Left Bank News

DP World announced it will invest $35 million in 2023 to expand and modernize its facilities on the left bank of Brazil’s Port of Santos.With the investment, the company plans to increase annual movement capacity from 1.2 million TEUs to 1.4 million TEUs and expand the size of the quay from 1,100 meters to 1,300 meters. The terminal currently inhabits 845,000 square meters, with an additional 130,000 square meters available for expansion.The project marks DP World’s third round of investment since operations began in Brazil in July 2013.

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…

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)…

With an annual freight volume of nearly 9 million TEU the Deurganck dock is by far the main centre of container handling in the port of Antwerp. But this tidal dock on the left bank of the Scheldt is also well on the way to becoming a hotspot for innovation. Thanks to a “smart quay” and an automatic sounding boat, shipping operations and berth maintenance in Antwerp’s largest dock will become a good deal more efficient. “The smart quay will enable us to make more efficient use of the berths available in the dock. And the automatic sounding boat will also make berth management more effective and pro-active, with the emphasis on prevention rather than cure,” explains Piet Opstaele, Innovation Enablement Manager for the Port Authority.

During the past month a pusher barge moored in the Antwerp port area on the Left bank of the Scheldt carrying four large storage tanks each 50 metres long. These cylinders came from a specialist tank builder in Germany and were carried down the Rhine to Antwerp. After being unloaded they continued their journey by night by special road transport to the Ineos Oxide site in Zwijndrecht. The British chemical company Ineos entrusted coordination of this project to Jacobs Belgium, specialised in project coordination and design, in particular for the chemical, petrochemical and pharmaceutical sectors. For the onshore transport and erection of these storage tanks Jacobs opted for a ro/ro and hydraulic installation operation…

The Brazilian terminal DP World Santos will now be run by the new CEO Dallas Hampton, , an Australian executive with degrees in Business Administration, Logistics and Occupational Safety and with vast experience in the ports and logistics sectors. The modern private port terminals, situated on the left bank of the Port of Santos, announced that Ernst Schulze, who served as Chief Executive Officer for nearly six years, is stepping down to assume another opportunity at the DP World group. Ernst was responsible for installing the Embraport terminal at the Port of Santos, forming the work teams and starting operations in July 2013. Dallas…

Massive investments in the port of Antwerp are coming in the next few years. The SEA-Invest group is planning construction of a new tanker terminal in the Delwaide dock representing an investment of 250 million euros. In the same dock the group will also operate an independent container terminal that it has acquired from Independent Maritime Terminal (IMT). This facility is currently located in the Hansa dock but will be moved to the Delwaide dock where there is space for further development with an additional investment of 50 million euros. Other new activities not directly related to the waterfront will help to reutilise the space released in the Delwaide dock. In the meantime a location has been found for the Houston-based international terminal operator Zenith Energy.

Arktis Radiation Detectors was selected to supply radiation portal monitors and mobile detection systems to the Belgian Government, for use at the Port of Antwerp. Under the contract, which has been let by the Belgium Ministry of Finance, Arktis and partner Bavak - Arktis’ exclusive distributor for the Benelux Region - will supply the port with radiation detection equipment for the largest capacity container terminal in Europe, located at the Left Bank in the Port of Antwerp.

The port of Antwerp is on course to handle more than 200 million tonnes of freight this year for the first time ever. And in container transhipment too a new record has been set, with more than 9 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units, i.e. standard containers) being handled. In comparison with last year nearly 8% more containers will be transhipped. With these growth figures Antwerp is performing significantly better than Rotterdam and Hamburg, the number 1 and 3 ports respectively in North-West Europe. The port of Antwerp has a particularly rich history. Ever since the Middle Ages ships laden with cargo and passengers have found their way up the river Scheldt to Antwerp.

The port of Antwerp is set to achieve a freight volume of more than 200 million tonnes for the first time ever in 2015. When it comes to containers Antwerp is performing extremely well this year: with expected growth of almost 8% it will easily pass the milestone of 9 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units, i.e. standard containers) for the first time in its history. About half of the container volume is currently handled in the port area on the Right bank of the Scheldt, but once the Swiss shipping company MSC transfers its operations to the Deurganck dock then the Left bank will inevitably become the main focus of container handling in Antwerp.

With growth of 5.9% the port of Antwerp has got off to a strong start in 2015. In terms of container handling (in TEU) Antwerp even achieved growth of 9.5% in the first three months of this year. The 2M alliance of MSC and Maersk which last year opted resolutely for Antwerp is of course not unconnected with these growth figures. During the next few months preparations will be finalised for transfering the activities of the MSC shipping company – currently operating in the Delwaide dock on the right bank area of the port – to the Deurganck dock on the left bank of the Scheldt. This dock with its annual capacity of 11 million TEU will enable MSC to further develop its activities.

Belgium, in the Antwerp port area on the left bank of the Scheldt. In the first phase 15 wind turbines will be erected, enough to supply 35,000 Flemish households with green electricity. The ultimate ambition is to build anything from 40 to 50 turbines. Flemish Energy minister Annemie Turtelboom, Beveren mayor Marc Van de Vijver and Antwerp port alderman Marc Van Peel officially launched this sustainable investment project yesterday, auguring a fair wind for the future on the breezy left bank of the Antwerp port area. The first 15 turbines are due to be handed over at the end of October. Antwerp Port Authority and the Left Bank Development…

Katoen Natie N.V. has increased its lifting capacity at the port of Antwerp, investing in three new Liebherr mobile harbor cranes, one LHM 550 and two LHM 600s. Additionally, the company enforced its operations in Radicatel, France, with a new LHM 420. In January 2015, both family-owned companies Katoen Natie und Liebherr celebrated the handover of the strongest Liebherr mobile harbor cranes (LHM) on Antwerp’s Left Bank in a festive ceremony. Ordered twice by Katoen Natie in 2014…

The Antwerp port area is one of the most important habitats for European endangered species. No fewer than 90 protected species of plant and animal live within the port area. Furthermore, a significant proportion of these plants and animals are specific to ports, being dependent for their continued existence in Flanders on habitats that typically occur in and around ports. When protected species are found within the Antwerp port area it is forbidden for economic activities to threaten their continued existence. However, such a requirement is liable to create legal uncertainty for companies. In order to find a sustainable solution to this situation, a Species Protection Programme for the port of Antwerp has been developed over the past few years.

The MSC shipping company is to consolidate all its activities in the port of Antwerp in the Deurganck dock, on the left bank of the Scheldt. The Port Authority board of directors gave the go-ahead for the move on Monday evening. The transfer is necessary in order to permit further expansion by MSC in Antwerp. The shipping company announced at the end of last year that it wished to have a new location below the locks, not only because its present site in the Delwaide dock had reached saturation point but also because of the increasing size of the ships being introduced. The Deurganck dock was the obvious choice, as it is already used by the other members of the P3 alliance of which MSC forms part, and furthermore the alliance plans to make even greater use of it in future.

The board of directors of Antwerp Port Authority has approved the long-term financial plan (2011-2025), representing an amount of $2.2b. With this ambitious investment plan the Port Authority is banking on the future. This plan is only possible thanks to the sustainable financial policy that the Port Authority has followed in recent years. "It is these financial results, without trying to maximize profits, that even after a period of crisis give us a sufficient financial basis to implement this investment program that is so important to our customers, and to go ahead with the priority activities and investments," said Port Authority CEO Eddy Bruyninckx.

Kalmar has secured an order for the delivery of a ship-to-shore (STS) container crane for P&O Ports Antwerp. Despite its compact dimensions - 40 metres outreach, 15 metres railspan and 21 metres backreach - in terms of capacity, the crane can be considered a true heavyweight with a lifting capacity of 65 tonnes under the twinlift spreader. Continually increasing volumes at P&O’s existing terminal at the Delwaidedok resulted in the need for an additional crane and possibly one more in the near future. P&O Antwerp handles at present 1.1 million TEU per year at its terminal with 1300 metres of quay, which can accommodate fully loaded vessels of up to 4000TEU. “Seven manufacturers participated in the tender. We placed major value on performance, design and after sales support.

For the first time in the history of the inland navigation system, a dam floated. The Braddock Dam Segment One floated into place and set down on Dec. 7, mating underwater with 47 drilled shafts that make up the dam segment's foundation. Vertical and horizontal alignment of the segment came within one inch of the design. Segment One, the larger of two segments, is a reinforced concrete marine structure 330 ft. long and weighing 16,600 tons. On Dec. 5 towboats moved it from the project outfitting pier a mile-and-a-half upstream, then it was sunk in place. Underbase grouting filled the gap between the river bottom and underside of the dam segment.

Work Starts on the Biggest Lock in the World in the Port of Antwerp. In the Port of Antwerp the construction of the second lock on the Left Bank has officially started. Over the coming years the new construction project will be one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Belgium, with 255 people working daily on building the biggest lock in the world. The lock is due to open in 2016 and will cost around EUR 340 million of which 50% will be financed by the European Investment Bank. The Flemish KBC Bank is also making available a EUR 81 million credit line, with the balance being provided by the Antwerp Port Authority and the Flemish Government. In recent years the development of the Port of Antwerp has been concentrated on the Left Bank.

Holland America Line will hold the official naming ceremony for it's first Signature-class ship, ms Eurodam, July 1, 2008, in Rotterdam, the city where the 135-year-old Dutch company was founded. Naming ceremonies will be held near the company's original headquarters, which now operates as the Hotel New York. Numerous events and activities are being planned to showcase the vessel to key stakeholders, including past guests, travel agents, former employees, local dignitaries, media and others. The ship arrives Jun. 29 to begin four days of celebrations and departs Jul. 2 for a three-day prelude cruise with its first guests. In the days leading up to the naming, the Eurodam will sail from Venice, Italy, to Southampton, England, before arriving in Rotterdam.