NAVIGATING THE WATERS OF AUTOMOBILE TRANSPORTATION
Neptune Lines has over 45 years of experience as a leading finished vehicle logistics provider. The family-owned business has been offering transportation and shipping solutions to manufacturers and shippers of cars since 1975. Chief Operating Officer Nikos Paterakis discussed the company’s operation with Hannah Barnett.
The name alludes to the Roman God of the Sea, so it is no surprise that Neptune Lines has a strong and long-term presence in the maritime industry. The company boasts more than 500 employees, offering short sea transportation solutions of cars, plus high and heavy cargo. Operations are focused on the Mediterranean, north europe, the Black Sea and recently the Far East, and the company currently operates 21 vessels, 19 of which it owns, with an aggregate capacity of 75,000 units. Neptune Lines has some of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers among its clientele.
Chief Operating Officer, Nikos Paterakis, described how the company grew into a major player within the industry from the small seed of an idea: “This was due to the foresight and hard work of its founder, Nikos Travlos: ‘All you need is a vision and the willpower to make it happen,’ he used to say. Mr Travlos put all the different market parameters together and the result was an agile, very customer-centric, focused company that never deviated from its course.”
The clear thinking and deep insight of Nikos Travlos brought Neptune Lines to where it is today. Starting as a cargo and shiphandling services business, it was his idea for the company to begin transporting automobiles in 1986. This intuition proved highly valuable, as by the 1990’s Neptune Lines was enjoying the recognition of leading car manufacturers.
Thinking big, building bigger
In 1992, the Greek government provided incentives for the car industry to replace old cars with newer ones including catalytic converters, and Neptune Lines was able to capitalise. With boosted car sales and a subsequent increase in the maritime transportation of them, the company acquired two more vessel s to meet the demand.
In a practical sense, Neptune Lines’ later success was due to focusing on short sea trades in the Mediterranean, and according to Mr Paterakis, “an early reaction to the warning signs of costs rising, which was effectively tackled by building bigger vessels.”
Displaying profitable insight yet again, and irrespective of the stormy market conditions that followed the 2008 financial crisis, Neptune Lines embarked on a sizeable newbuild program in 2010. Doubling its carrying capacity proved a successful gamble, as the company was able to capitalise on the subsequent increase in new cargo volumes that new contracts brought.
The company’s activities start at sea but do not end there: Neptune Lines cooperates with a well-established and extensive agency network, ensuring quality service and smooth operations. As Mr Paterakis explained, understanding the needs of the automotive industry is crucial when forming an integral par t of the downstream supply chain.
Sustainable solutions
All these years of experience accrued in automotive logistics go hand in hand with the company’s responsible stance and long-time focus on sustainability – a challenge it is seizing head-on.
“We have an exigent responsibility to positively impact emissions in our sector while improving governance and societal aspects related to our business,” Mr Paterakis said. “Ocean transportation has the lowest CO2 emissions per-vehicle-transported-kilometre than any other form of vehicle transportation. The shipping industry represents some 3% of global CO2 emissions and there is always space for improvement. We have several projects running that look at alternative fuels, emission capture a nd storage systems that we hope can feature in the next gener ation of new vessel orders when that time comes.”
Digitalisation will play a significant role in Neptune Line’s efforts to monitor and analyse emissions data which now more than ever has become a crucial factor for managing the vessels in an efficient manner. Our energy efficiency
and data performance inhouse team is currently implementing solutions which will drive the reduction of our emissions towards 2030.
Protecting the environment remains at the core of company’s focus. To further reduce emissions and operate with energy efficiency, Neptune Lines company has in place various environmental performance measures – technical and operational - as applicable for each vessel's type (i.e. design, specifications, machinery and equipment). This programme has resulted in a 6.8% decrease in CO2 emission since 2010 and a 13.09% decrease in energy use onboard and at company premises since 2011.
The first ‘Eco-Design’ vessels were introduced in 2014. Built at the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, the ships were fully equipped with the latest propulsion and environmental technologies. Maintaining focus on environmental compliance and innovation, in the years that followed, the Company completed the installation of hybrid-ready scrubber technology for most of its vessels. Currently, as Mr Paterakis said, “there are several promising projects under study for the reduction of its carbon footprint using alternative fuels and through the technical enhancements of the fleet.”
A focus on the future
The company is certainly looking ahead to the demands of future generations. It proudly runs a Cadet Training Programme, currently employing at least two or three cadets on each ship, striving to achieve a balanced overall ratio of men and women
across all fleets. The cadets are trained on board its vessels, becoming the next generation of skilled seafarers.
Recent high inflation across Europe has heralded challenges , and like most industries, Neptune Lines was impacted by disruptions in the global supply chain. “We have experienced peaks and troughs of volume flows we have not encountered for some time,” said Mr Paterakis. “This creates a high degree of inefficiency in outbound supply chains, causing tremendous pressure on our capacity planning and resulting in overall poor asset utilisation.”
Turbulent resulting though the environment may sometimes be, Mr Paterakis is confident that Neptune Lines has overcome recent adversity for the better. Communication, he said, remained crucial: “We are in good dialogue with our customers to adjust trading conditions together and ensure we not only perform in the short to mid-term, but are also able to invest in a new and more environmentally efficient capacity for the future.”
It is a rapidly changing world, but as Neptune Lines continues to grow and adapt there is little doubt that its place in the industry is firmly secured. As Mr Paterakis said, while the need for mobility continues to grow, so will the demand for Neptune Lines: “The world’s population has a rising middle class, societies are developing at a fast pace and prosperity is increasing like we have never seen. Mobility, and therefore vehicles, being a key feature in that development makes us very confident that distribution of those vehicles will be needed for many generations to come.” n
