Jean-Jacques Moyson and Lukasz Meissner join DCT Gdansk on 16^th January 2012 as Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Financial Officer respectively. Both Jean-Jacques and Lukasz come with distinguished careers in transport and logistics.

Jean-Jacques Moyson has been commercial director of Noord Natie in Antwerp for over 25 years, and following its merger with Hesse Natie and purchase by PSA International, became the director of Sales & Marketing of PSA HNN. Jean-Jacques is one of few people behind the development of the Port of Antwerp as Europe’s second largest container hub, and has unmatched experience and contacts with the northern European shipping market.

Lukasz Meissner has 15 years professional experience in Finance, most recently as CFO of the Raben Group in Poland, a leading logistics operators in Central Eastern Europe. Prior to that Lukasz has worked in the Netherlands, in Ireland and held responsibilities for the CEE region with leading organizations such as Honeywell and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

“We are very pleased to welcome Jean-Jacques and Lukasz in our team”, said Boris Wenzel, CEO of DCT Gdansk. “DCT Gdansk will initiate a large scale expansion program to accommodate the rapidly growing demand for direct calls into the Baltic Sea. As Asia – Europe shipping routes are now splitting into Asia – West Europe and Asia – Baltic, DCT aims to allow more shipping lines and their clients to achieve substantial savings to reach Poland, Russia and the rest of the CEE via Gdansk.

DCT will develop new berths for the next generation of container vessels and plans to increase its capacity potential to 4 million TEU within this decade. Gdansk will soon join the major league ports club and we are bringing in major league talent in our management team.”

SEE JEAN-JACQUES MOYSON RESUME

SEE LUKASZ MEISSNER RESUME

 DCT tested 5 crane operations for 10 hours on an E class vessel during discharge on 9^th of November 2011 – sums up Boris Wenzel, DCT CEO, and achieved a productivity level 60% higher than with three cranes on our first attempt”

DCT will continue to test the new cranes and upgrade existing cranes with enhancements to increase its productivity during the next 3-4 weeks.

“Operating with 5 STS cranes means higher productivity, but most importantly for a medium sized terminal like us, it starts to give us the necessary flexibility to operate multiple vessels at the same time” – adds Boris Wenzel.

In recent months DCT has been growing significantly its Polish import/export volume market share with monthly peaks over 40%, but transhipment volumes remained limited due to DCT’s crane limitations. With the ability to deploy 5 STS cranes on deep-sea vessels and the high productivity levels achieved by its operations team, DCT will significantly reduce the turn-around time of larger vessels allowing the discharge of more significant transhipment volumes.

According to a report from Ocean Shipping Consultants Ltd, DCT Gdansk provides very substantial cost savings to Lines that use it as a hub to serve Russia and other Baltic Sea destinations.

Authors of the report have developed two scenarios: deep-sea call originating in Asia using 8,500 TEU vessels and 1,000 TEU feeders; and an alternative scenario using 12,500 TEU vessels (10,800 TEU in case of Hamburg due to its draught limitations) and 1,500 TEU feeders.

“It is not just in terms of stevedoring costs that we are cheaper than other Northern European ports – refers Boris Wenzel – it is as an overall transhipment solution for shipping Lines that DCT can provide over 10% cost savings in comparison to Rotterdam, and over 15% in comparison to Hamburg. Gdansk is just much closer to the eastern Baltic markets than Hamburg or Rotterdam: while the incremental deep sea cost to Gdansk is marginal, the shorter transhipment legs provide substantial savings.”

As the Asia – Europe trade lane gradually splits into Asia – West Europe and Asia – Baltic trade lanes, the cost of serving the Baltic Sea from distant German and Benelux ports will become increasingly uncompetitive. In addition to lower unit transportation costs to service Baltic destinations, Gdansk offers the advantage of requiring just a single vessel to service a weekly loop to St Petersburg, whereas at least 2 vessels are required on loops from Hamburg or Rotterdam. 

“Lines which do not recognize and adapt to these market changes are likely to lose their market share in the Baltic Sea. Gdansk is naturally advantaged with its ability to serve efficiently 15,500 TEU vessels, and with a very strategic position in the region” concludes Boris Wenzel.

A switch to Gdansk would also create thousands of new jobs in the Tri-city and reduce the high Co2 emissions associated with trucking and railing containers to Poland from ports like Rotterdam and Hamburg, believes Mr. Wenzel.

“Over the past decade Hamburg and Rotterdam have taken advantage of Poland’s rapid economic growth to develop into this country’s largest container gateways“ says Mr. Wenzel. “Now is the time to reduce Poland’s dependence on foreign ports and to look to the east and the south in developing a major hub port here in Gdansk”.

Since it opened three years ago, DCT Gdansk has become the largest container port in Poland, capable of handling the largest vessels in the world with a capacity of 15,500 containers. Sailing time from China and Korea, where a significant share of Poland’s imports of consumer goods are sourced, is just 36 days.

With the port infrastructure in place Boris Wenzel believes DCT Gdansk and other Polish ports should be positioned as the prime gateways not only to Poland but to the CEE and other countries, like Ukraine and Russia, replacing German and other ports as the region’s gateways.

Figures from Ocean Shipping Consultants Ltd show that shipping a container from Shanghai to Warsaw via Gdansk costs some 28 per cent less than through Rotterdam and 20 per cent less than through Hamburg.   

“Today Polish consumers are paying more for imported goods than they should, and Polish exports are less competitive because of higher transport costs to reach foreign hub ports. This is foolish now that Poland has its own hub port in Gdansk”, says Wenzel.

Shipping through other ports in the European Union also means that Poland loses duty revenues worth billions of zlotys, which could reduce Poland’s budget deficit, since duty is levied at the port of entry into the EU. Further development of DCT Gdansk could also lead to the creation of 10,000 new jobs in the region by the end of the decade.

But to realize the full potential of Polish container ports, says Mr. Wenzel, the government needs to work with stakeholders and urgently address bureaucratic, financial and infrastructural bottlenecks, which continue to make foreign ports attractive to both importers and exporters in Poland. Priority should go to infrastructure development to efficiently connect Polish ports to the southern and eastern parts of the country, instead of supporting West – East connections that make Poland a corridor for foreign ports to reach further CEE destinations.

As attracting foreign investors became crucial task for Polish local and central authorities, government representatives and related companies organized a discussion panel dedicated to Foreign Investments in Pomerania and barriers that hamper development of the region.

DCT Gdansk as an example of one of Polish most successful foreign investments recently, hosted joint press conference of Slawomir Nowak, Secretary of State in President Chancellery; Mieczyslaw Struk, Marshal of Pomorskie Voivodeship; Monika Slomka, Vice Director of Foreign Investments Department of PAIiIZ; Lukasz Zelewski, President of Pomeranian Development Agency; Teresa Kaminska, President of Pomeranian Special Economic Zone; Alan Aleksandrowicz, President of InvestGDA and Boris Wenzel, DCT Gdansk CEO. The discussion concerned main challenges to be met by future foreign investors in Pomerania.

“We should take care not only of new investors that want to involve their money in Poland, but also of those who already invested and now consider reinvestment, such as DCT” said Mieczyslaw Struk. “We should make the business environment as friendly as possible so the investors want to stay in Pomerania”.

Mieczyslaw Struk pointed out that existence of such companies as DCT Gdansk is a perfect example of good cooperation between investors and local authorities.

Speakers highlighted that the most powerful resource of Pomerania is well trained and educated staff able to adapt to changing conditions. Pomerania was presented as a region which grew to success despite of global crisis and the collapse of shipyards.

“I realized the power coming from Polish port industry while I was on the trade conference in Hamburg” said Teresa Kaminska. “Polish ports were mentioned as a real competitor even for such tycoon as Hamburg. Shipyards’ areas are now being managed by ports and related business. These are our pearls which allow Poland to become partner for big concerns”.

“Polish government aspires to create Pomerania best connected region in Poland. In 4 to 6 years time we should finish main investments to connect Pomerania and its most important cities – Gdansk and Gdynia with the south and west of the country” pointed Slawomir Nowak. “Sucharskiego Street construction, which is in full swing, will link Gdansk port with airport and the rest of the country”.

Boris Wenzel pointed that DCT Gdansk is an example not only of a successful developing firm, which creates new jobs (on 26^th September DCT celebrated the hiring of its 400^th employee) but also a vehicle to attract more foreign investors to Poland.

“We believe that thanks to investments like DCT Poland will become a gateway for CEE countries” said Boris Wenzel. “As a foreign investor we had to deal with many barriers and regulations hindering the development of our business. This situation is changing as local and central authorities work to streamline regulations and simplify them to EU standards. Today’s press conference confirms that the commitment to attract foreign investors to Poland is strong”.



from the left: Sławomir Majman, President of PAIiIZ, Slawomir Nowak, Secretary of State in President Chancellery; Mieczyslaw Struk, Marshal of Pomorskie Voivodeship; Monika Slomka, Vice Director of Foreign Investments Department of PAIiIZ; Teresa Kaminska, President of Pomeranian Special Economic Zone; Lukasz Zelewski, President of Pomeranian Development Agency; Alan Aleksandrowicz, President of InvestGDA; translator; Boris Wenzel, DCT Gdansk CEO.

After welcoming President Lech Walesa, the Prime Minister and deputy Prime Minister in recent months, DCT Gdansk, the leading Polish container terminal played once again host to one of the most important politicians in Poland. On 7^th September 2011, DCT was visited by Mr. Cezary Grabarczyk, Minister of Infrastructure in Donald Tusk’s government. The Minister of Infrastructure met with DCT Gdansk’s CEO and a representative of Macquarie, the largest private infrastructure investor in the world, to discuss infrastructure priorities in Poland and the opportunities presented by the development of a major hub port in Gdansk for the Polish economy.

Cezary Grabarczyk and Boris Wenzel, DCT’s CEO, spoke about the importance of Polish infrastructure development as a trigger for the fast increase of the volume handled in Polish container terminals and to attract Polish volumes currently handled via foreign ports.

“The strategy of the government is aligned with the strategy of DCT Gdansk presented by Mr. Boris Wenzel” said Cezary Grabarczyk.

“DCT is organising an information campaign following the meeting with Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland, who visited our terminal 13^th May 2011” said Boris Wenzel. “We started with general issues that influence Polish container industry and we have received confirmation that the Polish government is keen to implement solutions that will support the development of container terminals. Now it is time to discuss details and Mr. Cezary Grabarczyk’s visit is a chance to speak about infrastructure problems which are urgent not only for our business but for the whole region as well” added Boris Wenzel.

“Sucharskiego Street  had to be modernized urgently” points out Dominik Landa, Chief Commercial Officer (acting) in DCT. “ Road conditions were very poor and gradually decreasing in spite of frequent repairs.  Harsh and long winter last year made it even more difficult to drive. Our clients were encountering difficulties in accessing our terminal, trucking companies raised claims due to tire damages.  Eventually the scheme has begun,  and it is expected this time next year we could all enjoy more convenient access to DCT Gdansk as, according to GiK,  construction of first two lanes is anticipated to be accomplished”.

Whole project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2013.

DCT Gdansk, one of the fastest growing terminals in Europe makes new investments in handling equipment to increase its handling capacity to 1M TEU per year.

“Our role as the hub port for Central and Eastern Europe is significant” emphasizes Boris Wenzel, DCT’s CEO. “We need to develop much faster than any other container terminal in the region to respond to the demand in a new market we have created:. several shipping lines are planning to introduce deep sea calls into the Baltic Sea using DCT Gdansk. We want to be able to accommodate them while at the same time we continue to increase the quality of our service to existing clients”.

At the beginning of August, DCT received 2 new STS cranes and supporting yard equipment required to operate them.

“DCT is the only container terminal in Eastern Baltic Sea able to accommodate E class vessels” says Jedrzej Mierzewski, Chief Operations Officer. “We had made serious plans to buy new cranes as a first step to attract regular weekly calls of the biggest vessels in the world to Gdansk. We already received 7 IMVs, 2 new STS cranes and 3 new RTGs. In October we are expecting another 7 IMVs” sums up Jedrzej Mierzewski.

New DCT equipment will be ready to operate by November 2011. “Three additional RTG cranes are expected in May 2012” adds Boris Wenzel. “With these cranes we will increase the amount of our equipment by 60%”.

New cranes were discharged from “Enchanter”. They will be assembled on the terminal’s area.

On 21^st July 2011, DCT Gdansk played host to Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and Minister of Economy Mr. Waldemar Pawlak during the maiden call of 15,500 TEU Evelyn Maersk.

While 6,000 containers were being loaded and discharged from Evelyn, Minister Pawlak and Boris Wenzel, DCT CEO, spoke about the development of the Polish container port industry and the new opportunities created by DCT Gdansk for Polish ports to compete with the largest ports hub ports in Northern Europe.

After an hour of private meeting, Waldemar Pawlak and Boris Wenzel gave a joint press briefing during which the deputy Prime Minister re-affirmed the commitment of the Government to eliminate all barriers affecting the competitiveness of Polish ports.  Waldemar Pawlak said: “Polish ports may become a gateway connecting Central Eastern Europe with Asia. Bringing Europe-Asia string to Gdansk and maybe to other Polish ports in the future, fuels Polish economy development and attracts new investors which allows creating new work places”.

“The visit by deputy Prime Minister Pawlak sends a strong message to the market. The Polish Government understands the importance of the Polish container port sector for the Polish economy and is committed to support its further development to compete efficiently with other hub ports in Northern Europe.  The Polish container port industry needs government support in infrastructure development, and the removal of bureaucratic and financial barriers” pointed Boris Wenzel. “DCT started the revolution in the Baltic Sea region, now it is time to position Poland to become the gateway to Central Eastern Europe.”

DCT Gdansk operates over 100 items of container handling equipment including reach stackers, empty handlers, STS and RTG cranes, and trucks. The E-SMART system provides immediate visualisation of equipment status and plant faults using large clear icons allowing the terminal to quickly identify any issues for rapid remedial action.

Boris Wenzel, DCT CEO says “DCT is a rapidly growing terminal. The deployment of E class vessels on the Maersk Line AE10 string to Gdansk since May 2011 has been another important step in DCT’s development.  More intensive operations on E class vessels also mean we need the most efficient solutions to ensure the most optimal deployment of equipment and minimize downtime.”

E-SMART also provides statistics for KPIs such as, equipment availability and outages, and can be used to trend and identify repeat issues and monitor performance. Management dashboards are provided allowing key staff and managers across the terminal to view the live status of the equipment and the equipment history.

“It is crucial for us to provide the highest quality of our services” says Jedrzej Mierzewski, DCT Chief Operations Officer. “As a company which is developing constantly, we need solutions that optimise our operational equipment effectiveness. E-SMART provides a good platform to share information between the operations and maintenance functions, and clearly allows the operations staff to see what equipment is available to them and when equipment is available following service work.”

Richard Lambert, ITS’ Managing Director commented “we are very pleased to work with DCT Gdansk. They are a forward looking, proactive organisation that recognises the major benefits that can be achieved by integrating technology within the operational environment.  We only launched E-SMART on our web site PortAutomation.com in March this year, and DCT Gdansk represents our third implementation this year, and we are naturally very pleased they selected E-SMART for their terminal”.