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Three new services to AmsterdamRecord results for Amsterdam Seaports Ceres Paragon welcomes new owners
Three new services to AmsterdamRecord results for Amsterdam Seaports Ceres Paragon welcomes new owners
Three new services to AmsterdamRecord results for Amsterdam Seaports Ceres Paragon welcomes new owners
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www.amports.nl Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009
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C O L O P H O N
Contents AmsterdAm seAPOrtsPublisher: Amsterdam Ports Association
Contributors: Bart Stam (chief editor), Mark van Baal, Jan van den Berg, Albert Boes, Joris Moes, Karel van der Weide
Photos: Amsterdam Ports Associations, Dick van den Berg, Martin Hendriksen, Ed Seeder, Mirjam Terpstra, Reinder Weidijk and others.
Translation: Writewell: Andrew Rogers, Akke Pinkster
Advertising:Joris van der Hoek,De Ruijterkade 7, 1013 AA AmsterdamTelephone + 31 20-6273706Mobile phone +31 6-41842210Fax: + 31-20-6264969E-mail: [email protected]: www.amports.nl
Important addresses:
Amsterdam Ports AssociationManaging director: Wim RuijghDe Ruijterkade 7, 1033 AA AmsterdamTelephone: +31 20-627 37 06Fax: 31+020-626 49 69E-mail: [email protected]: www.amports.nl
Port of AmsterdamP.O. Box 194061000 GK AmsterdamTelephone: (0)20-5234500Fax: +31 20-6209821Ships movements information:Telephone: +31 20-6221515E-mail: [email protected]: www.amsterdamports.nl
Port representatives abroad USA Jacob Willemsen (New York)+1 212 681 [email protected] Roy Wansik (Houston)+1 713 964 [email protected] Hans Lip (Neuss/Dsseldorf )+31 654 334 [email protected] Gert-Jan Nieuwenhuizen (Shanghai)+86-13916694437 and +31 06 5369 [email protected]
Beverwijk HarbourNoorderkade 1, 1948 NR BeverwijkTelephone: +31 251-224750Fax: +31 251-214050E-mail: [email protected] site: www.beverwijk.nl
Zeehaven IJmuiden NVHalkade 4, P.O. Box 5411970 AM IJmuidenTelephone: +31 255-547000Fax: +31 255-547060E-mail: [email protected] site: www.zeehaven.nl
Zaanstad HarbourWestkade 2, 1506 BA ZaandamTelephone: +31 75-6816888Fax: +31 75-6816799E-mail: [email protected] site: www.zaanstad.nl
Business Association ORAMDe Ruijterkade 71013 AA AmsterdamTelephone: +31 20-6222111Fax: +31 20-6203133E-mail: [email protected] site: www.oram.nl
Chamber of Commerce AmsterdamDe Ruijterkade 5, 1013 AA AmsterdamTelephone: +31 20-5314000Fax: +31 20-5314699E-mail: [email protected] site: www.amsterdam.kvk.nl
Layout: FIZZ reclame + communicatie, Meppel
Printed by:Giethoorn ten Brink, Meppel
05 Innovation to serve our clients
07 News in brief
News in brief
09 Record year for Amsterdam Seaports
10 New Amsterdam-Esbjerg service
11 Ceres becomes ACT
13 Shipping Line ZIM/Hapag-Lloyd calls at Port of Amsterdam
14 New car carrier in Amsterdam
15 Cirrus Energy chooses IJmuiden as base of operations
16 -17 Through a pilots eyes
18-19 Tugboat powered by hydrogen and fuel cells
21 Electricity from North Sea natural gas
22 Flowers by high speed trains
23 Westway Terminals doubles storage capacity
24 Giving a boost to shore power
25 Vapour return systems to combat odours and explosions
26-27 Safety and quality in alcohol storage
28-29 River cruise industry seeks new customer groups
31 Keeping cocoa under control with carbon dioxide
Cover photo: visitors boarding the MV San Francisco on the occassion of the
maiden call at Ter Haaks USA terminal. Photo: Reinder Weidijk
Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 www.amports.nl
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A M P O R T S
www.amports.nl Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009
Innovation to serve our clientsAs a leading distribution country that is largely dependent on
a well-functioning logistics and transport sector, innovation is
of vital importance to the Netherlands. And Dutch seaports are
certainly no exception to this rule. A failure to be sufficiently in-
novative carries a very real risk that key shipping companies and
scheduled services will move elsewhere. This applies especially to
the Le Havre-Hamburg range, where competition is fierce and the
distances between ports short.
Fortunately, Amsterdam Seaports has an excellent service record
when it comes to innovation. Some fine examples from recent
years include the advanced container terminal of Ceres Paragon,
the covered Waterland Terminal, the new fire management system
at Sitos, high-quality vapour return lines at the oil terminals, the in-
land ship with individual crane (AMSbarge), the community system
Port NET, the processing of waste fats at Greenmills, a port tugboat
and a truck running on hydrogen, and much more besides
The four ports on the North Sea Canal (Amsterdam, Beverwijk,
IJmuiden and Zaanstad) and trade and industry have a policy to
actively promote innovation. During 2009, for instance, Amsterdam
and Zaanstad will make considerable investments in shore power
facilities for inland shipping and river cruisers. This will lead to a
sizeable reduction of both harmful emissions and noise pollution
as vessels turn off their diesel generators when moored at the quay.
We are also pleased that the Dutch government is paying increas-
ing attention to the importance of innovation in the maritime sec-
tor in general, and at seaports in particular. We already had the Mar-
itime Innovation Programme (MIP) and innovation programmes
for shipping, inland shipping and shipbuilding. These were recently
supplemented with a new subsidy regulation for seaports.
Over the next five years the Dutch government is providing five
million euros for innovative and sustainable projects in Dutch
seaports. Although this amount does not allow for innumerable
large-scale projects, it will encourage new initiatives to make Dutch
seaports more efficient, functional and cleaner. And we should
also mention the new Innovation Fund of the Amsterdam seaport.
Taken as a whole, it is clear that Amsterdam Seaports is taking the
lead in the field of innovation.
Michiel A. Wijsmuller,
Chairman AmPorts
AMSTERDAM SEAPORTS Official publication on behalf of the ports of Amsterdam, Beverwijk, Ymuiden and Zaanstad Published 4 times a year in English: by Amsterdam Ports Association ([email protected] www.amports.nl)
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N E W S I N B R I E F
www.amports.nl Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009
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GRIMALdI INCReASeS fReqUeNCy
tO WeSt AfRICA
Shipping company Grimaldi Lines has increased the frequency of its
Central Express Service departing from the United Stevedores Am-
sterdam (USA) terminal. Instead of once a week, vessels now leave
to various destinations in West Africa once every six days. Equipped
to transport RoRo, containers, break bulk and project cargo, they sail
directly to the ports of Dakar (Senegal), Lom (Togo), Cotonou (Be-
nin), Tema and Takoradi (Ghana) and Lagos (Nigeria). The scheduled
service then moves on to Abidjan and San Pdro (Ivory Coast), two
ports that play a major role in the supply of cocoa to Amsterdam.
The second service to West Africa by Grimaldi Lines is the Southern
Express Service. This sails straight from United Stevedores Am-
sterdam to Luanda (Angola), Pointe Noire (Congo Brazzaville) and
Douala (Cameroon). Grimaldi recently expanded the service with
two new builds: The Grande Angola and Grande Ghana.
Broekman Motorships, part of the Broekman Group, is the exclusive
Dutch agent for Grimaldi. This shipping division represents around
40 shipping companies.
One of the vessels used for Grimaldis Central Express Service
IJMUIdeN tO KOLdING SeRVICe
A new scheduled service will be operating between Kolding Havn
in Denmark and IJmuiden, part of Amsterdam Seaports. The initiator
is local Danish company H. Daugaard, which plans to import large
quantities of tinplate for the production of tins for the food industry,
among other things. The companys main office is situated in Kold-
ing Port and has 220 employees.
AeO CeRtIfICAtION
Amsterdam Container Terminals (formerly
known as Ceres Paragon, see page 11), became
the first Dutch deep sea container terminal
to receive AEO certification from the Dutch
Customs in January 2009. This will increase the
speed and efficiency with which containers are
handled at the terminal.
Amsterdam Container Terminals
Container terminals with this type of certificate
receive less physical inspections and document
checks. AEO-certified companies can also re-
quest checks at specific locations and are given
priority in compulsory checks. The European
Union has been offering companies the oppor-
tunity to request AEO status since September
2007 so as to ensure fewer logistic delays and
lower administrative costs. The certificate is
valid in all EU member states.
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N E W S I N B R I E F
WINteR CRUISeS
Amsterdam Seaports rounded off the 2008
cruise season at Christmas onboard two ships
from Norwegian company Fred. Olsen Cruises.
The vessels moored together at the Passen-
gers Terminal Amsterdam (PTA). In 2008,
Amsterdam Seaports welcomed a record
number of 130 ships at its Felison coastal
terminal and the PTA.
teR HAAK LOGIStICS OPeNS
dIStRIBUtION CeNtRe
Ter Haak Logistics (THL) has been using its
new 12,000 m2 distribution centre near Am-
sterdam since the start of 2009. The company
can directly supply the nearby factory of Mit-
subishi Caterpillar Forklift Europe (MCFE) from
the warehouse. Ter Haak has been managing
MCFEs supplies since 2002 and has an option
on an adjacent vacant lot of 5,000 m2.
ReefeR LINe SeRVICe IJMUIdeN-ALASKA
Dutch company Kloosterboer IJmuiden is constructing a new complex of
cold stores in Dutch Harbour (Alaska) in cooperation with the local port
service Dutch Harbour Ports LLC. Dutch Harbour is home to leading fish-
ing companies such as the Glacier Fish Company and American Seafoods,
who will store their goods in the new cold stores. The first phase will have
a capacity of 120,000 m3 for fish including Alaskan pollock, cod, kings crab
and salmon.
Kloosterboer will manage the services of the Alaska cold store from a new
office in Seattle. This office will also support the new scheduled service
between Dutch Harbour and IJmuiden that will start once the cold store
is ready in mid 2009. The cold store will be built out of prefab parts from
Poland, including panels, floors and roof insulation. These materials were
shipped from the Netherlands to Alaska in January. The steel construction
has been imported from South Korea, with the concrete and machinery
coming from within the US.
A Kloosterboer reefer
fISHING PORtS fOR GHANA
Early December 2008 saw the Ghanaian President give the green light for
three of the 14 fishing ports that will be developed in Ghana by Dutch
consultancy and engineering company DHV. The overall development of
all the ports will run until 2014 and involve an investment of around 150
million dollars.
Ghana has been struggling with the issue of how to build fishing ports
along its inhospitable, irregular coastline for over a century. The Ghanaian
Ministry of Fishery commissioned DHV to take on this challenge nearly
two years ago. The 14 new fishing ports are intended to ensure major fish
export and thus enhance the quality of life of the Ghanaian population.
DHVs role in the project will primarily revolve around land reclamation
and the design of breakwaters and embankments. The engineering com-
pany is also designing the accompanying infrastructure such as buildings
and a pipeline network. Twelve of the fishing ports are to be situated
along the coast and two at the inland Volta reservoir.
Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 www.amports.nl
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www.amports.nl Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009
A N N U A L F I G U R E S 2 0 0 8
Record year for Amsterdam Seaports
The modernized NuStar terminal is a fine example of increased transhipment capacity of oil products in
Amsterdam
Whats in store for 2009? Who knows
said General Director Peter van de Meer-
akker of IJmuiden Seaport NV during a joint
New Years reception in Amsterdam. Hans
Gerson, General Director of Amsterdam
Seaports and Jasper Heusdens (Chairman
of the association of port employers, ORAM)
were also reluctant to hazard a guess. But
all three speakers agreed that Amsterdam
Seaports has plenty of resilience. Gerson: It
looks like Amsterdam Seaports will do rela-
tively well thanks to the recent investments
in energy terminals and the wide range of
facilities on offer.
BetteR tHAN tHe ReSt
In 2008 the transfer of goods at Amsterdam
Seaports increased by over eight percent
from 87.8 million to 94.8 million tons. Am-
sterdam recorded a jump of 11.6 percent
to 75.8 million tons. The transhipment of
oil products, for instance, increased by no
less than 22.6 percent to 30.5 million tons.
Major reasons included increased exports
to the USA and the expansions at Oiltank-
ing and NuStar.
Ceres Paragon handled around 435,000
containers last year, a growth of 12.8
percent compared to 2007 (385,600 TEU).
Agribulk (+5 percent), artificial fertiliser
(+2.3 percent) and the sand, gravel and
minerals sector (+15.6 percent) were
also on the increase. Coal transfer lagged
behind with a negligible growth of 0.1
percent to 17.3 million tons. Amsterdam
Seaports attributes this to the extended
PAST RESULTS ARE NO GUARANTEE FOR FUTURE PERFORMANCE
Amsterdam Seaports enjoyed a record year in 2008 with an impressive overall turnover of 94.8 mil-lion tons. This represents a rise of 8.2 percent compared to 2007. Although the prospects for 2009 are unclear, Amsterdam Seaports, the ORAM association of employers and IJmuiden Seaport see plenty of opportunities.
facilities at the OBA and Rietlanden termi-
nals. Sea cruises also did well with 226,000
passengers 147,000 in 2007. The number
of cruise ships rose by 50 percent from 78
to 117, whereas the number of river cruises
dropped slightly from 1019 to 998 - despite
a constant passenger number of around
170,000. In total over 6000 seagoing vessels
visited the Amsterdam Seaports in 2008, a
rise of 13.3 percent.
IJMUIdeN SeAPORt
Over the course of the past three years,
Amsterdam Seaports has grown by around
32 percent; 13.4 percent in 2006, 6 percent
in 2007 and 11.6 percent last year.
IJmuiden Seaport has had an extraordinar-
ily successful year, says Director Peter van
de Meerakker, mentioning the rise in fish
turnover to over 41 million euros as an ex-
ample. This has strengthened our position
as second fish market in the Netherlands.
Van de Meerakker believes that the new
Internet Security System is starting to bear
fruit. The number of ship movements also
increased considerably, partly due to the
maintenance of two offshore wind turbine
farms in the North Sea.
The year 2008 also saw growth at the port
of Beverwijk: From 541,000 to 576,000
tons, an increase of 6.44 percent. With
an export figure of 75,000 tons, Bever-
wijk was again the largest potato port in
Europe. Goods transfer in Velsen/IJmuiden
on the other hand decreased from 19
million to 18.3 million tons, a fall of 3.9
percent. The reason for this is obvious: The
considerable decrease in demand for steel
products from Corus. Zaanstad also took
a step back, dropping by 2.9 percent from
165,000 to 160,000 tons. This is mainly due
to a reduced grain transfer.
www.portofamsterdam.nl
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10 Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 www.amports.nl
The Sea-Cargo Ro/Ro service leaves from the
Scandia Terminal of VCK Logistics in the Suez
Harbour to the seaport in Western Jutland
twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays. In
addition to Tor Minerva, the Norwegian ship-
ping company will also deploy Trans Carrier.
Tor Minerva has a length of 177 metres
and carries 134 trailers. Sea-Cargo recently
extended the length of Trans Carrier from
125 to 144 metres, as a result of which she
can now carry 94 trailers. Both vessels also
transport containers, pallets, heavy cargo
and project cargo as well as Ro/Ro.
Sea-Cargo, which is also represented in
Amsterdam, will start using two new multi-
purpose vessels in late 2010 or early 2011
that are currently being built in a yard in
India. A special feature of these ships is
that they are powered by liquid natural
gas (LNG). Their exceptional Rolls Royce
engines use liquid natural gas (at -163 Cel-
sius) for propulsion. This offers a reduction
in carbon dioxide emissions of 20 percent
compared to diesel engines and a stagger-
ing drop of 90 percent in NOx emissions.
These LNG engines also produce negligi-
ble amounts of particles and sulphur.
The new vessels will have a length of 333
metres, a load capacity of 5,600 tdwt (1150
load metres), space for 94 containers and be
fitted with their own 50-ton container crane.
www.sea-cargo.no
C O R P O R A T E N E W S
New Amsterdam-Esbjerg serviceSEA-CARGO TO USE LNG-POWEREd VESSELS IN 2011
Norwegian shipping company Sea-Cargo A/S started a new Ro/Ro line service from Amsterdam to Esb-jerg (denmark) on January 30.The Polish captain of the ms Tor Minerva was presented with the traditio-nal port shield for the maiden call by dorothy Winters, Commercial Manager of the Port of Amsterdam.
Tor Minerva moored at VCK Logistics Scandia Terminal
Dorothy Winters (Port of Amsterdam) presents the special shield to the captain of Tor Minerva
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www.amports.nl Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 11
Terminals (ECT) of which Hutchison Port
Holdings is the mother company. In its
turn, HPH is part of Hutchison Whampoa
Limited (HWL) that has interests in 50 ports
in 26 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, North
and South America, and Australia. In 2007
the HPH Group was responsible for the
storage and transport of 66.3 million TEU in
containers. NYK had a turnover of 26 billion
dollars in 2007 and employs around 55,000
people worldwide.
Hutchison had been interested in Ceres
Paragon for some time. The Hong Kong
company made its first bid in 2004, but
founding company Kritikos opposed
the takeover. The terminal has been fully
owned for the past two years by NYK,
which is currently operating three sched-
uled services from Asia for Grand Alliance.
According to Freek Ossel, Port Alderman of
Amsterdam, Hutchinsons majority share is
an interesting development for the Am-
sterdam port and one that we believe will
create many opportunities. Osser believes
that the takeover allows Amsterdam Con-
tainer Terminals to further set itself apart
as an independent container terminal that
offers many benefits for large shipping
companies.
ANNUAL fIGUReS 2008
Early January Ceres announced its transfer
figures for 2008, which amounted to over
425,000 TEU, or 250,000 moves. Over
310,000 cars were loaded and unloaded at
CAMT last year.
www.ceresglobal.nl
Until December, Japanese company NYK
(Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha) held full
ownership. In the Netherlands CTE consists
of the Ceres Paragon Terminal in the Ameri-
ka Harbour and the ro/ro terminal Ceres
Amsterdam Marine Terminals (CAMT) in
the West Harbour. The new name of CAMT
is Amsterdam Marine Terminals. It is said
that negotiations between Hutchison and
NYK took some six months before agree-
ment was reached on the ultra-modern
terminal where cranes on both sides of the
dock load and unload container ships at
record speed. As far as is known, the HPH
takeover will have no consequences for
employment.
NON-dISCLOSURe
Hutchison and NYK refuse to name the
figure involved in the transaction. Both
parties have stated that NYK will retain
a minority share in Europe Container
B U S I N E S S N E W S
MAJOR CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP
Hutchison Port Holdings Ltd. (HPH) in Hong Kong acquired a majority share in Ceres Container Terminals Europe (CTE) in mid december 2008. The HPH website states that the company will continue under its new name Amsterdam Container Terminals (ACT).
Ceres becomes ACT
The modern container terminal of Ceres Paragon, now called Amsterdam Container Terminals (ACT).
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www.amports.nl Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 1
The new services first container vessel,
the MV San Francisco (capacity 1,600
TEU), arrived at the USA terminal on
February 17. To mark the occasion Dertje
Meijer, commercial manager of the Port
of Amsterdam, presented Captain Ghler
of the MV San Francisco with a symbolic
shield of the Port of Amsterdam.
ZIM Integrated Shipping Services is
a large Israeli shipping company that
mainly operates with container ships. It
currently manages around 60 scheduled
services in Europe, the US, Canada, Latin
America, Africa and Asia. For the time
being ZIM will start with three container
vessels of 1,500 and 2,000 TEU for the
bi-weekly service between West Africa
and Amsterdam. One of the three vessels
is owned by Hapag-Lloyd, which offers 80
scheduled services world wide and a to-
tal fleet capacity of around 500.000 TEU.
With 25 hectares of terrain, three termi-
nals, a total quay length of nearly 2,000
metres and some 75,000 m2 of ware-
house space, USA is one of the largest
stevedores in the Port of Amsterdam. The
company is specialised in the handling
and storage of containers, timber, RoRo
break bulk, cargo bulk and project cargo.
USA is part of the Ter Haak Group.
According to United Stevedores Amster-
dam, the arrival of the new ZIM/Hapag-
Lloyd service can be partly attributed to
the operational and logistical services of-
fered by the Ter Haak Group. The mother
USA has extensive knowledge of and
experience with the trade route to and
from West Africa.
company manages additional activities
such as storage, cleaning, repairs and the
repositioning of containers. In addition,
Arrival of ZIMs MV San Francisco in Amsterdam
B U S I N E S S N E W S
Israeli shipping company ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, which mainly transports containers, and Hapag-Lloyd extended their North Europe Africa Service (NAF) to Amsterdam in mid February. The companies will initially call once every 11 days at the United Stevedores Amsterdam (USA) terminal, a part of the Ter Haak Group. This brings the number of deepsea services operating via USA to four.
Shipping line ZIM/Hapag-Lloyd calls at Port of Amsterdam
Dertje Meijer (Port of Amsterdam) presents the shield to
Captain Ghler of the MV San Francisco.
CONTAINER SHIPS TO UNITEd STEVEdORES AMSTERdAM
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1 Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 www.amports.nl
The Pleiades Spirit carried a cargo of Nis-
sans and Subarus, mainly four-wheel drives
such as the Patrol and X-trail. It sailed
from Japan via the Strait of Malakka and
Suez Canal to the Mediterranean. Here the
carrier visited ports such as Tartus (Syria),
Larnaka (Cyprus) and Piraeus (Greece).
The RoRo vessel then travelled via Tripoli
(Libya), Livorno (Italy), Barcelona, Rotter-
dam and Newcastle to Amsterdam.
The tensest moment was passing through
the Gulf of Aden, says Philippine captain
Willy Doruelo. We saw two speedboats
each carrying nine pirates come within
several hundred metres. I changed course
to starboard and sealed the ship. The
captain considered calling in help from in-
ternational navy vessels, but in the end the
pirates abandoned the idea of climbing
a 40-metre high ship sailing at 20 knots.
I feel very secure onboard this vessel,
Doruelo adds.
Koopman Car Terminal in the West Port in
Amsterdam makes for an impressive sight
as thousands of Patrols and X-Trails are
driven onto the quay, starboard of Pleiades
Spirits giant bridge. Nissan is distributing
these vehicles from Amsterdam to vari-
ous destinations in Western and Eastern
Europe, including Russia.
In normal circumstances, car carriers return
to Asia full of European cars. When the
Pleiades Spirit leaves Amsterdam, however,
she will cross the Atlantic to load American
cars in four US ports. The vessel will return
to Japan in three or four months time.
Where the next journey will takes her is
still unknown, says Japanese manager Yuji
Takayama, who has been working for Nis-
san Europe in the Netherlands for several
years. Nissan decided to build this vessel
three years ago when car sales were on the
rise. No-one anticipated then the current
economic situation or the dramatic fall in
car sales. But owning a quality ship like
Pleiades Spirit means we will be ready for
the upturn when it comes.
SPeCIfICAtIONS
Name: Pleiades Spirit
Type: Car Carrier
Built: 25 June 13 October 2008
Length: 199.99 m
Beam: 32.26 m
Draft: 9.73 m (max)
Cargo: 17,424 ton
Tonnage: 60,330 ton
Capacity: 6,400 cars
Propulsion: 7-cylinder super long stroke
15 megawatt diesel
B U S I N E S S N E W S
New car carrier in Amsterdam On 11 February the RoRo vessel Pleiades Spirit docked in Amsterdam harbour. This brand-new car carrier from Nissan has room for some 6400 vehicles. An impression of the maiden voyage.
MAIdEN VOyAGE OF NISSANS PLEIAdES SPIRIT
The Pleiades Spirit heading towards Amsterdam.
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www.amports.nl Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 1
Cirrus Energy chooses IJmuiden as base of operations
Cirrus Energy has chosen IJmuiden as its operational base for North Sea offshore activities. The companys offices will be located at the Maritime Service Centre IJmond (MSCIJ).
I N N O V A T I O N
Natural Gas Company (NAM), which will
process the natural gas. Cirrus will start pro-
ducing natural gas at this location during
the course of 2009.
At the second location near Ameland, grid
M1-A, Cirrus Energy is placing the required
infrastructure of valves and connections
on the seabed. The installation is due to
be finished in the second quarter of 2009.
Cirrus will transport natural gas from this
platform via an existing pipeline to produc-
tion platform G17-A for processing.
Cirrus is also exploring a gas field off the
coast of the province of South Holland. Here
the Noble Lynda Bossler platform has drilled
up to a depth of 2,750 metres below the
seabed. Cirrus estimates that the location
holds five billion cubic metres of natural gas.
UNMANNed PLAtfORM
Cirrus Energy mainly has interests in smaller
oil and gas fields in various parts of the
North Sea. The company has already been
granted permission to extract natural gas
from two fields: M7-A and M1-A at 25 and
50 kilometres north of the Dutch Wadden
Island of Ameland respectively. An un-
manned M7-A platform built by Fabricom
Oil & Gas in IJmuiden will be placed on the
first location. The M7-A location already
has an old drilling well but this no longer
meets the current requirements for safety
and continuity, which is why oil company
Wintershall will drill a new well that can be
connected to the new production platform.
A 13-kilometre pipeline was placed from
grid M7-A to platform L-9 FF of the Dutch
Oil and natural gas below the bot-
tom of the North Sea are still attract-
ing new companies as smaller firms
take over fields previously exploited
by large players such as Shell. One
such newcomer is Cirrus Energy from
Canada, established in 2002 and busy
with extracting oil in Trinidad and
Tobago off the Venezuelan coast since
2004. At the start of 2008 the Canadian
company also opened offices in Zoeter-
meer, while its work on the Dutch part
of the North Sea is based at MSCIJ in
IJmuiden. Cirrus Energy uses the Ocean
Scotsman supply boat to transport
goods for offshore activities to and
from the IJmond port. Cirrus Energy is
the first offshore client at MSCIJ.
Fabricom Oil & Gas is currently constructing the unmanned production platform M7-A in IJmuiden
NATURAL GAS PROdUCTION TO START IN 2009
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16 Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 www.amports.nl
A M S T E R d A M S E A P O R T S
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www.amports.nl Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 1
Registered pilot Klaas Wester is fully focused as he helps the
bulk carrier Coal Age to moor at the quay of IGMA, a major
freight handling company in the port of Amsterdam. This is
one of 120 prints in the book Through the eyes of a Pilot, which
was published independently by Amsterdam photographer
Mirjam Terpstra in late 2008. She has taken many striking
images of the work of eight marine pilots in the Amsterdam-
IJmond region while accompanying them on dozens of trips.
The text in the book is in English and Dutch.
Klaas Wester (1951) became acquainted with the shipping
industry early in his life, sailing as a child with his barge skip-
per father. Later he studied at the Nautical Training Academy
in Amsterdam before joining the KNSM as second helmsman.
From 1983 until 2006 Klaas was a registered pilot in the Am-
sterdam-IJmond region. He also worked as a teacher and in-
structor at various regional and national training programmes
for registered pilots.
www.mirjam-terpstra.nl
Through a pilots eyes
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The idea for a harbour tugboat fuelled
by hydrogen and fuel cells came to me at
a New Years reception last year where I
saw a model of the HyTruck, says Michiel
A. Wijsmuller, Director and partner of
Offshore Ship Designers (OSD) in IJmuiden,
previously WorldWise Marine Engineer-
ing (sidebar). Designed by Dutch trans-
port company Boudesteijn, this truck is
powered by hydrogen and I asked myself
whether such a solution would be suitable
for harbour tugboats. They work at full ca-
pacity when towing or pushing, which is no
more than 15 percent of the time. Around
70 percent is spent on stand-by and the
remaining time (de)mobilising: Sailing to
or from the objects that require assistance.
The Green Tug is powered by a combina-
tion of hydrogen, fuel cells and clean diesel
generators rather than diesel engines. An
added benefit is that we can temporar-
ily store the surplus electrical capacity in
batteries.
Provisional calculations show that, com-
pared with a conventional tugboat, the
Green Tug emits up to 90 percent less sul-
phur oxide, nitrogen oxide and soot, and 30
to 50 percent less CO2. This translates into a
considerable improvement in air quality.
1 Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 www.amports.nl
fUeL CeLLS WItH POLyMeRS
Our starting point is a 30-metre tugboat
with a towing capacity of 65 tons and 200
kilowatts in fuel cells, explains Project
Manager Marc van der Zwaluw. The fuel
cells operate via an electrochemical proc-
ess and the design team believes that PEM
(Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cells
will be most suitable. The Proton Exchange
Membrane creates a reaction between
hydrogen and oxygen whereby energy is
released as electricity and the only waste
product is water. NedStack Fuel Cell
Technology in Arnhem is the supplier for
the PEM.
Project manager Marc van der Zwaluw of Offshore Ship Designers (OSD)
I N N O V A T I O N
Tugboat powered by hydrogen and fuel cells
Offshore Ship designers (OSd), Iskes Towage and Salvage, Smit and a number of other dutch partners are developing an environmentally-friendly harbour tugboat. dubbed the Green Tug, the vessel is largely powered by fuel cells and batteries. OSd director Michiel Wijsmuller expects the prototype to be ready in 2011.
OFFSHORE SHIP dESIGNERS (OSd), ISKES ANd SMIT dESIGN GREEN TUG
-
www.amports.nl Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 1
The approximately 50 m3 of hydrogen is
stored in synthetic cylinders of 350 bar. Al-
though we would like to have even more
pressure in order to increase the storage
capacity, Dutch government inspectors
(IVW) have yet to approve this, Wijsmuller
continues. The battery type has yet to be
fixed: The most likely candidates are lead-
acid batteries and lithium-ion batteries.
Wijsmuller does not anticipate any major
problems with filling the hydrogen tanks
onboard when the boat is finished in two
years. Hydrogen is an important by-
product of the petrochemical industry.
And there is already a filling station for
local buses in Amsterdam.
NedStack, MARIN (Maritime Research
Institute Netherlands) and electrical
engineering company Bakker Sliedrecht.
MARIN will be optimising a 2.5-metre
scale model in one of its hull testing tanks
and Bakker Sliedrecht is responsible for
the power management system. The
SMI subsidy of 450,000 euros provides a
welcome financial boost, says Wijsmuller.
The feasibility study will be completed
in mid-2009 after which we will continue
with the plan study, the detailed design
and the construction of the first model.
Depending on how much space is avail-
able in the shipyards, a prototype can be
finished in 2011.
OtHeR INNOVAtIONS
In addition to the Green Tug, OSD cur-
rently has two other innovative ships on
order. The first is a 48-metre tugboat with
a limited draught (max. 2.5 metres) for
a Russian client, which will be used for
activities in the Caspian Sea and on rivers,
while also serving as an icebreaker.
The second project is the S-bow, devel-
oped in cooperation with daughter com-
pany OSD-IMT in the UK. The S-shaped
bow and favourable waterline of this new
tug should ensure that the ship remains
operational much longer in bad weather
and high waves, Wijsmuller clarifies. We
delivered the first model to North Star
and so far have received only positive
feedback from crew members.
MARIN tUG tANKS
Wijsmullers hydrogen hybrid harbour
tug (Green Tug) was well received at two
international conferences in Singapore
and New York during 2008. Offshore Ship
Designers also found partners within the
Netherlands, including Iskes Towing and
Salvage and Smit. I have also heard that
there is a great deal of interest from the
port authorities of both Rotterdam and
Amsterdam.
The project already received a grant from
the Dutch governments new Maritime
Innovation Subsidies Regulation. In
addition to OSD, Iskes and Smit, three
other major subcontractors are involved:
OffSHORe SHIP deSIGNeRS
Offshore Ship Designers (OSD) currently
has 45 employees, consisting mainly of
naval architects and mechanical engi-
neers. In addition to the head office in
IJmuiden, the company has four offices in
England and Scotland and one in China.
Its two core activities are the offshore in-
dustry (80 percent of all orders) and tugs
(20 percent). Major clients include Multra
Ship, Vroon Offshore, Swire Pacific, North
Star and Mkster.
Offshore Ship Designers is the new name
of WorldWise Marine Engineering, which
was established in 2002 after a merger
between Wijsmuller Engineering and
Marman Brokerage. To increase its market
share in the offshore and tug sectors,
WorldWise Marine took over British
company IMT Marine Consultants in 2006,
together with Dutch engineering firm
Sea of Solutions. IMT is specialised in the
design of medium to large offshore ves-
sels. In 2008 WorldWise Marine became a
majority shareholder in IMT. In the same
year OSD opened an office in Shanghai
that currently has 12 employees, primarily
naval architects and mechanical engi-
neers.
To underline that all design activities cur-
rently take place within one company, the
name WorldWise Marine Engineering was
changed to Offshore Ship Designers. Due
to its high brand recognition, the name
IMT will be incorporated in the new name
for the UK: OSD-IMT Ltd. IMT is an estab-
lished name that we want to maintain,
Michiel Wijsmuller concludes.
OFFSHORE SHIP dESIGNERS (OSd), ISKES ANd SMIT dESIGN GREEN TUG
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20 Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 www.amports.nl
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www.amports.nl Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 21
While there are numerous small natural
gas fields in the North Sea, investments to
exploit them have often proved unprofit-
able. Now the Amsterdam company Smart
Energy Solutions has found a new way to
utilise this natural gas.
COMBUStION eNGINeS
The gas will come from a reservoir below
the new offshore wind farm Princess
Amalia, which is named after the eldest
daughter of Dutch Crown Prince Willem
Alexander and Princess Maxima. Located
off the coast of the seaport IJmuiden, the
gas will be transported to combustion
engines on a platform that Smart Energy
Solutions intends to construct near the
wind farm (see illustration). These engines
enable generators to produce electricity
and a cable connecting the wind farm
with the shore is used to transport the
electricity to the mainland in a process
known as gas-to-wire technology.
This is a useful technology as it allows
us to exploit the available natural gas at
low costs, says Anne Visser, Director of
Smart Energy Solutions. This is partly due
to the fact that wind turbines are rarely
operating to their maximum capacity. As
a result, 60 percent of the connected cable
remains unused and space is available as
long as wind turbines do not produce at
full capacity. Gas engines can simply be
turned off whenever the cable is entirely
needed for the wind turbines.
OtHeR GASfIeLdS
The installation Smart Energy Solutions
will use has an electrical capacity of 8.8
MW comparable to two or three large
wind turbines at sea. By the time the gas
in the reservoir runs out as insufficient
gas flows from the source due to a pres-
sure drop in the reservoir the installa-
tion is unlikely to be outdated and can be
moved to another gas field.
Two key factors make the Smart Energy So-
lutions approach profitable: The high out-
put of the gas engines and the minimum
infrastructure required (there is no need
for a new gas pipeline as the natural gas is
burned above the source). The costs for the
electricity cable from the engines/genera-
tors platform to the wind farm inverter
platform are also reasonably low as it only
involves a length of a few kilometres.
Smart Energy Solutions has its eye on sev-
eral other small gas fields. I am not going
to say which ones, Visser concludes. But
we are convinced of the possibilities. Gas
and electricity production at the Princess
Amalia wind farm is due to start in 2012.
www.smartenergy-solutions.com
Artists impression of the future installation on the North Sea, due to go online in 2012
Electricity from North Sea natural gas Smart Energy Solutions in Amsterdam is going to generate electricity from small natural gas fields in the North Sea, transported to a new offshore wind farm via an electricity cable.
O F F S H O R E
SMART ENERGy SOLUTIONS TO START IN 2012
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22 Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 www.amports.nl
Zou je hier een betere foto van kunnen aanleveren,moet het dit specifieke type zijn? anders kan ik wellicht ook nog wat vinden via internet
Over the coming decade a European
network will be set up for the transporta-
tion of goods by high speed train (TGV).
The major benefit of these TGVs is that
they can reach speeds of 300 km an hour
and provide a serious environmentally
friendly alternative to aircraft and lorries.
Their added value is especially high for
freight transport distances between 500
and 1500 km.
eUROPeAN NetWORK
New rail terminals are essential to ensure
that the European high speed network
is a success, allowing transport and tran-
shipment companies to rapidly transfer
goods from trucks or planes onto fast
freight trains.
HSt CARGO
The main items involved will be express
goods, flowers and fresh products. The
cities participating in the first project
phase are Paris, Lyon, London, Liege
and Amsterdam, with Frankfurt, Milan,
Barcelona and Madrid set to join later. A
modern rail terminal called HST Cargo
will be built near Schiphol Airport.
Among the Dutch initiators are parties
such as Amsterdam Airport and KLM
Cargo. They signed a partnership agree-
ment in mid 2008 with Euro CAREX, a
semi-government organisation in France
that has already started pilot projects
transporting goods by high speed trains
in its homeland (TGV Cargo). As a follow-
ing step, Euro CAREX is looking to expand
freight transport by TGV to the rest of
Europe.
S T O R A G E & d I S T R I B U T I O N
Flowers by high speed trainsEUROPEAN NETWORK BLOSSOMS
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www.amports.nl Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 2
Most laymen usually associate tank termi-
nals with liquid fuels contained in large,
white storage tanks, and sometimes maybe
with other liquid products. On a smaller
scale, however, liquid raw materials for the
food industry also form an important sector
at Amsterdam Seaports.
Although Westway Terminals was originally
specialised in storing molasses, the compa-
ny is now also able to store vegetable oils,
fats and other products for the animal and
food industries. This focus on food products
requires the highest hygiene, safety and
environmental standards. Products are
usually delivered by sea and distributed by
road and inland waterways. Buyers in the
food, drink and tobacco industry are mainly
situated in the Netherlands and the west of
Germany.
GLOBAL NetWORK
The Amsterdam terminal is part of an
international network of tank storage
companies called Westway Terminals. In
addition to Amsterdam, the company has
28 other terminals worldwide: Seventeen in
the USA, five in the UK, two in Denmark and
one each in Ireland, Italy, Poland and South
Korea. Amsterdam is the largest terminal in
Europe. Commercial management is organ-
ised in London and in the hands of mother
company ED & F Man.
Westway is visibly expanding. The British
mother company is aiming to increase its
market share and broaden its storage op-
tions so as to accommodate a larger array
of liquid products. In Amsterdam this has
resulted in a storage capacity of 123,000
m3, a doubling since 2006 via an expansion
of 14 tanks, varying in size from 1,300 m3 to
9,000 m3.
Clients rent tanks with separate pipe lines
for the medium or long term, ensuring that
different products cannot come into con-
tact with each other. The pipe system and
pumps can be used flexibly, disconnected
and reconnected at will. Westway plays a
crucial role in the supply of raw materials
as part of their clients supply chain, and
someone is available at the company round
the clock to provide support.
NeARLy dOUBLed
Between 2005 and 2008, Westway Terminals
realised an impressive increase of 93 per-
cent in the amount of transferred tonnage.
In 2008, some 1.4 million tons was trans-
ported by sea and the number of ships also
increased by 86 percent between 2005 and
2008. Last year some 716 ships moored at
the terminal, including 57 seagoing vessels.
In addition to doubling its tank capacity,
Westway Terminals is building four new
tanks and a new control room. Having
already further improved the method of
unloading tankers, storage and distribution,
the company is also now looking into new
types of goods and potential clients in vari-
ous countries.
S T O R A G E & d I S T R I B U T I O N
Westway Terminals doubles storage capacity
Aerial view of Westway Terminals
Westway Terminals in Amsterdam has long served as a storage facility for vegetable, animal and other harmless products. Over the past three years the company has doubled its storage and quay capacity.
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2 Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 www.amports.nl
During the course of 2009, Amsterdam
and Zaanstad will be connecting inland
vessels and river cruisers to an improved
network of shore power, a clean and
silent alternative for diesel generators.
Shore power is an excellent alternative,
say Amsterdam Seaports Wim Vlemmix,
Assistant Director and Head of Infrastruc-
ture and Environment, and Andr Buijs,
project leader. Initially we are focussing
on inland ships and river cruisers as these
vessels can be quite easily connected to
the onshore grid by means of an electric-
ity cable. The benefit is that captains and
skippers can turn off their diesel genera-
tors when moored.
extRA CAPACIty
Shore power is not a new phenomenon
in Amsterdam and Zaanstad. Amsterdam
Seaport currently has four circuit boxes,
each with four connections. Unfortu-
nately these are in a bad condition, supply
insufficient power and have an outdated
payment system, Andr Buijs explains.
In the first phase, to be concluded before
the end of 2009, we will create 129 moor-
ing spaces with shore power for inland
vessels and 24 for river cruisers.
The power capacity will also be consider-
ably increased: From 16 amperes and 220
Volts to 63 amperes and 400 Volts. The
river cruisers will have circuit boxes of 125
to 400 amperes and 400 Volts.
Within the parameters of the shore power
project Amsterdam is cooperating closely
with Zaanstad, which currently has six
circuit boxes with 21 connections. Our
goal is to increase to eight boxes and 25
connections, says Janine Elsinga-Trumpie,
of the Environmental Policy Department
of the Zaanstad municipality. The current
capacity is too small for approximately
half the ships, which is why we are going
to adapt the connections for inland ship-
ping to 63 amperes. After this change,
river cruisers will be able to use two new
boxes of 400 amperes.
All inland vessels and river cruisers that
moor in the Amsterdam Seaports should
be using shore power by 2011.
USeR-fRIeNdLy SySteM
In the near future, captains will be able
to easily connect their vessels to shore
power. After securing their berth, they can
report in via a GSM network and quote
their vessels unique code. The power sup-
ply starts as soon as the captain connects
the electricity cable to the onshore circuit
and only stops when the vessel is signed
out via mobile phone or the connection
with the shore power box is interrupted.
Skippers receive an invoice for the con-
sumed Kilowatt hours at a later date.
The Amsterdam and Zaandam ports are
closely monitoring a major five-year pilot
project in Rotterdam. A national ap-
proach is very important, Wim Vlemmix
emphasises. We have to prevent captains
being faced with different electrical
capacities and sockets at every port. This
is why Amsterdam Seaports will be ap-
plying the same capacity and payment
system as is used in Rotterdam.
Inland vessels will not require any
substantial onshore changes. Buijs and
Vlemmix: No adaptations are needed for
the current electricity network as inland
vessels only need power for their own use,
such as lighting, cooking and heating. This
is different for river cruisers, which are like
floating hotels with hundreds of guests.
Four new substations will be built to serve
this sector.
In the coming months Amsterdam
Seaports will also be further developing
the payment system. We will select a
commercial party via a tender procedure,
Vlemmix concludes. Our starting point is
to limit the increase in electricity rates for
our clients.
I N N O V A T I O N
AMSTERdAM SEAPORTS TAKE THE LEAd
Inland vessels and river cruisers still have significant energy requirements when moored in a harbour. To make the use of noisy and eco-unfriendly diesel generators unnecessary, Amsterdam and Zaanstad are joining forces to supply shore power.
Giving a boost to shore power
New shore power units in the centre of Amsterdam.
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www.amports.nl Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 2
Giving a boost to shore power
In the past, large quantities of vapour-air
mixtures entered the atmosphere during
the loading of tankers. This sometimes
made for some very unpleasant smells,
while also creating a risk of explosion
when transferring petrol or other petro-
leum products with a low flash point.
Small wonder that the Dutch government
tightened the regulations in the last dec-
ade to ensure that the release of vapour-
air mixtures during the transfer of liquid
petroleum products is strictly limited.
NuStar Terminal started using a new type
of vapour return system in the autumn of
2008. This connects the tanks of inland
and seagoing vessels that moor here for
loading to the vapour compartment of the
land-based tanks, explains Jan Oerlemans,
General Manager at NuStar. When we are
filling the tanks, the nitrogen is trans-
ported to the ship tanks via the vapour
return pipeline. New nitrogen covers the
products in the land tanks like a blan-
ket. This minimises the chance of static
electricity and, therefore, the associated
explosion risks.
CLOSed SySteM
Together with the control equipment for
cooling the nitrogen, which is part of the
system, this provides for a closed system.
As a result no more vapour-air mixtures
are released into the atmosphere during
tanker loading. This may seem simple but
the actual implementation is quite com-
plex, Oerlemans continues. One issue, for
instance, is the multitude of different con-
nections of the vapour return equipment
return systems at these terminals, which
cause a separation between the air and
the gases that escape from the ship tanks
while loading. One of the results is that the
vapour-air mixtures cool down, causing
the vapour to liquefy. The liquid gas can
then be pumped back into the storage
tanks. Another system is to absorb the
vapours with so-called activated carbon
and periodically clean the filters, which
also allows the separated vapours to be
pumped out as liquid.
All in all, the Amsterdam terminals trans-
ferring liquid loads with low flash points
and specific environmental conditions
have in recent years found various techni-
cal solutions for responsibly dealing with
these issues.
on the tankers: Sometimes the diameter or
the number of bolts may vary, for example.
Inland tankers have a limited number of
connections for which we have fitting
flanges. We have, however, encountered
problems in seagoing tankers regarding
the connections between our vapour
return pipeline and their manifolds.
Manifolds are the connecting parts used to
transport gases or fluids between various
pipeline or canal systems.
OtHeR SySteMS
A wide range of options are available
when it comes to vapour return systems.
Oiltanking, BP Amsterdam Terminal and
EuroTank have systems based on vapour
recovery and vapour condensation. Gas
processing units are part of the vapour
A vapour return pipeline at NuStar
S T O R A G E & d I S T R I B U T I O N
Oil storage companies NuStar, Oiltanking, BP Amsterdam and EuroTank are investing significant sums of money in new vapour return systems. In addition to reducing odour pollution, the systems minimise the risk of explosions.
Vapour return systems to combat odours and explosions
OIL COMPANIES TAKE THE LEAd
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26 Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 www.amports.nl
Laumans in July 2008. We have been
working with the same group of produc-
ers, traders and buyers for decades. And
with no incidents over the past 45 years,
NWB has an excellent service record in
the safety field.
Because alcohol is flammable, NWB fol-
lows stringent safety regulations and,
Instead of a fancy office building with
designer furniture, NWB, specialist in the
storage of consumption alcohol ethanol
(80 percent) and rum alcohol (20 percent)
in the port of Amsterdam, is satisfied
with a simple office for its ten permanent
employees. And we dont need expen-
sive marketing campaigns, says Frederik
Laumans who succeeded his father Fred
together with various engineers and
consultancy companies, constantly moni-
tors storage tanks, the pipeline system
and the quay. We have given Safety,
Health, Environment, Quality (SHEQ) a
priority since our establishment in 1964,
Laumans adds.
AIR ANd WAteR qUALIty
Fred Laumans became Commercial Direc-
tor at the former Pakhoed terminal for
the storage and transfer of consumption
alcohol, the predecessor of NWB. Back in
1964 this location had a much better air
and water quality than the port of Rotter-
dam, Fred continues. This is important
for smelling and tasting alcohol.
Frederik Laumans joined the company af-
ter a wide-ranging career: After studying
business management in Groningen, and
consecutively a management trainee-
ship at ABN-AMRO, I deliberately chose
to head abroad. I worked at Ceteco for 3
years in Miami and Guatemala and then 8
years at chemicals distribution company
HCI/Brenntag, including the last four
years as Regional Director in Brazil. All the
experiences gained have already proven
very useful here at NWB.
In its early years NWB was mainly in-
volved with the storage of consumption
ethanol, brandy(wine), sherry and whisky.
Today, the grounds contain 112 storage
tanks with a total capacity of 57,000 m3
(57 million litres). Most of the ethanol and
rum is imported from Brazil, Guatemala,
Bolivia, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and
South Africa. Ethanol production from
sugar cane in Brazil is in the hands of
S T O R A G E & d I S T R I B U T I O N
NWB: 45 yEARS OF ExCELLENT SERVICE
Although NWB (Noord-Europees Wijnopslagbedrijf) may not be a household name among the ge-neral public, producers, traders and buyers from around the world have been coming to this storage facility for consumption alcohol and rum in the port of Amsterdam since 1964.
Safety and Quality in alcohol storage
Current Director Frederik Laumans (l) with his father Fred Laumans
-
www.amports.nl Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 2
large corporations such as Copersucar,
with traders transporting the alcohol to
Amsterdam by sea ship.
To guarantee the best possible qual-
ity, we make sure that the pipelines and
tanks on the quays are spotless, Lau-
mans explains. To prevent any possible
contamination, we never store products
other than ethanol or rum alcohol. Stain-
less steel flanges in between the storage
tanks and pipelines ensure that two
different loads cannot come into contact
with each other, the whole process under
further supervision of independent sur-
vey authorities.
Each month, three to four sea ships moor
at the NWB quay, which has a depth of
around ten metres. Via NWBs pipeline,
vessels pump the ethanol or rum from
their onboard tanks to one of the stor-
age tanks. Through years of experience
our outdoor employees have become
veritable smell and taste specialists, says
Laumans proudly. They check the quality
of alcohol as an additional service to our
customers. NWB stores the alcohol until
the buyers pick up their product, which
is done by container or tanker truck in 85
percent of cases and goods train for the
remainder. One of the major clients for
storing rum at NWB is trading company
E&A Scheer in Amsterdam, which was
established in 1712.
CUStOMS
Another party with which NWB has a
great deal of contact is Dutch customs.
As consumption alcohol is imported
from abroad it is liable for excise duties,
Laumans explains. NWB arranges clearing
and check loading papers and waybills,
import duties and all other documents.
We used to have two permanent customs
employees in our offices, but nowadays
random checks are the order of the day.
This is due to a change in the way the
customs teams work and, of course, the
way our business is run.
Even though NWB is the only storage
company for consumption alcohol in
the port of Amsterdam, Frederik Lau-
mans intends to increase cooperation
with other companies: A good exam-
ple is storage and transfer companies
for oil products, with whom we share
more or less the same activities and
risks. I believe it would be very useful to
exchange knowledge and experience
in the areas of safety, environment and
health.
exPANSION PLANS
When I succeeded my father last year
my goals were to consolidate the com-
pany and research new activities, says
Laumans. There are many opportunities
for expansion, particularly in the field of
industrial applications for ethanol. The
problem is that we can only expand so far
on our 2.2 hectare premises. There is only
another 3,000 m2 available.
www.newob.eu
Safety and Quality in alcohol storage
A sea ship moors at the NWB quay
The Noord-Europees Wijnopslagbedrijf is connected to the freight railway
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2 Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 www.amports.nl
While the latest figures show that the
number of river cruisers docking in Am-
sterdam had dropped from 1019 to 998
in 2008, they do not reflect the enormous
growth in traffic over the past ten years.
The sea and river cruise sectors play an
important role in Amsterdam, while IJmui-
den serves a daily DFDS ferry service to
Newcastle plus various sea cruises.
The most recent season saw some 130
sea cruise vessels dock at Amsterdam or
IJmuiden, carrying no less than 240,000
passengers and representing a significant
increase compared to 2007. The 998 river
cruisers had around 230,000 passengers
between them announced Peter Swel-
heim, chairman of Amsterdam Cruise Port
(ACP), during the closure of the season
onboard the river cruiser Serenade I from
Dutch operator Euro Shipping Voyages.
Cruise ships are a welcome source of
income for Amsterdam, with guests
accounting for a joint average spend of
225,000 euros per vessel docked. This
figure rises to 500,000 euro if the capital
city is the start or end-point of the cruise,
which was the case for 56 of the 130 cruise
ships during the 2008 season. With river
cruise passengers spending an average of
40,000 euro, Amsterdam earns some 80
million euro per year from cruises.
BeRtHS
During the closing ceremony on Serenade
I, Aart Hiemstra, Dept. Harbourmaster of
the Amsterdam Port Authority, spoke of
the need at the very least to ensure that
River cruise industry seeks new customer groupsLike the sea cruise sector, river cruises in the region of Amsterdam have grown exponentially over the last decade. At the same time river cruise operators are targeting new groups of customers.
R I V E R C R U I S E S
RISING dEMANd FOR BERTHS IN AMSTERdAM
The river cruiser Serenade I, moored at the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam (PTA)
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www.amports.nl Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 2
the number of available berths in the
capital city remained stable. Anything
less would mark the end of the growth
potential, especially as the length of ves-
sels for mooring in the centre is limited
to 135 metres.The sharp increase in river
cruisers also puts pressure on berth space
elsewhere. We regularly have to book
berths at popular destinations a year in
advance, admitted Jan Willem de Jong,
Hotel Operations Manager of EuroShip-
ping Voyages and host onboard Serenade
I. And many tour operators have yet to
even plan their travel itinerary so far in
advance.
Another threat according to De Jong
is climate change. Issues such as heavy
rainfall or prolonged drought will mean
river cruisers being faced with high-water
and low-water restrictions all over Europe.
As a result tour operators have to change
their travel schedules at the last minute.
This is often the case when the permitted
depth is less than 1.50 metres or the verti-
cal clearance is less than seven metres,
for instance. The fact that the number
of skilled nautical and civilian personnel
onboard is lagging behind the growing
number of river cruisers is also affecting
the industry. Meanwhile, the latest genera-
tion of ships often have the same level of
luxury and comfort as three or four star
hotels. A side-effect is that the cruiser
sailing season is increasing from 210 to
240 days a year as these luxury ships are
increasingly deployed as extra hotel space
during exhibitions and other large events
in the winter.
NeW CUStOMeR GROUPS
The economic climate is another obvious
threat to the river cruise sector, although
De Jong remains optimistic. Doing
business with tour operators on various
continents means that the risks are spread.
There is a good chance, for example, that
a growing number of Chinese, Japanese,
Australians and South Americans will be
looking to enjoy a river cruise. My ship-
ping company EuroShipping Voyages still
has faith in the growth potential of river
cruising, which is why we recently pur-
chased two ships from other companies,
Serenity and My Story.
De Jong, who was closely involved with
Amsterdam Cruise Port until 2006, also
sees the major benefits of the internation-
al river cruise sector. Interest is increasing,
which is not surprising considering the
3500-kilometre sailing area between Am-
sterdam and the Black Sea via the Rhine,
Main and Danube rivers.
But interest in river cruising in Holland is
only showing very modest growth, adds
De Jong. We are still wrestling with the
rollator image of river cruise passengers
and need to tackle this issue head on.
Internationally there is a large group of
wealthy and highly active senior citizens
who seem less affected by the current
economic malaise. It also seems that fans
of sea cruises are going on more river
cruises, which has caused a growth in
combined sea and river cruising trips.
De Jong also says that non-Dutch pas-
sengers in particular are becoming
increasingly fussy when it comes to
booking river cruises. People are very
careful when it comes to choosing both
their accommodation and the travel pro-
grammes offered by tour operators. This
means that companies and ports offering
premium quality will benefit most from a
growing market.
www.amsterdamcruise.nl
RISING dEMANd FOR BERTHS IN AMSTERdAM
River cruisers waiting to depart from near Amsterdams Central Station
-
www.amports.nl Amsterdam Seaports No. 1 2009 1
method that is already commonly used in
shipping and the IT industry. Amsterdam
Seaports and the local environmental and
building works authorities gave us the
green light. We will soon perform tests to
see if the system is also effective for the
bulk storage of cocoa.
Sitos Commodities developed the new
solution in cooperation with supplier
Ansul from the USA and it was recently
certified by the Amsterdam Fire Depart-
ment. According to the parties involved,
the solution is also suitable for other ports
on the North Sea Canal.
www.sitosgroup.com
Cocoa products can be a fire hazard. A
blaze at ADM Cocoa in Wormer, north
of Amsterdam, completely burnt down
a storage facility for cocoa powder in
December 2003. Cocoa fires are extremely
difficult to extinguish with water and it is
basically a case of waiting for the fire to
put itself out.
Sitos Commodities and Logistics BV built
two new storage sheds of 40,000 m3 each
for cocoa products in Amsterdams West-
ern port area in 2007. To minimise the risk
of a cocoa fire, the company installed what
the Dutch call a 3B safety system (the
three Bs standing for company premises,
fire management and construction sys-
tem). Thankfully we have not yet had to
use the new system, says Martin Versteeg,
Director of Sitos Commodities & Logistics.
NO dAMAGe
The fire management system consists of a
combined approach. A double detection
system detects the slightest smoke pro-
duction in the storage sheds that are both
air-tight and pressure resistant. An alarm
goes off and the personnel leave the stor-
age facility. Two minutes later a sprinkler
system fills the area with 50,000 kilos of
CO2 with a pressure of 24 bar. At the same
time the system creates a vacuum in the
facility, causing the fire to go out due to a
lack of oxygen.
The main benefit of carbon dioxide is that
it does not cause damage to the storage
space and stored products that occurs
when water is used. The carbon dioxide
is only released in case of fire, and in
addition to preventing heat and smoke
production the system stops a blaze that
would release far more CO2 into the at-
mosphere. The cold CO2 gas also cools the
supplies at risk from fire.
SHIPPING teCHNOLOGy
Initially the local authorities rejected our
new plans for cocoa storage, says Dick
de Bruin, Director of Sitos Commodities,
about the development of the new sys-
tem. After deliberating with the architects
and builders, we came up with a CO2
S T O R A G E & d I S T R I B U T I O N
Keeping cocoa under control with carbon dioxideAmsterdam Seaports transfers large amounts of cocoa, including for Sitos Commodities & Logistics. Cocoa is highly flammable and very hard to extinguish, however. To minimise the risk to employees and the local surroundings, Sitos has fitted two storage sheds in the Amsterdam Western port area with an innovative extinguishing system that uses CO2. This smart system also has major potential for other port activities.
INVENTIVE FIRE PREVENTION AT SITOS
The Sitos premises in Amsterdams Western port area.