BENELUX\\\


Rotterdam takes first step towards paperless transfers


In the near future, containers being transferred from one terminal to another at Rotterdam’s


Maasvlakte


area will no longer require a physical customs document. Three terminals (APMT, ECT and RWG) have signed an agreement with the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration for a paperless transfer system which could considerably reduce the administrative workload – particularly


Issue 5 2016 - Freight Business Journal


Samskip doubles Duisburg service


Multimodal operator Samskip and inland waterway transport provider Pro-Log are celebrating ten years of barge operations between Rotterdam and Duisburg by adding a second vessel and increasing service frequency to six times weekly. The Pro-Log vessel Theodela –


for


shipping lines. Rotterdam’s Maasvlakte


terminal, built on reclaimed land at the western tip of the Europort complex has five deep-sea container terminals and tens of thousands of boxes a year arriving at one terminal regularly need to be shipped on from a different terminal. The number of transfers is expected to increase further as a result of shifts in shipping company alliances, says the port. European


customs


legislation recently started offering


the specific option conditions of


transferring containers from one terminal to the other – under


–


without further paperwork. The Association of Rotterdam Shipbrokers and Agents (VRC), container terminals, the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration and the Port of Rotterdam Authority moved quickly to take advantage of the new rules and, from 1 July, all five deep-sea terminals were ready to implement the system. In time, the concept may be rolled out to other container terminals in Rotterdam. And while


the paperless


concept will start with ship to ship transfers, in time it could extended to transfers to rail or inland waterway. VRC chairman Kees Groeneveld described the


Two into one will go


Since the acquisition of IJS Global by Gefco in September 2015, business has grown significantly, says Dave Minnebach, director overseas for Belgium and director of ocean freight at the merged company, IJS Global Gefco. He explains: “Specifically, for the Benelux countries, where Gefco has a long history in automotive logistics, the merger results in an even more competitive logistics package that we can offer our customers. The freight forwarders’ mentality combined with the in-depth experience and


existing


network of own offices around the globe, ensures that our company is shaped for


the


future.” Following the acquisition,


offices in the Benelux region have merged and IJS Global, managing the Air, Ocean and Rail aspects of the Gefco business has become Gefco


Netherlands, including the


Gefco Forwarding worldwide HQ, another in Antwerp, Belgium and has just opened a new warehouse in Venlo in the


Forwarding. Gefco Forwarding has several owned offices in the


move as “an important step that allows us to keep costs low for companies active in Rotterdam – particularly in light of the strong competition faced in the Hamburg-Le Havre range.” Port of Rotterdam Authority


chief executive, Allard Castelein, added: “The next step will be the construction of the Container Exchange Route, which allows for the transport of containers between terminals via a closed system. According


to our planning,


this project will be rounded off within two years. The agreements presently entered into regarding paperless transfers will also apply to the Container Exchange Route.”


Netherlands. Gefco offers the entire range


of freight forwarding activities, by road, sea, rail and air, along with in-house customs clearance. Gefco Forwarding is an AEO operator, and will be able to offer customers clear benefits following the Union Customs Code, Minnebach points out. Gefco, Minnebach adds, has


also developed “a focus on and expertise in temperature controlled pharma logistics, relief


which can carry 60 45ſt containers - has operated a three times weekly service. The second vessel will increase the service to six times a week in both directions, while also making it possible to offer calls in Nijmegen within the schedule. Connections to and from the


UK are also available. The barges are offloaded at the Rotterdam Shortsea Terminals from where the containers are directly loaded onto shortsea vessels to Tilbury (four times per week), Grangemouth (once a week) and Hull (five times a week). There are


also seven connections a week to Dublin, Cork, Waterford and Belfast. Onward connections are also


available to the rest of Europe including Scandinavia, the Baltics, Russia, Iberia and Turkey. Samskip general manager of


procurement and equipment control, Leo Osseweijer, says: “Reliability is a cornerstone in the competitive case for multimodal transport,


and nowhere is it


23


more crucial than in the corridor between Rotterdam and Duisburg. Over the last decade, Pro-Log has proved itself reliable day-in, day-out, as well as cost efficient and flexible enough to work with Samskip as a true partner always ready to consider the bigger picture. “Customers in the Ruhr depend


on sustainable multimodal services to avoid congestion on the roads to and from the port of Rotterdam. To date, 2,876 trips have been completed. We calculate that choosing multimodal has meant that customers have saved 479,415 total kg in CO2 emissions in the past 10 years – equivalent of 17,433 trees.”


goods and industrial


project cargo.” With the Benelux region


containing two of the biggest ports in the world, there is intense competition amongst freight forwarders, “all trying to


get their share of the


thousands of tonnes of cargo which is shipped to, or from, one of these ports every day. In order to outsmart the tough competition, it is vital that you can count on a high quality global network, and that you are an absolute expert in what you do,” Minnebach says.


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