Msc Shipping Company News

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.

The port of Antwerp handled 104,529,242 tonnes of freight in the first six months of this year, up 6.4% on the same period last year. The strong performance during the half year was mainly due to the impressive growth in container freight (up 9.5% in TEU and 7.4% in tonnage) and in liquid bulk (also up 7.4%). However, the conventional breakbulk volume lagged behind the overall growth. The container volume expressed as the number of standard boxes handled (twenty-foot equivalent units) rose by 9.5% during the first six months, to 4,836,243 TEU. Expressed in tonnes it amounted to 57,501,825 tonnes (up 7.4%). The formation of an alliance between several container shipping companies has clearly acted in favour of 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.

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.

Despite the difficult economic climate, the Port of Kiel handled 4.86 million tons of cargo in 2009, nearly reaching its 2008 handling figure of 4.91 million tons. Individual business sectors developed in different ways. The handling of bulk cargo, containers and conventional breakbulk bound Lithuania was up while ferry traffic to and from Scandinavia and Russia posted declining volumes. Kiel was in fact even able to show a small increase in the passenger transport sector, handling 1.88 million passengers in 2009 against 1.85 million in 2008 as the port’s significance as a sea tourist hub also continues to grow. In terms of cargo handling, the Ostuferhafen is the strongest facility in the Port of Kiel, handling 2.3 million tons last year, 11% more than in the previous year.