North Sea Port gets new barge links

Ghent and Vlissingen, part of the Belgo-Dutch North Sea Port (NSP), are to be connected with the vast inland container terminal network of BCTN in Belgium and the Netherlands

BCTN, probably the largest operator of inland barge container terminals in the Benelux, will initially call at the two ports two or three times per week.

The ports will be called by separate barges, and will not be wayports in BCTN’s daily Antwerp and Zeebrugge services, David Huybrechts, Commercial Director, BCTN Group told WorldCargo News. The Ghent barge will sail to and from Meerhout in Belgium, and the Vlissingen barge will sail to and from Alblasserdam in the Netherlands. Meerhout is claimed to be the biggest inland barge container terminal in the Benelux.

The new services’ main berths will be the Interface Terminal in Ghent and Verbrugge in Vlissingen, which recently acquired MSC’s reefer loop. It is understood that both Interface and MSC have given baseload commitments.

BCTN's Belgian hub at Meerhout, on the Albert Canal

The inland hubs provide onward barge spoke connections with BCTN’s four (soon five) other Dutch inland barge terminals and its two other Belgian terminals.

Alblasserdam and Meerhout also act as hubs for "last mile" truck pick-up and delivery, Huybrechts added.

“A market leader like BCTN incorporating North Sea Ports in its network is an important signal of our growing significance," NSP’s CEO Daan Schalck is quoted. Both Huybrechts and Schalck hope that the enhanced hinterland coverage will increase the appeal of Ghent and Vlissingen for new UK ferry and shortsea links with the UK.

Source: WorldCargo News

Salalah on a high

The Port of Salalah handled 1.94M TEU and 8.2Mt of general cargo in H1 2019, up 10% and 8% respectively year-on-year

SPS achieved 413 PMPH on the vessel Cap San Tainaro on 29 July

As well as handling a 10% increase in container traffic, in early July, the Omani port set an all-time productivity record, processing 3,820 container moves to/from the vessel CAP SAN TAINARO (9,600 TEU) in just 9.25 hours.

The strong numbers partly reflect Salalah Port Services (SPS) ongoing investment in the port with over US$30M spent on acquiring and phasing in new cargo handling equipment in the past 12 months. This included four RTGs cranes, 214 terminal tractors, 29 forklift trucks and 28 spreaders for use in the container terminal and various ship loaders and multipurpose cranes for the port’s dry bulk and general cargo business.

In part, some of this equipment comprised replacement units for machinery damaged by cyclone Mekunu in early 2018 and the need to restore the port’s handling capacity of approximately 5M TEU a year. But as Mark Hardiman, CEO, SPS, stressed the investment programme was an integral part of APM Terminals (APMT) Hub Excellence Programme which seeks to raise safety standards and improve efficiency across its ports. APMT owns 30% of SPS.

The executive elaborated: “Our customer-centric approach and the commitment of our employees has been the key to our continued success. We continue to place a very high emphasis on safety and focus on continuously improving our processes to deliver world class productivity.”

Hardiman stressed that this was even more important in a region like the Middle East/Indian Ocean where Salalah competes against other hubs, such as Jebel Ali, Khalifa, Sohar and Jeddah. “In the competitive environment of the transhipment business, delivering these levels of performance enhances the overall value proposition of Salalah to the shipping line in terms of network cost savings and reliability.”

He said that investment in Salalah was continuing as SPS sought to reduce equipment downtimes further and improve levels of operational consistency.

Source: WorldCargo News

PEP talk for Southampton

The UK Department for Transport, in partnership with ABP’s Port of Southampton, today launches the UK’s first Port Economic Partnership (PEP)

This is touted as an innovative initiative to create stronger links between ports and government, to maximise long-term trade and economic growth. The Partnership will be launched at an event today during London International Shipping Week, on board the PHAROS lightship.

As part of its strategy, ‘Maritime 2050 – Navigating the Future’, launched in January 2019, the Government outlined the creation of Port Economic Partnerships as one way of creating a strong business environment for ports to thrive, in turn, boosting trade and driving the national economy.

Areas that the Partnership will focus on include leveraging the maximum benefit from public and private sector investment and ensuring that planning processes are as efficient as possible. It is anticipated that this will better facilitate ports’ investment in new freight-handling facilities and other infrastructure needed to grow trading volumes and maintain the UK’s position as a leading maritime nation.

The Partnership will focus on ensuring that public and private sector organisations at local, regional and national levels, work together to enable improved links with our global trading partners, ready for a post-Brexit world where the resilience of our trading hubs is more critical than ever before.

The UK’s first PEP will see the Port of Southampton, the UK’s number one export port and Europe’s leading cruise turnaround destination, work closely with DfT to trial the concept.

Maritime minister, Nusrat Ghani, MP, said: “I am delighted to announce the first Port Economic Partnership with the Port of Southampton. This fantastic endeavour will be key to supporting the ambitions of Government, helping to cement the UK as a leading maritime nation. Not only this, but this project will also allow the Port of Southampton to drive sector growth, enhance its offer to customers and serve its local community.”

Alastair Welch, ABP’s Regional Director for Southampton, said: “We are proud and excited to be joining the Government in launching the UK’s first Port Economic Partnership. It’s great to see the Government put maritime at the heart of the nation’s economic future. This is another fantastic initiative capable of turbo-charging trade and boosting the nation’s exports.

“ABP looks forward to working collaboratively with Government to deliver the benefits which the Partnership will bring to support the Port of Southampton’s future growth. Ultimately, this important step will safeguard our position as the UK’s number one export port and a leading gateway for international trade, making significant contributions to jobs and the UK economy, both regionally and nationally.”

Source: WorldCargo News