minister, has been unhappy with the current government since its inception. He was particularly bothered by Bennett – with six seats and now five – becoming Prime Minister while he, Gantz, had eight seats.

In addition, Gantz might prefer this option over the dispersion of the Knesset, which would see Lapid become Prime Minister. Remember that the two politicians split – with Lapid’s Yesh Atid Party leaving the Blue and White alliance – in 2020 when Gantz decided to join Netanyahu’s last government, which ultimately fell apart.

While Gantz has said that he learned the lesson from sitting with Netanyahu and that he would not make the same mistake again, he could argue that by joining Netanyahu he would not only be serving as Prime Minister but would also be preventing another election and further political instability.

3. A comeback for Netanyahu

Netanyahu somehow manages to form a government in the current Knesset or steps aside as Chairman of the Likud – highly unlikely – and allows a different Likud MK to do so. It is more likely that he would prefer crowning Gantz than someone from his own party, something he could have done before Bennett became prime minister last June.

4. Limping to the finish line

The government – now a lame duck and unable to pass legislation – manages to survive until the beginning of 2023, when it needs to pass a new budget. Although, it would not be able to pass any laws, this might be the best scenario right now for Bennett.

 

United States solicits Bangladesh support

Joe Biden, President of United States has expressed optimism that Dhaka-Washington partnership would flourish further in the next 50 years and beyond.

In a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Biden said both Bangladeshis and Americans share the ideals of democracy, equality, and respect for human rights. Those are the foundation for healthy, secure, and prosperous societies, he added.

“I am confident our partnership will continue to flourish for the next 50 years and beyond,” he said in the letter marking the 50-year milestone in the bilateral relationship between the United States and Bangladesh.

The US president said that the drive, resourcefulness, and innovation of Bangladeshis – rebuilding after the 1971 war and now forging a path of economic growth and development – serve as a model for rest of the world.

“We are proud of our partnership on development, economic growth and counterterrorism,” Biden said, adding that the two countries work together to address climate crisis, help the Rohingya survivors of genocide and support UN peace keeping worldwide.

He mentioned the two nations are connected through familial, academic and commercial ties since 1958, when Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman participated in a 30-day exchange program in the United States.

“Our defense cooperation is stronger than ever,” the US president said adding that the Bangladesh Coast Guard and Navy are invaluable partners in ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region, contributing to the regional effort to end and the trafficking of people and illicit drugs.

Biden said the US and Bangladesh together met the challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic while Washington has donated more than 61 million vaccine doses and provided over US$131 million in assistance to Dhaka.