According to a recent statement, all operations have now resumed at the Port of Antwerp, after the collapse of a crane at the DP World Antwerpen’s quay earlier this week. According to the Port of Antwerp, the shipping situation went back to normal on Tuesday, December 10, adding that all operations on the Scheldt and the terminals had been resumed.
On Monday 9 December, a huge ship-to-shore container crane collapsed after being hit by the container ship “APL Mexico City”. The collision took place in the port of Antwerp, with the container vessel being unmoored, since its mooring had broken due to squally weather.
A delegation from the Port of Antwerp visited the port of Cotonou to provide expertise in order to modernise the port and make it futureproof. The port of Cotonou has a strategic importance in the region, as it is one of the main gateway ports for the sub-region, in particular the countries of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali.
As part of its commitment to energy transition, the Port of Antwerp inaugurated the first solar concentrator farm in the European process industry. This energy technology generates eco-friendly heat from concentrated sunlight that can be used by industrial companies.
The Port of Antwerp, Europe’s second busiest port, and the Port of Zeebrugge have started discussions on a potential merger after almost two years of exploratory talks and a study regarding how the two ports could collaborate more. As the two ports said in a joint statement, the negotiations on the possible merger could last another two years.
The overall freight volume handled by Port of Antwerp increased from January through September 2019 by 1.1% in comparison with the same period last year. The container volume rose by as much as 6.4%. On the other hand, the slowdown in the world economy cut the growth rate of more volatile trade flows.
Port of Antwerp is making efforts to become the sustainable port of the future. This is the message of the fifth Sustainability Report, which states that development of the port must go hand-in-hand with the largest possible contribution to society.
Port of Antwerp has ordered construction of a tug powered by hydrogen, the first in the world. This ‘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.
The Moravian-Silesian Region, Statutory City of Ostrava, the Railway Administration Authority (SŽDC), Concens Investments and Antwerp Port Authority will collaborate to develop a new container terminal in the Mošnov industrial zone. On September 18, 2019 they signed a Memorandum of Understanding to kick-start this new project, called the Mosnov Multimodal Transport Terminal.
The energy transition and digitisation are the two strategic challenges facing large industrial ports. In addition, the EU can offer port authorities and industrial clusters significant incentives to achieve the transition toward the CO2-neutral ports of the future. For this reason, Antwerp and Rotterdam Port Authorities will organise a joint event for European policy makers, with contributions from experts from the world of science, industry and logistics.
