Born out of consolidation, Japanese container firm ONE is set for growth in Singapore after a slightly shaky start
Although it may have “set sail in choppier waters than we had expected,” as MOL president and chief executive Junichiro Ikeda put it, Ocean Network Express has already begun breaking records in 2019.
Established in 2016 as a joint venture between Japanese companies Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Mitsui OSK Lines and K Line, 2018 saw ONE formally begin trading, with Singapore the site of its global headquarters.
The company’s first set of results, released at the beginning of August 2018, showed a net loss of US$120M for Q2 2018 (Japanese Q1 financial year).
However, in his 2019 New Year message Mr Ikeda said the way forward is clear. “The cost savings derived from integrating the container ship operations have surpassed estimates before the integration.
“We also know exactly what must be done to improve cargo volume liftings and earnings.
“We will closely heed the lessons we have learned from ONE’s results to date as we fulfill our governance responsibilities as an investing company of this business venture.
It has made itself well at home in Singapore, having announced on 20 December 2018 it was forming a joint venture (JV) company with PSA at Singapore’s Pasir Panjang Terminal.
Set to start operations in the first half of 2019, the JV will operate four mega-container berths with a combined annual handling capacity of 4M TEU.
ONE’s chief executive officer Jeremy Nixon said “Through this joint venture in Singapore, ONE will be enabled to further enhance its terminal and vessel planning operations in an even closer co-operation with PSA.
“This will improve our service reliability and benefit our customers through better service levels.”
The day after the announcement, ONE’s NYK Swan set a productivity record at PSA’s Pasir Panjang terminal, with more than 6,000 container moves accomplished in 18.5 hours, or a gross berth productivity rate of more than 300 ship-shore moves.
Another record was set, this time for loading, when MOL Tribute took on 19,190 TEU. The vessel, which has a total capacity of 20,146 TEU, achieved the record on 11 February.
“As vessel sizes increase, so too do the complexities associated with safe and effective stowage planning,” said ONE general manager global vessel operations Capt Kunihiko Nishimura. “With the help of Navis and PSA Singapore, we were able to accomplish a tremendous feat – not only planning, but successfully executing a vessel call with more than 19,100 containers on board. It is truly remarkable and we will continue to innovate and leverage the best possible technology to further advance our performance to better serve our customers.”
ONE partnered with Navis for its expertise in vessel stowage planning – leveraging its StowMan solution on a vessel also equipped with the MACS3 loading computer for the most recent voyage.
Prior to the latest achievement, ONE completed two additional record stows aboard MOL Trust and MOL Tradition in its last two calls at PSA Singapore.
February 2019 also saw the delivery of 14,000-TEU container ship One Grus. The container ship measures 364 m in length and has a dwt of 138,611. The vessel incorporates innovative 'dual-rating system' technology on its main diesel engine, with two selected outputs for 'high' or 'low' rating, which allows for flexibility of operations and improved fuel efficiency, resulting in lowered emissions. Crack arrest technology boosts the vessel’s structural safety, while the integrated navigation system on the bridge consolidates vessel system functions, reducing the workload of operators.
One Grus will operate on THE Alliance’s Asia-Europe 5 service, with a port rotation of Laem Chabang, Cai Mep, Singapore, Colombo, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, Southampton, Jeddah, Colombo, Singapore and Laem Chabang.
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