Maersk’s subsidiary, Sealand has partnered with the global pulp and paper manufacturer APRIL Group to provide a new direct service from APRIL Group’s terminal in Futong, Indonesia, to China.
This direct service circumvents the transhipments and schedule reliability challenges in their former route, offering improved efficiency in the ocean transport leading to more cost-effective logistics and an improved equipment cycle, said Sealand in its announcement.
“The APRIL Group ships pulp from Indonesia to China and the route they previously used went from their private terminal in Futong to Singapore or Port Klang, then tranships from there to the final destination in China. However, they often encounter challenges with schedule stability and limited capacity of the barge service they were using,” explains Ristona Widoretno, Sealand Indonesia’s reliance sales manager and project lead in the Futong Project.
“If the barge’s limited capacity cannot accommodate any of their shipments, their cargo will need to wait for another seven days for the next rotation. Additionally, there were also issues with equipment supply, further putting unnecessary pressure on their supply chain,” Widoretno added.
Sealand noted that a successful trial shipment for empty discharge commenced 20 February followed a week later by a full shipment of laden containers and said that the direct shipping route from Futong to China will be a weekly service.
“We worked closely with the customer and various internal stakeholders to develop this customised solution, making sure that it addresses their pain points, reduces complexity and uncertainty while delivering reliable ocean transportation services to the customer’s upstream supply chain,” stated Lawrence Chua, portfolio head (Global Freight Forwarders) of Sealand Asia.
“This is the first breakthrough for direct shipment from RAPP Futong port to China. It needs to be continued in the future, not only go to China, but also to other countries/destinations,” affirmed Mhd. Ali Shabri, operation support director PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper, the APRIL Group’s operating arm in Riau Province, Indonesia.
