HGK Shipping is reorganising its operations in Belgium, after selling its holding in DGA Shipping to its erstwhile partner Rhenus
HGK Shipping has relaunched its Belgian business under a new name, HGK Logistics Antwerp, following the sale of its 55 per cent shareholding in DGA Shipping to its partner Rhenus. HGK Logistics Antwerp will fulfil customer requirements for inland tanker shipping as well as logistics services in the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, taking account of the major changes taking place at the port in light of the energy transition.
On the one hand, the Port of Antwerp-Bruges is planning to reorganise its operations at its terminal structures as part of the energy revolution – for example, by providing extensive storage capacity for hydrogen or its derivates. On the other hand, the world’s second largest chemicals port still offers a great deal of potential for hinterland traffic services using inland waterway vessels – and not least for transport services to top-performing German business regions. HGK Shipping believes there is plenty of growth potential for its new venture in these fields.
“We’re using the sale of our holding in DGA Shipping BV to reorganise our operations and
we want to continue to play an important role in an attractive market such as Belgium,” says Steffen Bauer, CEO of HGK Shipping. “We’re offering our regular customers an extensive range of services for logistics tasks locally and transport services to hinterland destinations from this central hub for European cargo handling.”
STRATEGIES EXPLAINED
“Our new office is a clear expression of our strong commitment both to the Port of Antwerp-Bruges and our aspiration to integrate sustainable supply chains along inland waterways to and from the major North Sea ports even more strongly into the mix of modes of transport in our business activities within the HGK Group,” Bauer adds.
The new company is being led by joint managing directors Dirk Verstraeten (pictured, right), who has moved over from DGA Shipping, and Simon Lucas (left), who was previously leading the Wijnhoff & Van Gulpen & Larsen (Wijgula) inland tanker operation. Lucas will largely focus now on managing tanker shipping activities while Verstraeten will bring his many years of experience in chemical logistics to bear, especially in those kinds of operations that involve HGK Logistics Antwerp acting as port agent for shipping companies and their customers from around the globe.
Meanwhile, DGA Shipping is now part of Rhenus PartnerShip, where it offers dry bulk, general cargo and project load shipping to all ports on the Rhine system. Rhenus intends to use the acquisition to secure a strong competitive position. “We’ve greatly expanded the DGA business with HGK during the last few years, particularly in the field of chartering. However, there has been and there still is a great deal of potential that we now want to further develop,” says Thomas Maassen, CEO of Rhenus PartnerShip.
