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Showing posts with label Marine Insurance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marine Insurance. Show all posts

Wednesday 9 January 2019

Good news for Depth Logistics clients in 2019.

I wanted to let you know about what we are rolling out at Depth Logistics this year to enhance our service offering and pass on some other good news for our clients in general.

We are excited to announce that we have begun investing in trucking assets to improve the service to our clients and ensure we are always delivering on our brand promise of “Absolute Reliability”. The fleet will start taking to the road in February and will include 100T low loaders, flat top and drop deck trailers and we have a side loader trailer also on order for container deliveries.



The truck fleet will be based at our new terminal, which will be established at the Port of Brisbane. The terminal will broaden the scope of services we can supply clients “in house” and will include the full suite of Biosecurity treatments including washing, a customs bond store, storage, container packing/unpacking and pre-delivery processing of RoRo cargo. The terminal will have ultra-high security for clients we act for in moving sensitive cargo.



Major Quarantine issues with brown marmorated stink bug are ongoing and it seems may be here to stay. So far we have succeeded in minimising the impacts of this on our clients through being hyper-vigilant on carrier selection and offshore treatment providers and to soon have fumigation ability in our own terminal in Brisbane will mean faster clearance of cargo we are handling.



The investments in our trucking fleet and new terminal for the company are underpinned by the good recovery we are seeing from our resources clients and growth in defence procurement supply chains we are working in.

We are recruiting more new senior team members and have already recently hired Chad Pennington as our new financial controller and Holli Delaforce as our executive assistant.

Our Clark, Philippines team have just moved to a brand new much larger branch office to give us more room to grow.



This year we will continue to invest in the digital delivery of more of our services as trends are that clients are preferring to use digital channels more and more to accomplish their shipping. An example of this is with our myCargo Insurance platform we launched late last year, which many of our clients now love using.



1 January 2019 also heralded the commencement of more Free Trade Agreements (FTA) for Australia with other countries. Many import duty rates have dropped as part of phased reductions in tariffs as of this date. More FTA’s are coming online with other countries this year. See this link from the Dept of Foreign Affairs and Trade to get a great overview of what FTA’s are in operation and coming.

I am sincerely excited with our 2019 strategic direction and expanding our own “in house” logistics capabilities and thank you for your ongoing support.

In the meantime if there is any help, advice or quotes you need, please contact me 24/7 toll free on 1DEPTH (133784) or +61730544670.

Yours with “Absolute Reliability”,

Brad Skelton

Friday 17 August 2018

myCargo - Incredible Logistics Software

Depth Logistics is...


myCargo provides incredible cloud and mobile device based logistics software that is changing the way deliveries are arranged and accomplished for shippers, freight forwarders and carriers alike.

The founders are master logisticians and are “hands on” in the development and testing of every aspect of our technology and strategies that integrate perfectly with modern, ever faster and more efficient transport methods. We are progressively releasing game changing technology to improve supply chains link by link.

The myCargo widget modules are provided free of charge to users and are simple and easy to use. They can be deployed to any website in any code and are compatible with all major internet browsers.

The myCargo Insurance platform is live now and rapidly being adopted as it is a game changer for the way single marine transit insurance is bound. Quotes for premiums and cover can be taken out instantly via our widget.

LIVE Quote is next to be released. This is highly sophisticated and will enable freight forwarders and transport providers to completely automate the quotation process from end to end. Their shippers can self-serve and receive an instant LIVE Quote and then book and even pay online. This will radically improve customer service for shippers and reduce the acquisition cost of jobs for logistics companies.

myCargo ERP is in beta testing with Depth Logistics and a few other select freight forwarders right now and will be released broadly by the end of 2018.

The team at myCargo have a goal to become the logistics platform that powers world trade by helping facilitate optimised transport of over one billion tonnes of cargo annually. We know that’s an audacious target that we cannot reach alone so our model is to empower, support and partner with transport industry players including shippers, freight forwarders, customs brokers, carriers, marine insurance brokers, customs and quarantine authorities.

Check it out on Depth Logistics.

All for now,

Brad Skelton

Tuesday 14 August 2018

Marine Insurance online with instant quotes and cover for cargo

Marine Insurance can now be instantly quoted and taken out online with Depth Logistics and their myCargo Insurance platform. There is no easier and faster way I know of for shippers to cover their cargo!

The facility is underwritten by Chubb Insurance and is mobile device friendly. Users can insure single shipments 24/7 with Marine Institute Cargo Clauses (A). All modes of transport are covered domestically and internationally for sums insured up to USD2 million.



There is a easy four step process you can complete online in a few minutes and then the marine insurance certificate is delivered to your email inbox. Here is an image of the widget below which is linked to the site if you want to cover any cargo now.



Payment for the premium is made securely online via credit card or PayPal account.

There is no minimum premium making this facility perfect for consignments of small values.

Next time you need insurance on your shipment check this facility out.

All for now,
Brad Skelton

Wednesday 14 September 2016

Trade Finance is a way to ship more inventory more often

I have been pleased to be able to help many of Depth Logistics' clients with Trade Finance to fund their import and export activity. As I have spoken to many of them I have been surprised that most haven't even heard of this type of financing but when they do the majority have embraced it even if to reduce their reliance on financing from their bank.

It can give you greater and more transparent buying and selling power and the ability to ship more inventory, more often without tying up working capital.

For the uninitiated here are more of the key benefits of Trade Finance.

  • Available for imports and exports
  • Increase your negotiating buying power by being able to pay your supplier faster
  • Export more by being able to offer your buyer credit terms
  • Approvals within 5 days with a single establishment fee
  • Competitive interest rates available with up to 90 day terms
  • Does not interfere with existing bank security arrangements or letters of credit
  • Security is taken over the goods and a director’s guarantee only
  • Easy shipping and marine insurance arrangements via Depth Logistics
  • Credit facility is available in multiple foreign currencies
  • Bridge the gap between your shipping and other finance facilities such as Debtor Finance
Depth Logistics works in tandem with Depth Capital to provide this service so please contact me if you'd like to learn more about it.

All for now,

+Brad Skelton

Wednesday 1 October 2014

Incredible footage of two container ships colliding in the Suez Canal 2 days ago!

If you ever think marine insurance these days is unnecessary then watch this

Two days ago the "Colombo Express" and "Maersk Tanjong" collided in the Suez Canal causing the loss of eight containers and serious delays in the southbound convoy through the canal.


As yet no cause has been reported and it is believed nobody was hurt. Only one container has been recovered so far.
Accidents do happen so contact my team at +Depth Logistics now to make sure your shipments are comprehensively covered.
All for now,

Monday 23 June 2014

Click>Ship>Save with myCargo by Depth Logistics


People are increasingly internet savvy and seeking quicker, easier, more affordable and enjoyable ways to do business. Depth Industries DNA is to strive to meet our clients needs and revolutionise the way they can access services while engaging with them as deeply as possible.

The vision that my team and I at Depth Logistics have had for myCargo has just been realised with the deployment of a quantum leap making upgrade to the platform last Friday. myCargo is now a true game changer that creates competitive advantage by allowing clients to arrange 100% of their shipping needs digitally if they chose in the same manner you can make travel bookings these days.

It enables us to offer myCargo members radically lower rates in a simple, personalised and easy to use platform. A "Best Price Guarantee" is one of the pillars of the myCargo service offering and so are the special offers we will constantly deliver. Currently members can get a customs clearance done for as low as A$80.00!

The depth of resources available go way beyond an "old school" track and trace facility. By the way myCargo offers this but in true real time! It is packed with tools that enable members to monitor, analyse, compare and consequently partner with us in reducing their logistics spend right from within their own personal dashboard.

Online quotes, marine insurance, quote history, shipping document archives are just a few more of the capabilities available.

+Julie Magnone or I would like to do a demonstration for you or otherwise feel free to sign up now and start making your shipping easier, more enjoyable and cost effective.


All for now,




Tuesday 6 May 2014

Is marine cargo insurance essential?

I was talking to a Depth Logistics client yesterday who has asked us to ship a container of parts for her.

As is our standard operating procedure, I asked her whether she had marine insurance cover for the shipment? She told me that they wouldn't worry on this shipment as it wasn't big enough...or in translation to me, not worth enough that if it were lost or damaged there would be a serious financial impact on their company.

To most people it would seem commercially astute to save the small cost of an insurance premium where they believe the risk of loss or damage to their cargo is negligible. Sound logic if it were just the cargo that is at risk but it isn't!

Centuries of maritime law precedents have established an entirely different principle that make it important to have marine transit cover in place on even the seemingly small and low risk shipments. Shipping has numerous uncontrollable risks at sea and is inherently a high risk activity for any business.

Maritime law tends to side with the ship owner whether you like it or not. Most people don't realise that when they ship their cargo on any ship for a particular voyage then at law, they are considered to be in a joint venture for that voyage. What this means for shippers is that should the vessel get into distress, suffer a mishap, be forced to jettison cargo to save the ship, be lost at sea or hypothetically require salvage to remove it from a shipping channel then each shipper with cargo on board proportionately shares in these costs. That is the spirit of a joint venture after all and maritime law precedents support this regardless of fault or blame.


Therefore cargo even with a low value can end up costing the shipper a literal fortune for their share of costs incurred to deal with the mishap properly. In my career there was one occasion where a client had a single container on a ship that ran aground in a shipping channel. The vessel had to be cut up at sea and removed from the channel as it presented a risk to other vessels and the environment. My client got a bill in the region of $400,000 for their share of costs even though their cargo was worth only a fraction of this. Had they not taken been prudent enough to ask me to take out marine insurance for them this would have been a ruinous event for their company.

So you should ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS...(have I shouted it enough?) ALWAYS have marine cargo insurance. It is false economy not to.

Feel free to contact me or my team if you would like some free advice on this critical aspect of shipping.

All for now,

+Brad Skelton