{"id":281469,"date":"2025-09-10T16:10:32","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T06:10:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldcargonews.com\/?p=85258"},"modified":"2025-09-10T16:10:32","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T06:10:32","slug":"one-focuses-on-breakbulk-and-project-cargo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=281469","title":{"rendered":"ONE focuses on breakbulk and project cargo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Japanese-Singaporean global container shipping line Ocean Network Express (ONE) is sharpening its focus on intra-European services. This includes deploying more vessels and specialist equipment for handling out-of-gauge cargo without disrupting sailing schedules.<\/strong>
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Founded as an amalgamation of three Japanese lines, ONE has made significant progress globally, and most recently and notably in European waters. The company has targeted investment in its intra-European services, achieving the highest capacity and market share growth of any carrier over the past twelve months, according to data from Alphaliner, the industry analysts. ONE has placed strategic focus on its regional network, with a clear aim of positioning the company as a leader in intra-\u00adEuropean \u00adconnectivity.<\/p>\n

That distinctive livery is a daily sight at Birmingham\u2019s inland container terminals, but the magnificent magenta also adorned an impressive stand at the recent Multimodal trade show in the city\u2019s National Exhibition Centre. It was there that Stanley Smulders, Director of Product & Network at ONE, spoke to WorldCargo News<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Being competitive<\/h2>\n

\u201cWe are a global operator,\u201d Smulders said. \u201cWhat we want to do is cover all trade lanes in the world. So we have a program to be a certain size by 2030, not only to make sure that we are in a position to survive on our own if we have to, but also to have the economies of scale to compete. You don\u2019t need to be as big as your competitors globally speaking, but you need to be competitive in each and every trade lane where you operate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at our regional coverage, the Intra-Europe trade is very big in certain countries and our presence in this market was limited. But it is very important for our customer base, so when they say, \u2018hey, we wouldn\u2019t mind another operator there\u2019, we say we wouldn\u2019t mind being in there either.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smulders\u2019 disarming levity disguises the fact that moving into the crowded waters of Europe is a complicated proposition. That has involved ONE in heavy investment, particularly in shipping to serve feeder routes into Scandinavia, the Baltic, and within the Mediterranean. In just one year, the global carrier has more than doubled its fleet size in the region, deploying 17 container ships, up from eight. Along with this expansion, ONE has increased its average vessel size by more than 350 TEU, from 1,450 TEU to 1,809 TEU, further reinforcing its high-capacity commitment to customers.<\/p>\n

It has also meant Smulders has been taking a fresh look at commodity trades. \u201cWe see links that we have never seen before,\u201d he says, living up to his product development role for the company. \u201cWe have set up services from Egypt to the Adriatic [Damietta-Koper-Venice-Damietta], partly to feed cargo formation, but also to cover our fresh cargo flows. Egypt is one of the largest producers of fruits and vegetables, and we export hundreds of containers per week, almost all to Italy. From there, they move further into Europe. That\u2019s a massive and interesting development, and it\u2019s only growing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fast-developing ports<\/h2>\n

Smulders takes a holistic view of the European market. Where others may see a mature, perhaps stagnant market, he says the demographic of Europe is changing, and that favours a long-term development programme. In a shipping context, Smulders is keenly aware of a vast potential market within easy reach of Europe.<\/p>\n

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Stanley Smulders, Director of Product & Network at ONE \/ Photo: ONE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cEurope has maybe not the fastest growing economy in the world,\u201d he says. \u201cReading the newspapers, every country in Europe has at the moment a topic about immigration.\u201d The foresightful executive identifies Africa and its fast-developing Mediterranean ports as a locus for future trade. \u201cWhen you have more people, people first start consuming. And then countries need to invest in facilities, housing, education, healthcare and everything that comes with that. It all requires container movements at some stage. Overall volumes are going to grow globally on the basis of population growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

It might be a visionary leap from demographic shift to project cargo, but Smulders takes the long view. Moving the means of infrastructure development is behind the astute move to fleet renewal with more versatile ships, capable of carrying a mix of out-of-gauge loads, standard containers, and flat-racks, which transport non-divisible items that can be handled with the minimum of specialist equipment.<\/p>\n

\u201cA focus for us is what we call special equipment,\u201d explains Smulders with enthusiasm for expanding the versatility of the fleet in ways that port operators can handle with their existing facilities. \u201cThat can be an open top. It can be a flat-rack, but it\u2019s still unitised. Then we realised we can offer solutions for break bulk as well,\u201d he says, rising to his subject and addressing the challenges with enthusiasm. \u201cShips are in port for a certain period. You don\u2019t want them to be delayed because you load an extra piece of out-of-gauge cargo or break bulk. So it\u2019s a matter of precise planning. It\u2019s a focused area, in that you need skilled people [both on ship and on shore].\u00a0 A dry container is a dry container, no matter what\u2019s in there, but for special cargoes, you need experienced specialists who know what they\u2019re talking about. At ONE, we have dedicated teams that handle all the queries and precision planning. We have the knowledge within that team to say, \u2018for this piece, you need this type of security and method of securing, so many units of flat-rack\u2019. It\u2019s all about the right skill set and planning together with the container terminals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Large and versatile fleet<\/h2>\n

Stepping beyond his European remit, putting what Smulders calls \u201cmore interesting\u201d cargo onto the non-dominant legs of Asian-bound ocean-going routes is also a revenue growth area. \u201cEurope has a few countries where a lot of machinery is being produced,\u201d he observes. \u201cIf that machinery goes to Asia, shipping it would be better than moving a lot of empty containers.\u201d That capability is a collateral benefit of the strategy for Intra-European operations, with the prospect of ONE being the carrier from door to door.<\/p>\n

For Smulders and his European team, taking ownership of the challenge is what it\u2019s all about. \u201cWe talk this through with ports and primarily terminal operators long in advance. If we say we need a floating crane, then we speak to the operator. Most modern container terminals have space for this equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no denying that ONE also benefits from a large and versatile fleet. \u201cWe have a very regular schedule,\u201d says Smulders. \u201cIf you have a big piece and you have to wait for a multipurpose ship to come along, you could wait weeks. They don\u2019t have the frequency that we have. Coupled with the right knowledge and capabilities, it makes a weekly liner service like ours a much more attractive choice for customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in Europe, the versatility of cargo handling is Smulders\u2019 reason for getting up in the morning. From pharma to mechanical shovels, he says ONE has it covered.\u00a0 Developing reefer technology has eaten into the airfreight market, he says, and ONE\u2019s new flat rack design (37 sunken lashing rings for better security and flexibility, for example) highlights its focus on customer requirements.<\/p>\n

Complete commitment<\/h2>\n

Smulders concludes with a message of reliability across the whole manifest. \u201cWhen it comes to these special cargoes, it requires a level of dedication and we know from our competitors, there are only a few who are dedicated to it, and many will not even consider it because it\u2019s too much hassle. It requires additional, experienced manpower and skills that they may not have. We have made a very clear choice. We want to be in this target market, and we can handle it. This is why we invest in equipment like a specialised flat rack. You don\u2019t do that if you are not 100% committed. We know that if the dry [container] markets go down, every carrier starts looking for cargo, and begins bidding for every single load, despite whether they have the knowledge and experience. We carry this specialised cargo in the good times and the bad times, because it\u2019s a choice we make, and we do that globally.\u201d<\/p>\n

*This story first appeared in the July\/August print issue of WorldCargo News<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ocean Network Express is sharpening its focus on intra-European services, deploying more vessels and equipment for handling out-of-gauge cargo without disrupting sailing schedules.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18091,15261,11313,3825,3826,6239,12154,18092],"tags":[12159],"class_list":["post-281469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-breakbulk-shipping","category-from-the-magazine","category-in-depth","category-ocean-network-express","category-one","category-project-cargo","category-shipping-logistics","category-stanley-smulders","tag-world-cargo-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=281469"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":281605,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281469\/revisions\/281605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=281469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=281469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=281469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}