Belgium News

De Keukelaere Wins IADC "Young Author Award"

The International Association of Dredging Companies (IADC) bestowed the Young Author Award to Liesbeth De Keukelaere, R&D Professional at VITO in Belgium. IADC’s Young Author Award is given annually to “stimulate the promotion of new ideas and encourage younger men and women in the dredging industry”. The award is granted at industry-leading conferences, with a winning young author selected from the proceedings of the CEDA Dredging Days 2019, held on November 7-8, 2019, in Rotterdam…

Lydia Oldendorff Sets Record

The largest German bulk carrier company Oldendorff Carriers GmbH, which operates around 700 ships, said that its Lydia Oldendorff (207,562 tdw built 2015) has set a record as the largest vessel to load coal at Puerto Bolivar, Colombia.The Newcastlemax vessel has a length of 300 meters and a breadth of 50 meters and was loaded on a trial cargo draft of 17.5 meters. The cargo loaded is destined for Flushing, in the port of Antwerp in Belgium, where it will again be the largest vessel to enter the port.Oldendorff Carriers currently operates a fleet of about 65 modern eco-Newcastlemax (203-211…

Zeebrugge Port Deploy 5G Network

Port of Zeebrugge, Belgium, will have its own private 5G network this year, disclosed the container, bulk cargo, new vehicles and passenger ferry terminal port in the municipality of Bruges.The port’s management will collaborate with Citymesh, which is the only operator to have a license for 5G networks in Flanders and Brussels."The private 5G network in the Port of Zeebrugge will be the accelerator for innovation in and around the port," the port said.The network’s brain is located in the port’s datacenter.

Exmar Reports Strong Earnings for VLCCs

Belgium's Exmar, the Nicolas Savery-led shipowner, reported strong earnings for the very large gas carriers (VLCCs), and midsize gas carriers for the the third quarter of 2019. The current trading fleet of Exmar in the VLGC segment is the 83,300 m³ BW TOKYO. During the quarter the vessel has been extended to a first-class counterpart at a profitable rate to Exmar in line with strong market fundamentals.The two 88,000 m³ next generation dual fuel newbuildings with a long-term charter to Equinor are progressing according to schedule with expected delivery second and third quarter 2021…

Duisburg to Open New Trimodal Terminal

The largest trimodal  container terminal in the European hinterland is being developed in the Port of Duisburg.Duisburger Hafen AG (duisport) is set to build a US$111.2mln  new 220,000 m² trimodal container terminal on the site of its current coal island in response to a sharp decline in coal handling as a result of the energy transformation.The trimodal terminal is to be developed with duisport’s intermodal partners COSCO Shipping Logistics, Hupac SA and HTS Group and aims to…

Interview: Dr. Catherine Warner, Director, NATO CMRE

At CMRE, it’s not just about the science. It’s about building trust and confidence in resilient systems. An interview with Dr. Catherine Warner, Director, NATO Center for Maritime Research and Experimentation, La Spezia, ItalyTell us a little about yourself and CMRE. What does CMRE do, and how do you see your mission evolving?I came here from the Pentagon, where I was the science advisor for the director of operational test and evaluation. My experience has been working with operators on systems that they’re getting ready to field.

IMO Progressing in Global Climate Action

The UN Climate Action Summit in New York (23 September) is giving global leaders the chance to show the world concrete proposals and tangible actions being taken in the fight against climate change.IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim has been reporting on the solid progress being made by the Organization to reduce GHG emissions from international shipping, in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular SDG 13 on Climate change.Lim delivered a keynote address at the opening of the World Economic Forum event on decarbonizing shipping.

Shipping Sector Sets Course for Zero Carbon

Leading ports, banks, oil and shipping companies on Monday launched an initiative which aims to have ships and marine fuels with zero carbon emissions on the high seas by 2030, in another step by the maritime sector to reduce CO2.International shipping accounts for 2.2% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the U.N.'s International Maritime Organization (IMO), has a long-term goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from 2008 levels by 2050.Achieving this target will…

World First: Hydrogen Tug at Antwerp Port

Europe's second-largest seaport Port of Antwerp has ordered construction of a tug powered by hydrogen, the first in the world.The unique "Hydrotug" is driven by combustion engines that burn hydrogen in combination with diesel. The motors also comply with the very strictest standard, the EU Stage V, making them the lowest-rated for emissions on the market.The Belgium-based port operator said that this ultra-low-emission tug is being built by Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB), a pioneer in the field of hydrogen power for shipping.

Expansion for Far East and Trans-Siberian Railway

FESCO Transportation Group, the largest intermodal transport operator in Russia, and Polish rail operator PCC Intermodal S.A. agreed on developing services of expedited cargo delivery from Japan, South Korea and China to European countries and vice versa through the Far East and Trans-Siberian Railway.The agreement of intent was signed during the Eastern Economic Forum.Using their experience and expertise, the companies are going to work on increasing the volumes of transit cargo shipped with Trans-Siberian Landbridge service launched this summer…

Euronav to Store Low-Sulfur Oil

The crude oil tanker company Euronav has purchased a total of 420,000 metric tons of compliant fuel oil and marine gasoil so far, the company revealed as it detailed its IMO 2020 sulfur cap plans. In aggregate the purchase value of very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) has been at $447 per metric ton compared to a bunker price (HFO-3.5% Sulfur content) of $400 per metric ton over the same procurement period.According to the Belgium shipping company, the oil is currently aboard a ultra large crude carrier (ULCC) Oceania, a vessel built in 2003, and will soon be on its way to Singapore.

Konecranes Retrofits Crane in DP World Liège

Konecranes Port Services, the team of crane and lifting engineers, software developers and product technicians, will retrofit electrification to a Model 2 Konecranes Gottwald Mobile Harbor crane in DP World’s Liège Container Terminal in Belgium, lowering the terminal’s local emissions and noise.The Port of Liège, strategically located along the Meuse river in eastern Belgium,  is the third-largest river port in Europe, directly linked to both Antwerp and Rotterdam.The DP World Liège Container Terminal (DPW LCT) is the only trimodal terminal in Wallonia…

Shoreham Port Welcomes Sea Cadets

Sea Cadets from the Netherlands and Belgium recently enjoyed a visit to Shoreham Port while on a celebratory trip to the South Coast of England. Travelling aboard the TS Zeefakkel, the party arrived at the Port having visited Southend-On-Sea and the Isle of Wight during their 2-week round trip. The group’s visit to the UK was organized in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Zeekadetkorps (Sea Cadets Corps) in the Dutch Town of Hellevoetsluis, located to the south of Rotterdam.

Shanghai Ports Tops in Connectivity

The Shanghai port has topped UNCTAD’s 2019 ranking of the world’s best-connected ports, released yesterday (7 August).The Chinese port garnered a connectivity score of 134 points, followed by the ports of Singapore (124.63 points), Pusan (114.45 points) in Korea and Ningbo (114.35 points), also in China. The index is set at 100 for the best-connected port in 2006, which was Hong Kong, China.Besides the Asian ports, the other ports on the top 10 list are those of Antwerp (94 points) in Belgium and Rotterdam (93 points) in the Netherlands.

CSP Zeebrugge Terminal Deploys Navis N4

The terminal operating systems (TOS) provider Navis announced  that CSP Zeebrugge Terminal, part of COSCO Shipping Ports, has successfully gone live with Navis N4.The unit of Cargotec Corporation and provider of operational technologies and services that unlock greater performance and efficiency for the world’s leading organizations across the shipping supply chain, the terminal connecting European market will use N4 to focus on real-time data sharing and efficiency for better service.The terminal…

Fourth Global Regulatory Summit Held at FMC

Senior government officials from the European Union (EU), the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and the United States met Wednesday at the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to participate in the Fourth Global Regulatory Summit.Attendees represent the competition authorities responsible for regulating international liner shipping in the world’s largest liner trade lanes. The delegations were led by Director Henrik Morch from the Directorate General for Competition of the European Commission and Deputy Director-General YI Jiyong of the Water Transport Bureau…

Exmar Repays its 2014 Bond

Exmar Netherlands,  a fully owned subsidiary of Belgium’s Exmar and a manager of specialized floating assets, has completed the bond repayment issued in 2014, extended in July 2017 and maturing in July 2019.According to a press note from the Nicolas Saverys-led shipowner,  the outstanding senior unsecured bond was issued in 2014.This repayment has been funded partially with the new, unsecured NOK 650 million ($75 million) bond issued by Exmar on May 16, 2019, with final maturity in May 2022…

Kalmar to Deliver Forklift to Antwerp

The provider of lifting solutions, Kalmar has been awarded a contract to supply Antwerp Euroterminal NV (AET) with six Kalmar forklifts of varying specifications, including one fully electric model.The order, which also includes a Kalmar Complete Care service contract covering all the machines, was booked in Cargotec's 2019 Q2 order intake with delivery scheduled to be completed during Q4 2019.AET, is the largest multipurpose terminal in Europe and home to vessels of the Grimaldi Group.

Maersk India Trade Report Q1 2019

India’s containerized exports with the world witnessed a stable growth of 6% in the first quarter of 2019 propelled by robust performances in refrigerated cargo, engineering and pharmaceuticals sectors, while imports declined slightly in the same quarter registering a market growth of -2.2% in Q1. The import demand was buoyed by pharmaceuticals, metal, appliances and kitchenware, paper, chemicals and fruit & nuts, mainly from Northern Europe, South Asia, China and Russia. Exports were driven largely by the East and West of India…

Hutchison Ports, CN Rail to Build Terminal in Canada

Canadian Québec Port Authority (QPA) has signed a long-term commercial agreement with Hong Kong's Hutchison Ports and Canadian National Railway (CN) to build and operate a new container terminal, known as project Laurentia.The agreement increases Hutchison Ports' global network to 52 ports spanning 27 countries including the United Kingdom, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, China, Pakistan, Egypt, Argentina, Mexico and Panama, said a press release.Hutchison…

DFDS Buys Two Freight Ferries for New Route

Danish roro ship operator DFDS secured a contract from Swedish paper producer Stora Enso to transport 700,000 tons of paper annually on a new route between Gothenburg, Sweden and Zeebrugge,BelgiumDFDS will acquire two freight ferries for the route, said the release. The new route will be operated by three freight ferries. Two freight ferries - Slingeborg and Schieborg - will be acquired from third party owners for DKK 270m.In addition, one freight ferry will be transferred from DFDS' existing route between Gothenburg and Ghent that currently deploys four freight ferries.

XLP Opens Office in Belgium

XLProjects has introduced the latest XLProjects (XLP) member office in Antwerp, Belgium.Invicta Project & Shipping has 2 offices located in Antwerp (Belgium) and in Genoa (Italy) from where it serves to and from all European ports.Furthermore their  team is able to offer assistance and support their clients in several languages (English, Italian, French, Spanish, Dutch, Russian).Their goal is to find the best transportation solutions tailor made specifically for our customers. They provide a customized multi-modal transport solution matching your requirements.

Rotterdam Port Expands Inland Shipping

Netherlands-based Port of Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe, has signed a partnership with the North Brabant region, the region of Eindhoven, north of Belgium, to realise increased container transport via inland shipping.In 2018, over 8.6 million containers were transhipped in the Port of Rotterdam (14.5 million TEU). With over 1 million containers, North Brabant is one of Rotterdam’s most important hinterland regions, but with a relatively high share of road transport is…

2018: Record Year for Port of Antwerp

With a growth of 5.2% in 2018 compared to previous year, the Port of Antwerp has confirmed the earlier forecasts for a 6th consecutive year record."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. Below you will find the final annual figures for 2018," said a press release from the Europe’s second-largest seaport.The total transhipment in 2018 was 235.2 million tonnes…

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…

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…