Marc Van Peel News

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)…

The Austrian petrochemical company Borealis has announced that it is to build a new production plant on its existing site in Kallo, in the Antwerp port area.According to a press release, the propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant will use the very latest technology in terms of sustainable production and energy efficiency. With this initiative the port of Antwerp confirms and reinforces its role as the largest chemical cluster in Europe.The intention to build a new PDH plant to convert propane into propylene has been known for some time. The propylene in turn can be used to make polypropylene, a plastic with many applications which is employed in among others the car industry.Borealis has now decided to build this new plant at the existing Borealis production site in Kallo.

After a record first three months the port of Antwerp has also had an excellent second quarter with May as the best month ever. During the first six months of the year the port handled 118,648,143 tonnes of freight, a sharp increase of 6.5% compared with the same period last year. The main driver continues to be container freight which experienced further rapid growth of 8.2% compared with the first six months of 2017. The strong freight figures for the first quarter continued unabated in the second quarter. The container volume for its part rose by 8.2% to 66,298,043 tonnes. In TEU this indicates an increase to 5,567,905 TEU (up 8.3%). May was an all-time record month, with the port of Antwerp handling a peak container volume of more than 1 million TEU.

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…

Port of Antwerp International (PAI), the consultancy and investment subsidiary of Antwerp Port Authority, has been appointed by the Council of Ministers of the West African country of Benin to modernise the port of Cotonou. This port is the economic heart of Benin, handling an annual freight volume of around 12 million tonnes. In the longer term, the port authority wants the port to grow further, but both the infrastructure and the organization are outdated. The government therefore decided to temporarily outsource the management of the port. “We are delighted that the Benin government has opted for the expertise and knowhow of Antwerp,” says port alderman Marc Van Peel, who is also chairman of PAI.

The port of Antwerp is to invest 1.4 million euros over the next three years in projects aimed at making port-generated freight traffic smoother and more efficient. The seven projects that have been selected for financial support will together reduce the number of truck trips by up to 250,000 annually. The Flemish government in turn is building on the Call for Proposals by the Port Authority, and in the next few months it will release a further 1.4 million euros for projects to make transport in and around Antwerp more sustainable. “Mobility on the Flemish roads concerns all of us,” declared Antwerp Port Authority CEO Jacques Vandermeiren at the sixth Intermodal Event organised by the Port Authority.

The vessels which will take part in the CLINSH project (CLean INland SHipping) have been selected. Their emissions will be closely monitored during the two-year project, part of the European Union’s LIFE programme. The vessels are to test various emissions-reducing technologies including the use of alternative fuels. The data gathered will provide valuable information about their environmental performance and the operating costs. The selected barge operators were presented at a launch meeting hosted by the Port of Antwerp on 27 October. The vessels taking part in the project were selected by means of a European tender. They fall into two groups:  vessels which are to be fitted with an emissions control system for the purposes of the project.

Unique collaboration between industry, logistics and transport to keep plastic out of the environment. Plastics are found everywhere in modern life. The raw materials of which plastic products are made are polymers, usually delivered in the form of small pellets. Antwerp is the main polymer hub in Europe for production, handling and distribution of plastic pellets. Every year, millions of pellets find their way via Antwerp to other hubs in Europe. Preventing these small plastic pellets getting into the water or anywhere else where they are not wanted is a top priority in all these activities. The companies in the port have long taken various initiatives to prevent the loss of pellets, but now the entire sector is taking the game to a whole new level.

Indian port professionals who follow courses given in Mumbai by APEC, the port of Antwerp training centre, can now benefit from a purpose-built training facility. The new facility was officially opened on Monday this week during the annual Port of Antwerp Mission to India, in the presence of Belgian deputy prime minister Alexander De Croo, port alderman Marc Van Peel, APEC principal Kristof Waterschoot, JNPT chairman Shri Neeraj Bansal and Indian Port Association chairman Shri Sanjay Bhatia. Port professionals in India have been able to follow APEC courses since 2015 when the Antwerp training institute signed a five-year agreement with the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), the largest container port in India.

Alphatron Marine said it has acquired a new office and warehouse space in Zwijndrecht, Belgium to serve customers in Belgium and France. The new location – operational since September and officially opened on November 9, 2016 – replaces the company’s existing Meerdonk office. Alphatron Marine Belgium is part of a group of companies governed by Alphatron Marine. Together, they act as importer, producer, developer and service provider of navigation, communication and automation systems. Besides this, the company provides specialized IT solutions.

The new Port House in Antwerp repurposes, renovates and extends a derelict fire station into a new headquarters for the port – bringing together the port’s 500 staff that previously worked in separate buildings around the city. With 12 km of docks, Antwerp is Europe’s second largest shipping port, serving 15,000 sea trade ships and 60,000 inland barges each year. As the threshold between the city and its vast port, Mexico Island in Antwerp’s Kattendijk dock on Quay 63 was selected as the site for the new head office. The waterside site also offered significant sustainable construction benefits, allowing materials and building components to be transported by water, an important requirement to meet the port’s ecological targets.

After 25 years as CEO of Antwerp Port Authority, Eddy Bruyninckx has been raised to the nobility by H.M. the king of Belgium with the rank of baron. In Belgium the title of baron or baroness is reserved for those who have made a notable contribution in a particular sector. In the case of port boss Eddy Bruyninckx his unremitting efforts on behalf of the port of Antwerp over many years, helping to defend and develop its solid N° 2 position in Europe and top 15 in the world, have led to him being awarded the title of baron along with seven other Belgians. Such honours are traditionally awarded on 21 July, Belgium’s national day. Port Authority…

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…

Jacques Vandermeiren (52) has been appointed CEO of Antwerp Port Authority as of 1 January 2017. He succeeds Eddy Bruyninckx who after 25 years at the head of the Port Authority is retiring on 31 December 2016. Until January 2015 Vandermeiren held the position of Chief Executive Officer of Elia, the listed company that operates the national electricity grid in Belgium. He can draw on extensive experience in the energy sector, which will stand him in good stead with the industrial operators in the port. He also has the necessary experience with complex stakeholder management and in dealing with a publicly-owned shareholder. “These two aspects…

The Iranian shipping company Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) called at the port of Antwerp with one of its ships this week, for the first time since economic sanctions were lifted. The honour of being the “first” Iranian ship in Antwerp’s waters fell to the container carrier Azargoun which moored at the Antwerp Gateway terminal in the Deurganck dock. A deputation of representatives from the Port Authority, the ship’s agent PWL and the terminal operator went on board to welcome the ship’s master and crew. Up until 2010 Antwerp was the main European port destination for Iranian cargo. Now that sanctions against Iran have been lifted, the Port Authority is eager to restore economic relations with that country.

The Indonesian government has ambitious plans for major infrastructure projects in the near future in order to give a massive boost to the country’s economy, already the largest in South-East Asia. Its shopping list includes among other things the construction of dozens of ports to serve the country’s almost 14,000 islands. To achieve this the Indonesian government is looking abroad for international expertise from among others Antwerp, the second-largest port in Europe. During the foreign trade mission headed by Princess Astrid of Belgium, Port Authority chairman Marc Van Peel signed two framework agreements with IPC Corporate University, a subsidiary of the Indonesian Port Corporation (IPC), one of the country’s four national port authorities.

True to its annual tradition the port of Antwerp is organizing a trade mission to India in February this year. Port Authority chairman Marc Van Peel will be accompanied on his visit to Delhi and Mumbai by Pieter De Crem, the Belgian secretary of state for Foreign Trade. The agenda includes among other things the annual Port of Antwerp reception, the presentation of an award to the Indian forwarders’ association and the opening of a new course offered by JNPT APEC Port Training Centre that was set up in Mumbai last year in close collaboration with APEC, the Antwerp training centre for maritime professionals. The port of Antwerp has been investing for several years now in strengthening collaboration with the Indian business world and local authorities.

A few months ago the Essar Group from India decided to buy back the shares from her daughter company Essar Ports Limited (EPL). Port of Antwerp International (PAI), the international consulting and investment subsidiary of Antwerp Port Authority, set up an alliance in 2012 with EPL, which was accompanied by an investment of 25 million euros, five million of which was contributed by the Flemish Regional Investment Company (FRIC). PAI and FRIC have come out of the existing financial arrangement with a capital gain of 6.8 million euros on top of their original investment, which has been recovered in full. In the meantime the collaboration with EPL will continue unabated in other areas.

This week Atlantic Ro-Ro Carriers (ARRC) celebrates the maiden voyage of the Baltic Mercur II via the port of Antwerp as part of their regular transatlantic service to the US Gulf. After long deliberation and extensive analysis, the company has chosen to anchor the European extension of ARRC’s multipurpose service in Antwerp. ARRC has been operating as the only direct transatlantic MPP carrier between St Petersburg Russia and the USA for the past 20 years. With a mixed fleet of LORO and LOLO vessels the company is responsible for moving almost half a million tons of ferrous and non ferrous metals, thousands of units of specialized equipment for the oilwell…

The port of Antwerp, the second-largest in Europe, is to collaborate with Shanghai Maritime University (SMU), a world-renowned centre of maritime know-how. As of next academic year four master’s students at SMU will receive a Port of Antwerp Maritime Award. With this collaboration Antwerp has opted resolutely in favour of supporting young talent. “Young potentials are the future: as a port we naturally invest in good commercial relations but we also consider supporting the future generations to be equally important,” declared Eddy Bruyninckx, CEO of Antwerp Port Authority, who signed the collaboration agreement in Shanghai. Trade between Antwerp and China has developed over the centuries, so that Antwerp now has very close relations with various Chinese port cities.

The Port of Antwerp and duisport are intensifying their cooperation as the Port of Antwerp will participate in the existing rail shuttle service connecting the two ports. The direct rail connection from Duisburg to Antwerp was set up by the duisport Group in 2006 under difficult competitive conditions with regard to road and inland waterway transport. The decision by the Port of Antwerp to participate in the rail link underlines the commitment of both ports to further develop this important European logistic corridor. Since the beginning of this year duisport agency GmbH (dpa), a subsidiary of Duisburger Hafen AG, has offered a direct daily departure by rail to Duisburg from a deepsea quay (Q1700) in the Port of Antwerp.

“One Belt, One Road” is a Chinese development strategy launched at the end of 2013 that focuses on connectivity and cooperation among countries primarily in Eurasia. The strategy has two main components, namely the land-based “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the ocean-going “Maritime Silk Road.” Antwerp has a potentially very important role to play in both these routes as a major trading hub, and so the Port Authority is setting up a special taskforce for this purpose. The importance of this project for Europe can hardly be underestimated, and so during the recent state visit to China by king Philippe of Belgium the country applied to join the new Asian Infrastructure Development Bank, the investment bank behind the strategy.

A delegation from the port of Antwerp headed by port alderman and Port Authority chairman Marc Van Peel paid a visit to Iran last week. The delegation which was made up of petrochemical and shipping experts met in Tehran with various ministries, petrochemical organisations and private companies. With this mission Antwerp Port Authority seeks to open the doors of Iran for the Antwerp port community once more. The exploratory mission was mainly aimed at making contacts with official bodies. It included meetings with among others Mr. Saeednejad, head of the Ports and Maritime Organization, Dr. Saeidi, head of the Islamic Republic Shipping Line, Mr. Masoud Karbasian, head of the Iranian Customs service and Mr. Seyed Jamal Hosseini, vice-chairman of the Iranian Investment Organisation.