Belgium News

UK's Shoreham Welcomes Home Registered Vessel

Shoreham Port UK, claimed to be UK's number 1 scallop port, welcome home registered fishing vessel ‘Flowing Stream’ following a significant refit that began in the spring of 2018.Originally built in the year 2000, the vessel was flagged in from Belgium where it was previously registered to be renovated and renewed to bring it up to new vessel standards. Flowing Stream will join a long line of fishing vessels registered at Shoreham Port that date back to the 13th Century.Flowing Stream is one of the many scalloping vessels that regularly land in the Port each year…

Shoreham Welcomes Home Registered Vessel

The fishing vessel ‘Flowing Stream’ has recently chosen a new home at Shoreham Port following a significant refit that began in the spring of 2018. Originally built in the year 2000, the vessel was flagged in from Belgium where it was previously registered to be renovated and renewed to bring it up to new vessel standards. Flowing Stream will join a long line of fishing vessels registered at Shoreham Port that date back to the 13th Century.Flowing Stream is one of the many scalloping vessels that regularly land in the Port each year…

Boluda Corporación Goes to N. Europe

Shipping services provider Boluda Corporación Marítima has signed a letter of intent to acquire all the shares, worth 300 million euros, of Kotug Smit Towage.The Netherlands-based towage services provider Kotug Smit Towage is operating in North Sea countries (United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany).Boluda Corporación Marítima is now in talks to acquire 100% of the towage company Kotug Smit Towage created in 2016. The shares are owned equally by the two companies Kotug International BV and Royal Boskalis Westminster NV…

India Box Trade Grew 6% in Q4 2018: Maersk

India’s containerised trade with the world has grown steadily, recording an overall import-export trade growth of 6% according to the Q4 2018 trade report released by Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company.Increasing demand for refrigerated cargo from India coupled with improved trade relations with China with introduction of favourable trade policies, has driven exports to grow a healthy 3% in Q4.The demand for India-made goods such as vehicles, cereals and rice…

Zeebrugge Preps for Brexit with Digital Tools

The Port of Zeebrugge, Belgium, has revealed it developed a new data sharing platform to allow a fluent flow of cargo to and from the UK despite extra customs administrations which will be implemented after the Brexit deadline.The development of the RX/SeaPort data sharing platform is an initiative of the Zeebrugge port authority and APZI, the Association of Port of Zeebrugge interests. It is a platform which offers a digital connection between all links in the logistical chain.“RX/SeaPort guarantees a chainwide solution for cargo shipped from and to the UK quickly and efficiently.

Gigantic Crane Sails into North Sea Port

Luxembourgish multinational ArcelorMittal invested 13.3 million euros in two new customised port cranes and the biggest of the two cranes, which has a maximum height of no less than 85 metres, sailed to North Sea Port.By bringing in the two cranes, the company is preparing for the arrival of the New Lock in Terneuzen. By 2022, the first vessel will sail through the larger lock, making Terneuzen, Ghent and the ArcelorMittal Ghent company port accessible to major Capesize seagoing vessels - vessels that have a loading capacity of no less than 120…

DP World Orders Kalmar Straddle Carriers

The cargo-handling solutions provider Kalmar is to supply DP World with a total of 63 Kalmar Hybrid Straddle Carriers for use at four of its European container terminals: 12 units will be delivered to GMP in Le Havre, France; 20 units to Eurofos in Marseille, France; 19 units to Antwerp Gateway in Belgium; and 12 units to DP World Southampton in the UK.The order was booked in Cargotec's 2019 Q1 order intake, and the majority of the machines is expected to be delivered by the end of 2019…

Euronav to Deploy ULCC for LSFO Storage

Euronav, one of the largest tanker companies in the world, will deploy one of its two ultra large crude carriers (ULCC) to store cleaner marine fuel ahead of a major regulatory change in 2020, the Belgium-headquartered group said on Friday.From January 2020, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will ban ships from using fuels with a sulphur content above 0.5 percent, compared with 3.5 percent now, in one of the biggest changes in the oil market in decades.Only ships fitted…

2018: 'Grand Cru' Year for Antwerp Port

Europe’s second-largest seaport, the Port of Antwerp in Flanders, Belgium said that with a 6th year record, growth in all cargotypes and a recent wave of investments, 2018 will be a 'grand cru' year."The confirmation of the port's attractiveness and the consolidation of its position as a global player and the largest integrated European chemical cluster are essential to the continuity of its role as the largest economic engine of Belgium," claimed a press release from the port.With a growth of 5.2% compared to 2017, the earlier forecasts for a 6th consecutive year record are confirmed.

DP World buys back P&O Ferries for $421 mln

DP World has bought back British ferry and shipping freight operator P&O Ferries for 322 million pounds ($421 million), more than a decade after it sold it.DP World acquired the British shipping and logistics company in 2006 but soon sold off some assets, including P&O Ferries to its major shareholder, state holding company Dubai World.DP World announced on Wednesday it was buying the company, and a spokeswoman later told Reuters it had bought it back from Dubai World.Dubai World was at the heart of the emirate’s financial crisis at the turn of the decade and was forced to restructure around $

Gas4Sea, Equinor in LNG Bunkering Pact

Marine LNG Zeebrugge, a joint venture of the Gas4Sea partners - ENGIE, Mitsubishi Corporation and NYK - has signed an agreement with the Norwegian multinational energy group Equinor.Under the agreement, Marine LNG Zeebrugge will supply liquefied natural gas as a marine fuel to Equinor’s four crude shuttle tankers in the Dutch port of Rotterdam.The four planned dual fuel vessels are to come into service in early 2020; they will be operated by Equinor in Northern European seas.Marine LNG Zeebrugge will supply LNG using the LNG bunkering vessel ENGIE Zeebrugge which started operations in 2017.

Höegh RoRo Transports 112MT Transformer

Transporting a 112MT transformer across the world is no simple task. The stakes are even higher when the sophisticated cargo is destined for an oil and gas plant and time is of utmost importance.Global Freight Forwarder Kintetsu World Express (KWE) and CG Holdings Belgium NV Systems Division chose Höegh Autoliners, with its direct RoRo service, global agency network and breakbulk competence, to transport its 112 MT Transformer trailer from Antwerp to Dammam."With the customer’s tight deadline…

Titan LNG, Fluxys to Build FlexFueler 002

Belgium-based natural gas transmission system operator Fluxys and Netherlands-based Titan LNG have joined forces to build the FlexFueler 002, a bunkering pontoon to make liquefied natural gas (LNG) more widely available as shipping fuel in the Antwerp port and region.Shipyard Kooiman, Zwijndrecht, The Netherlands, was contracted to build the FlexFueler 002. The pontoon, which is scheduled to be commissioned by mid-2020, will measure 76.4 x 11.45 m and is equipped with four vacuum insulated type C cargo tanks of 370 cu. m. each, to carry liquid LNG.

Paddy Rodgers Departs Euronav

Patrick (Paddy) Rodgers, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Belgium's tanker shipping company Euronav, has decided to step down from his role during 2019 after 18 years of service.However,  he will remain in his position until a successor is appointed, said a press note from the tanker owner.Paddy Rodgers, CEO of Euronav said: “It has been a real honour and privilege to lead Euronav as CEO. The company has progressed from a family operation with 17 vessels to the largest crude tanker company in the world with 73 vessels…

Svitzer Appoints Jeeninga, McKeating as Cluster Managers

Svitzer, aprovider of harbor and terminal towage to the global shipping industry, has recently appointed Fred Jeeninga as Cluster Managing Director, Continental Europe (Netherlands, Belgium, Georgia) and Maurice McKeating as Cluster Managing Director, UK South.Fred Jeeninga holds nearly 20 years of experience from the marine service industry. His work has taken him to Russia, Germany, Denmark, Brazil, and the Caribbean. He has been with Svitzer since 2009, most recently as Operations…

Ineos to Invest $3.4 bln in Antwerp Port

Europe’s largest petrochemicals company Ineos has chosen the Port of Antwerp as the location for a mega-investment of three billion euros ($3.4 billion).The British chemical company's investment will be the biggest in the European chemical industry in two decades.Belgium port will be the location for iIneos' project for an ethane gas cracker and world-scale PDH unit in Europe. The two new factories will employ a total of 500 people.Sir Jim Ratcliffe, CEO and Chairman of Ineos…

Maersk Offers Street Turn Services in the US, Canada

Avantida, an E2Open company, has announced that Maersk, has started to offer street turn services on their platform in the United States and Canada. This represents Avantida’s first step into the US and Canadian markets.Empty container triangulation, or the interchange of an intermodal container outside of a marine terminal or yard (street turns), is a well-known activity in the US. By offering this on Avantida’s online platform, transporter and logistics companies are freed from the administrative hassle of having to request and process street turns manually.

MHI Vestas Expands at Ostende

Danish manufacturer of wind turbines MHI Vestas Offshore Wind has opened a new office in the Port of Ostend to expand its offshore wind operations at the Belgian port.“Because we will be servicing no fewer than 244 wind turbines at sea from the Port of Oostende by 2020, we were in urgent need of expansion. This new location offers room for our new employees. Meanwhile, we now have over 100 employees in our Belgian branch,” says Aart Bark, Regional Director, MHI Vestas Belgium.MHI Vestas Offshore Wind is already an established company in the offshore wind industry at the port facility.

UK Defends Brexit Ferry Contract to Inexperienced Ferry Operator

Britain's transport minister has defended awarding a 14 million-pound ($18 million) contract for shipping goods after Brexit to a new ferry company that owns no ships.The government last week awarded three contracts to charter extra ferries to ease congestion if the United Kingdom fails to secure a trade deal before leaving the European Union in March.The smallest contract was won by Seaborne Freight, a British business that has never previously operated a ferry route, raising concern about whether the new service would be ready."I make no apologies for supporting a new British business…

No Turning Back

A multidisciplinary Rolls-Royce man is helping LNG’s rise on the water and ashore. For LNG, the future is now.At the heart of Europe’s growing marine supply chain for liquefied natural gas is a man with a degree in anthropology but steeped in engineering and business. Oscar Kallerdahl is Rolls-Royce Marine’s vice-president of LNG systems, and he’s the company’s production, purchasing, engineering and finance lead for getting gas engines aboard vessels.Kallerdahl has 10 years of experience overseeing LNG propulsion projects in Norway and four in Korea.

Tango FLNG En Route to Argentina

Belgium based EXMAR announced Thursday that its floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility has left China for a 45-day voyage to the destination of its liquefaction operations at the Port of Bahia Blanca in Argentina.The barge-based Tango FLNG (previously named Caribbean FLNG) is on the move just one month after a contract was signed for a firm, 10-year deployment.Upon its arrival, the facility will be put in operation for EXMAR’s customer YPF S.A. and is expected to start up LNG production in the second quarter of 2019.

SOL Adds Finnish Port of Pietarsaari

Swedish shipping company Swedish Orient Lines (SOL) announced  that it will add the port of Pietarsaari/Jakobstad (Finland) to its liner network with one weekly call using its vessels Thuleland and Tundraland.The service will offer direct port calls to Lübeck (Germany), Zeebrugge (Belgium) and Tilbury (UK). With its new route SOL supports BillerudKorsnäs export of paper products from its mill in Pietarsaari as well as other import and export cargo to the region.BillerudKorsnäs…

FSRU Suppliers Shift from Emerging Markets, Cut Back New Orders

Political instability and low credit ratings in emerging economies are putting some shipowners off ordering new floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), as they shift focus to more mature gas markets.Liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand from emerging markets in Asia, Africa and South America was expected to be boosted by FSRU technologies that are less expensive and time-consuming than onshore import terminals.But a boom in speculative FSRU orders from shipowners led to an oversupply of units this year as import projects across the world were delayed or cancelled…

Euroports Germany opts for Liebherr at Rostock

Liebherr Maritime Cranes has delivered the first out of two LHM 550 to its neighbors in the Port of Rostock, Germany. Euroports Germany wants to increase its turnover considerably with the new cranes. Liebherr succeeded in finding a tailor-made solution for the requirements of the Euroports.Euroports is one of the largest port infrastructure companies in Europe. Euroports develops, operates and manages global maritime supply-chain solutions for international customers in target industry sectors.

Samskip’s UK Investments Transcend Brexit Disruption

Two years of pre-Brexit investment in North Sea container shipping services is proving decisive in winning shippers away from cross-Channel ferry routes at a critical time for UK-EU relations, according to leading multimodal operator Samskip.With many questions remaining over the exact nature of the future EU-UK trading relationship, Samskip says that regular, reliable and cost competitive container services are a key element in planning for the future.“The months ahead will see…

Gothenburg-Belgium RORO Traffic Goes Up

Ro/Ro traffic between Sweden and the continent are increasing, as volumes between Gothenburg and Belgium have risen for the ninth consecutive year. During this period volumes between Belgium during have doubled, and the number of departures has risen from 12 to 16.Shipping companies are also in the process of expanding their networks from Gothenburg across large parts of Europe – often via the Belgian ports in Ghent and Zeebrugge, which act as hubs for intra-European ro-ro traffic.During 2017…