Quo Vadis? That's what I've been wondering
Jaap Simonse, IFPTA Vice-President Europe
PPI TS19 Conference Co-Chairman
Published: July 19, 2010
Quo Vadis. That is what I have been wondering recently. And the main question nowadays is not only where but also how. Getting from point to point is not always an easy task, but even those of us who work in logistics might find things more difficult on occasion.
My first meeting in London with George Hudson, my co-chairman for PPI Transport Symposium 19, was intended to be a short hop across the water for a nice chat and some planning for the event next year. However, what was slated as a short trip quickly developed into much more, due to the presence of a bothersome volcanic ash cloud from Iceland.
Forty-five minutes after arriving in London City Airport, the authorities were kind enough to announce that British airspace would close within the next hour or so. Well, not to be interrupted, George and I still met for a good meeting at the hotel. By the next morning, we had talked about many of the hundreds of details when planning for such an international gathering as PPI TS19, and the mini-bar was empty. It was then I was told British airspace was still closed and there were no flights back across the North Sea.
Standing out in front of the hotel, wondering what to do, I noticed a Dutch bus loading invalid passengers and wheelchairs. What a stroke of luck, I thought. I asked if I could join them back to the Netherlands as a volunteer. Okay with them, the driver said. But they were only starting their holiday and would not go back until a week from now. Well, I could not wait that long.
Thinking that my luck might have run out, I was saved by a phone call from an English business friend who stated that he was stuck on the wrong side of the Channel tunnel. So am I, I said. After some creative logistics scheduling, we arranged for one of his colleagues to pick me up outside London. Another colleague of mine would drive to meet me from the Netherlands.
We met in a pub in Calais, a British-Dutch expedition toasting our good fortune. I was home in 40 hours after my trip started and my English colleagues went without further delay back through the tunnel. So, in the end, it was like good shipping should be: no empty leg. Sometimes things do not go as planned.
A few weeks later, I was at the Brussels airport for a flight to Chicago. After filling out my ESTA form online, I received the expected "Authorization approved." But on check-in at the counter, the agent said, "Sir, my computer says no."
"Well sir," I said, "that has to be a mistake." Three hours later, with an increasing blood pressure, the answer was still no and I went home upset and frustrated.
These times reminded me how much I prefer sea transportation to the air. No problems with ash clouds, although admittedly this was a rare occurrence. But when traveling by sea, there is more time to discuss issues, take care of problems, plan for what comes next. And air transportation may no longer have a lock on long-distance travel; very fast ferries could take us from Europe to North America in 10 years from now. I believe that sea transport, as a more environmentally friendly mode of transportation, could have a very bright future.
Sea transport, of course, is a priority at the Port of Amsterdam, the host port for PPI TS19. Amsterdam already has a passenger terminal, undoubtedly ready for receiving the more than 1,000 delegates expected for the Symposium. Delegates should plan to add a few extra days to their trip to explore Amsterdam and its surroundings. A compact city with excellent public transportation - buses, streetcars, underground and buses - there is more to the city than world famous paintings in beautiful museums.
PPI Transport Symposium 19 is the event for everyone in global forest products logistics, either over land or sea. In the months leading up to PPI TS19, we will highlight more about the port and the city of Amsterdam in the IFPTA Journal. Both George and I welcome your support in preparing for PPI TS19, so let’s have your comments and ideas with respect to the Symposium, the IFPTA, and IFPTA Journal as well.
Quo Vadis? To Amsterdam in October 2011.
