Carlos Maenhout Retires, Bruno Storms takes the helm at BMT Belgium
Effective July 1, 2021, Carlos Maenhout is retiring from his position as Founder and Managing Director of BMT Belgium, the company that he and his wife founded in 1991, a company subsequently sold to the BMT Group in 2005.Carlos Maenhout qualified with a Master of Science in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of Ghent, and with an Honors Degree in Maritime Science from the University of Antwerp. His consultancy career in maritime has spanned over four decades…
Deurganck Dock Gets Smart
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.
Antwerp Port Extends Partnership with DMU of China
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…
Golden Magnolia Award for Antwerp Port Rep.
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.
