Shipping lines
18. November 2021

Interview with Boris Schusnix

Mr. Boris Schusnix is experienced in container shipping since 1998 when started his carrier in forwarding and during several years he moved from forwarding to shipping lines, where he successfully started the new challenge with Euromar Shipping Agency as agent for Evergreen line in 2020. Thanks to long term experience in the shipping industry (from the side of forwarder, shipping line, passed positions from the operation, controlling, logistics, sales, and management) he is skilled and able to easily understand the needs of customers and the market. Always ready to offer the best solutions and customer service with his highly professional team.


1. What are the international and domestic (river) ports where Euromar operates? And what sets you apart from other shipping companies in the region?
Euromar Shipping Agency is an agent of Evergreen line. This is the container line and we are calling mainly the seaports, in this respect, the main for Slovakia are Trieste, Koper, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Gdansk, and Gdynia. As there is always pressure on rates and transit time we are not using any river ports and the delivery from seaports is with combined transport (rail/road). This means we deliver the containers from seaports to inland container depots by train and final delivery is mostly on trucks. Euromar as an agent is different mainly cause we are agents and not Evergreen directly, this gives us opportunities to be more flexible and offer services which normally the shipping lines are not offering and leaving them on forwarders. 
 
2. Technology is growing faster than ever. Do you think the logistics industry will be able to adapt? Do you follow technological developments as you continue to grow?
The logistics industry is adapting as fast as possible. Just take a look at how the trends changed during the last 5 years. In the shipping lines just a few years ago there were only a few shipping lines using own EDI solutions and web applications for bookings, BL creating by customers, etc, nowadays you will need to search to find someone who is not following this trend. There are new precise tracking GPS machines to show the customer the exact position of his cargo etc. The growth of technological development will be even stronger as the limits of actual vessels and ECOlogy is limited, so the development will continue this direction for sure…
 
3. The “Ever Given” is free again after the incident in the Suez Canal. Will global commercial shipping soon be back to business as usual? What are the predictions?
The global commercial shipping was not touched by this accident in Suez Canal so much as many people think it was. The problem is much deeper and started in the economic crisis in 2007 when the steel industry in Asia started to bankrupt. This started a chain reaction which is resulting in today’s situation on the market. The accident with the Ever Given just showed up the general problem of the Suez where nobody invested much and it becomes to be too old for new ships, it was only bad luck that it was Ever Given, it could be any other vessel which pass that time through the canal. But back to the problem, the business will not come back to usual so easy, as the problem is long-term and touches too many things from the size of the ships to the number of available containers on the market. 
 
4. It is safe to say the prices for container transports had almost returned to their previous record highs. What is the prediction for the future? Will freight rates climb even higher?
Actually, the rates can still grow sky-high on the 14th day, even though it has already reached the possible high level in my opinion. The situation with lack of vessel space, lack of Equipment is causing that the rates are still growing. My opinion is the rates will never come back to the levels before 2015. The problem is not possible to solve just like that and pushing on ecology will push on the transportation rates on the top of that. Yes, there are alternative fuels available, but are those economical? Not at this stage, these are so expensive, also the ships have to change, safety, etc. The industry cannot and will not change from one day to another and that is the reason why the rates will not drop down so easy, and most probably the ecology will costs a fortune, to be paid by the cargo at the end of the day. 
 
5. What is your opinion on the position of the WOF Expo 2021 in the CEE region?
I am happy that something like this was established for our region. Surely, there are well known logistical events in Germany or other countries but in CEE region there was nothing like this. And to share the new trends and knowledge, it is great to have such an opportunity. Thank you for doing this for us!



Euromar Shipping Agency, Slovakia – Since the day of its establishment, in December 2020, Euromar Shipping Agency s.r.o. Slovakia has represented the commercial and operational interests of Evergreen Line in Slovakia. The highly challenging liner shipping industry has been the playing ground where Euromar Slovakia did play its role since the first day of its activity. Main port gates for the mid-European area are Trieste and Koper in Adriatic area and Hamburg, and Bremerhaven in North-West European continent and many others. Evergreen Line, being one of the top players in the industry, is serving Slovak trade to/from the Far East, Indian Sub-Continent, Red Sea, Intra Mediterranean, and Intra Black Sea ports, US ports, North Europe. The expertise gained through the years a guarantee for high-quality services that are offered to the Slovak market. The company‘s mission is customer satisfaction, quality, safety, and costs effectiveness. Their employees are their most valuable asset, the company builds strong relationships with their customers and their extraordinary customer service is Euromar‘s main priority.

www.evergreen-line.com