Luc Arnouts News

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.

During the City Trade Mission to Seoul, Antwerp Port Authority signed a Memorandum of Understanding with KITA, the Korea International Trade Association. With 77,000 member companies KITA represents Korea's international trading community. The proposed collaboration between Antwerp Port Authority and KITA represents a significant boost for the port, emphasised Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO-designate of the Port Authority, just before the signing of the MoU. Antwerp hopes to attract significantly more trade from Korea in future, while KITA for its part sees Antwerp as the gateway to Europe for its exports. "In 2015 we sent 77,000 TEU of container freight to Antwerp.

The port of Antwerp is to collaborate with Dalian Maritime University (DMU) in northern China for the next three academic years. DMU is a prestigious Chinese maritime university whose alumni include many prominent figures in the shipping industry. In order to permit students to gain experience in the port of Antwerp, the second-largest port of Europe, since 2014 Antwerp Port Authority has presented awards to students who write a thesis about the port or a logistics-related subject. The presentation of the Awards will form part of the programme for the next three academic years, as part of the continued collaboration. To symbolise the far-reaching friendship between Antwerp and Dalian…

Yesterday during a joint trade mission in Montreal, the port authorities of Montreal and Antwerp, Belgium renewed their cooperative agreement. The first agreement, signed in March 2013, resulted in four trade missions to Montreal and Antwerp during which extensive business contacts were developed. These meetings also enabled productive exchanges of information on issues such as sustainable development, land use, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union, global trends in the markets, and the development of port logistics zones. As Sylvie Vachon, President and CEO of the Montreal Port Authority (MPA)…

Henrique Machado Rabelo, who has for some time already been responsible for commercial and institutional contacts and will now be focusing on the latter, was recently joined by Ricardo Sproesser, who will manage and develop the commercial contacts. Sproesser has over 20 years’ experience in the maritime and logistics sector, and is without any doubt an asset to the Brazilian team. “Brazil is a key trading partner of our port community. In terms of share in the annual maritime traffic destined for Antwerp, Brazil ranks sixth,” says Luc Arnouts, commercial director of the Antwerp Port Authority. “In such strategic regions we work with local representatives to develop a network and generate traffic for Antwerp,” he adds.

The Eleonora Maersk container carrier (15,500 TEU) entered the port of Antwerp on Thursday morning with a record draught of 15.65 metres, thus breaking the previous record of 15.50 m. With this new milestone the port of Antwerp once again demonstrates that it is perfectly accessible even for the very largest container carriers in the world. In the Deurganck dock, where the ship is moored, more than 5,000 container movements have been carried out, including 4,300 unloading operations. The vessel is due to leave the port around 1400 hours and then head to Bremerhaven. The Eleonora Maersk forms part of the AE2 Service operated by the 2M Vessel Sharing Agreement between Maersk Line and MSC linking the Far East and Europe.

Antwerp Port Authority today made a partnership agreement with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). The Memorandum of Understanding was signed last week at the official opening of the ICBC’s Antwerp branch in Brasschaat Castle. Until now ICBC only had an office in Brussels, but the bank, the world’s N° 1 in terms of assets and market capitalisation, is expanding its presence in Belgium. With this agreement the Port Authority and ICBC plan to seek new opportunities that match the One Belt One Road strategic plan launched by China in autumn 2013. With this project China aims to link its main industrial cities more closely to commercial centres elsewhere in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

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 four gates for the Deurganck dock lock in the port of Antwerp will begin their journey from China at the beginning of April. The gigantic gates are being built by the Chinese steel constructor ZPMC, together with the trolleys on which the gates will ride, two combined road/rail bridges, the caisson and other items. A ceremony was held on Wednesday 18 March in the Chinese city of Changxing to mark the official completion of the construction work. The ceremony was attended by Freddy Aerts, head of the Maritime Access department (Flemish government), Luc Arnouts, director of the Deurganck Dock Lock Company and also Chief Commercial Office of the Port Authority, and Eric Beyts from the Waasland Lock construction consortium. Mr.

Jan Van der Borght, the representative of the port of Antwerp in Shanghai, has been presented with the Golden Magnolia Award. Two years ago he won the Silver Magnolia Award, so that now he is only the second Belgian and the first representative of a foreign port to receive both the Silver and Golden awards. The Magnolia Awards are an initiative of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs and are presented to foreigners living in Shanghai who have made a particular contribution to the economic development and international standing of the city. In past years Van Der Borght has among other things helped to develop relations between the Shanghai Maritime University and the University of Antwerp, and between the China Maritime Museum and the MAS Museum in Antwerp.