Antwerp Port Authority News

At the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) on climate change, the Port of Antwerp and the Port of Montreal have signed a cooperation agreement to support the creation of the first green shipping corridor in the North Atlantic.Through this agreement, the two ports pledge to mobilize their respective public- and private-sector partners alike in the assessment, identification, development and adoption of shared or complementary solutions and infrastructures. Together, they intend…

Industry stakeholders at PortPIC stressed the importance of more innovation, collaboration and aligned initiatives to shape sustainable solutions for in-water cleaning.This was the main message from the inaugural In-Port Inspection & Cleaning Conference (PortPIC) held last week, organized by Jotun and DNV GL.In his opening address, Geir Axel Oftedahl, business development director, Jotun Marine Coatings raised the issue of biofouling and emphasized, “There’s an increasing focus…

Antwerp and Rotterdam Port Authorities asked new European Commission (EC) and Parliament to focus on the economic significance of ports.The energy transition and digitization are the two strategic challenges facing large industrial ports. The European Union can offer port authorities and industrial clusters important incentives to achieve the transition toward the CO2-neutral ports of the future.That is why Antwerp and Rotterdam Port Authorities have taken the initiative to organize a joint event for European policy makers, with contributions from experts from the world of science, industry and logistics.‘The Added Value of Ports’ event takes place in Brussels on Wednesday, 11 September 2019.

As BBC Amethyst anchored in Porto do Açu, Brazil, she becomes the first vessel to make the big crossing from Antwerp to the Brazilian sea port."Quite an achievement for Port of Antwerp International and the local partners who invested in the Brazilian port, thereby promoting trade with Antwerp. Brazil, the biggest economy of Latin America and number 7 in the world, is a key trading partner for the Port of Antwerp," said a press release from the Europe’s second-largest seaport.A Siemens gas turbine, an essential component of the new thermoelectric power plant of GNA - Gás Natural Açu Ltda, which is a joint venture among Prumo (parent holding company Porto do Açu)…

With expected growth of 5.1% compared with last year, 2018 looks set to be a record year for the Port of Antwerp for the sixth time in a row."In 2019 the Port Authority will keep to the same course, further building a sustainable future for the port. In pursuit of this goal it is concentrating heavily on structural solutions to challenges such as mobility, the energy transition, digitisation and innovation," said a press release from the port authority.The expected total freight volume in 2018 comes to 235 million tonnes, a new record, with unparalleled growth in all types of cargo. The large expansion in container freight continues, reaching 130 million tonnes (up 5.8%) or 11 million TEU (up 5.5%).

The modification of the Municipal Port Police Regulation, the Port Instructions and related forms come into force on the 12th of November 2018 said a press release from the Antwerp Port Authority.The port and the social context in which it operates are in a constant state of flux. It is therefore essential for the Police Regulation to take account of the changing situation and requirements.In modification 3 of the Port Police Regulation various articles were modified, and various new provisions were added.In 2014 the Port Instructions were drawn up to supplement the Municipal Police Regulation, to serve as a guide for how the latter should be applied. Some Port Instructions were modified, some new Instructions were added.

The SAFIR consortium, a group of 13 public and private organisations, has been selected by Single European Sky ATM Research Joint Undertaking (SESAR JU) to demonstrate integrated Drone Traffic Management for a broad range of drone operations in Belgium.Antwerp Port Authority said in a press release that  the goal of the SAFIR project is to contribute to the EU regulatory process for drones and drive forward the deployment of interoperable, harmonised and standardised drone services across Europe.The SAFIR consortium (Safe and Flexible Integration of Initial U-space Services in a Real Environment) consists of the following organisations: Unifly, Amazon Prime Air, Belgocontrol, DronePort, Proximus, the Port of Antwerp, Helicus, SABCA, Elia, High Eye, C-Astral, Tekever and Aveillant.

Throughput continues to register growth in the Port of Antwerp. After record semi-annual figures, the total throughput after nine months stands at 177,026,550 tonnes – a sharp 6% increase compared with the same period last year.A press release from the company said that with these results, the port seems to be on track for the sixth record year in a row. The recent wave of investments moreover confirms the port’s appeal and reaffirms its role as a world player.Container traffic registered robust growth yet again, up by 7.1%  (98,436,773 tonnes) compared with the first nine months of 2017. In terms of Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs)…

Belgian port Antwerp said that throughput continues to register growth in the port. After record semi-annual figures, the total throughput after nine months stands at 177,026,550 tonnes – a sharp 6% increase compared with the same period last year.With these results, the port seems to be on track for the sixth record year in a row. The recent wave of investments moreover confirms the port’s appeal and reaffirms its role as a world player.Maritime throughput continues to grow. Container traffic registered robust growth yet again, up by 7.1%  (98,436,773 tonnes) compared with the first nine months of 2017. In terms of Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs)…

Traffic flows between the Belgian port of Antwerp and the hinterland market in Hungary and Austria are increasing continuously. In order to meet the growing demand, the Antwerp Port Authority is promoting the expansion of hinterland connections, especially by rail.Two regular rail connections to Hungary have been established since 2015 and rail services to Austria have been expanded from one to currently three.At a port event held near Vienna on 27 September, leading representatives of the Antwerp port industry provided information on the further development of these transports with Austria and Hungary. 200 guests from both countries followed the invitation of the Antwerp Port Authority.Hungary and Austria are an attractive but highly competitive market for the northern…

Seven ports have now elevated the Paris Agreement Climate Goal to the top of their agendas to keep global warming well below 2°C.With their World Ports Climate Action Program announced, the port authorities of Hamburg, Barcelona, Antwerp, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Vancouver and Rotterdam will collaborate in refining and developing tools to facilitate reduction of CO2 emissions from maritime transport.The Port Authority organisations call upon the shipping industry and other ports to join the commitment to deliver on the Paris Agreement and to work together on actions that yield measurable results.Allard Castelein President & Chief Executive Officer of  Port of Rotterdam said: “The Paris Agreement has set a clear target: we need to limit global warming to well below 2°C.

The Japanese group MOL Chemical Tankers is coming to the port of Antwerp. Together with the port group SEA-Invest it is to invest some 300 to 400 million euros in construction of a tank storage terminal for liquid chemicals. This is yet more confirmation of the port's power of attraction for big investors.Mol Chemical Tankers, a member of the Japanese group Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, will team up with SEA-Invest to build a tank storage terminal in the port of Antwerp. The Sea-Mol joint venture has been set up for this purpose, for which it will invest some 300 to 400 million euros. The new investment is expected to create 100 direct jobs.The tank terminal will be located on a 45 hectare site in the Delwaide dock.

The UK is the third-largest maritime trading partner for the port of Antwerp. In order to be fully prepared for Brexit the Port Authority is taking various initiatives including the appointment of a new representative for the UK and Ireland. Justin Atkin has assumed this role as of 1 September 2018.With an annual freight volume of around 15 million tonnes the UK is the port of Antwerp's largest maritime trading partner after the USA and Russia. Antwerp is also ideally situated as an investment location close to the European centres of decision-making, and as the gateway to Europe from where the continent can be served quickly and efficiently…

Port of Antwerp reached a new milestone with the introduction of a fully automatic sounding boat that employs unique technology. The vessel, named the Echodrone, is a prototype that is currently being developed to supplement the other operational sounding boat, the Echo.Both of these carry out measurements of the water depth everywhere in the port so as to guarantee safe passage for shipping. The cloud-based technology – a first – has been developed in partnership between the Port Authority and dotOcean and is only one of the many initiatives being taken by the Port Authority in the field of digital innovation.A press release said that innovation is a powerful response to today's fast-changing world and so is a main component of the future vision of Antwerp Port Authority.

Port of Antwerp has reached a new milestone with the introduction of a fully automatic sounding boat that employs unique technology. The vessel, named the Echodrone, is a prototype that is currently being developed to supplement the other operational sounding boat, the Echo.Both of these carry out measurements of the water depth everywhere in the port so as to guarantee safe passage for shipping. The cloud-based technology – a first – has been developed in partnership between the Port Authority and dotOcean and is only one of the many initiatives being taken by the Port Authority in the field of digital innovation.Innovation is a powerful response to today's fast-changing world and so is a main component of the future vision of Antwerp Port Authority.

Railport Antwerp, a joint initiative by Antwerp Port Authority, the Left Bank Development Corporation and the industry associations Essenscia Vlaanderen and VOKA-Alfaport, is to expand its activities. The company will actively serve rail transport in the port, including intermodal container transport, with the aim of doubling the proportion of rail transport in the port of Antwerp over the next few years. An important step in this process is the appointment of Nils van Vliet as CEO. "Nils van Vliet takes over as CEO of Railport Antwerp as of 1 July 2018," said a press release from the company. Nils has already made a name for himself in the rail sector: in 2004 he joined the first Belgian private rail company DLC (now Crossrail Benelux)…

A collaboration agreement was signed on Thursday 24 May, in the port of Antwerp between on the one side Port of Antwerp International (PAI), the consultancy and investment subsidiary of Antwerp Port Authority, and APEC, its maritime training centre, and on the other Gambia Ports Authority which manages the port of Banjul in The Gambia. The collaboration, which will mainly take the form of training and consulting, underlines the leading role that the port of Antwerp plays in West Africa. As part of a visit to Belgium the delegation from The Gambia headed by H.E. President Adama Barrow today also called at the port of Antwerp. After a guided tour of the port the programme continued with signature of the collaboration agreement between the ports of Antwerp and Banjul.

The climate target of getting Belgian CO2 emissions 35% lower by 2030 is a formidable challenge. In this context Antwerp Port Authority and gas infrastructure operator Fluxys believe strongly that carbon capture, storage and reuse by industry is an important weapon in the fight against climate change. They are therefore teaming up to take further practical steps that will help give shape to the energy transition. In the first phase, Antwerp Port Authority and Fluxys are studying the feasibility of solutions for capturing CO2 from industry in the port, transporting it by pipeline or ship and finally re-using or storing it. If the results of the feasibility study are positive then the aim is to jointly promote practical projects.

The Antwerp Port Authority aims to create the necessary conditions to supply onshore power for seagoing ships in the port. In order to realize this ambition, it will sign two agreements on Friday, 23 March, during the World Ports Sustainabaility Program-event in Antwerp. The first agreement will receive the signatures from the Port Authority and Alfaport-VOKA, the representative of the private port community whose support is essential for the project to succeed. Under the second agreement, the names of the Port Authority and 5 technical partners will end up making their expertise available to enable onshore power for seagoing vessels in the port area to be realized in the short term. These are Techelec, Schneider Electric, ABB, Siemens and Actemium.

The ports of Antwerp and Douala in Cameroon are to collaborate closely with each other over the next five years. The collaboration agreement was signed on Wednesday this week during an extensive visit by Antwerp port representatives to the port of Douala in Cameroon. Douala port authority  is counting on the Antwerp know-how in order to boost the efficiency of its port operations, among other things. For Antwerp the agreement represents a way to maintain and further strengthen its position as market leader in West and Central Africa. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Cyrus Ngo’o, CEO of the Port Autonome de Douala,and by Marc Van Peel and Kristof Waterschoot…

Antwerp and Dakar port authorities are to collaborate more closely in the next few years. In this way Antwerp, the second-largest port in Europe, seeks to reinforce its historic position as leader on the coast of West Africa. The Senegalese port of Dakar for its part views the collaboration as a way to position itself as the main regional hub for freight. In order to put an official seal on the future collaboration, the respective port authorities signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Friday this week. Mr. Aboubacar Sedikh Beye signed for the Port Autonome de Dakar, while Kristof Waterschoot, CEO of two subsidiaries of Antwerp Port Authority (PAI and APEC), represented the Antwerp side.

The port of Antwerp has decided to appoint a full-time representative in the UK, based in London, in order to keep in closer touch with the economic situation there now that Brexit is looming closer. "Antwerp Port Authority is now in search of a full-time representative to further raise Antwerp’s profile on the British market," said a press statement from the company. Attracting additional sources of trade and cargo will also form part of the new port representative’s job. With an annual freight volume of nearly 14 million tonnes (2017), commercial relations between the port and the UK are very significant. “The UK is actually our third-largest trading partner,” explained Luc Arnouts.

The port of Antwerp has achieved a record freight volume for the fifth straight year in a row. In 2017 the port handled 223,606,610 tonnes of freight, an increase of 4.4% compared with the previous year. Practically all sectors turned in an excellent performance: the container volume expanded in tonnage by 4.3% (123 million tonnes), liquid bulk such as oil derivatives by 5.7% (73.1 million tonnes), and conventional breakbulk such as steel by 4.8% (10.3 million tonnes), while ro/ro completed the growth list with 10.5% (5.1 million tonnes). Only dry bulk such as coal and ores lagged behind in the tables, finishing the year with a drop of 3.7% (12.2 million tonnes).