MSC strengthens its presence within North Sea Port. The group will open a new container depot at Vlaeynatie in Terneuzen, North Sea Port says in a press release. The world player in container transport aims at inland shipping and rail. Inland carrying trade and rail are key activities of North Sea Port.
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) is one of the world's largest ocean carriers of containers. Land-based logistics services complement the group’s activities. They include container depots and the provision of loading crates to the shipping company’s customers. The company is continuing to expand their network. Within North Sea Port, MSC already runs depots at Stukwerkers in Ghent and Kloosterboer and Verbrugge in Flushing. It will now add another support point at Vlaeynatie in the Autrichehaven in Terneuzen. This is to provide an excellent base for serving industry and agriculture.
Besides the fertilizer terminal for Plantacote and its Zeeland Sugar Terminal, bulk handler Vlaeynatie operates the 30,000m² container terminal 3MCT in Terneuzen. It connects to road, water and rail. MSC is committed to the use of alternative transport modes in its pursuit of sustainability. At 3MCT, every day barges load and unload containers from or to all major container terminals in Antwerp and Rotterdam. Trains connect the terminal with Antwerp as the central hub in MSC's European network, and Zeebrugge. If required, Vlaeynatie's transport subsidiary Swagemakers is ready to provide pre- or post-road transport.
For North Sea Port CEO Daan Schalck, MSC's decision is good news twice-over. "An additional depot will expand our container handling, which continued to grow last year. When a top player like MSC makes such a move, it is not without reason and it does not go unnoticed. It once again shows North Sea Port’s significant role as a link between deep sea container ports and the hinterland."
And it brings out another quality of North Sea Port: the port is a hub with the right mode for each type of transport allowing companies to avoid road congestion by putting cargo on the inland waterways or on the railways. At 58%, inland waterway transport is North Sea Port’s clear front runner.
"We are also working to increase the proportion of rail transport. The new MSC depot at Vlaeynatie supports us on both fronts”, says Daan Schalck.