HGK Shipping and the Port of Rotterdam Authority signed a long-term cooperation agreement to promote sustainable concepts for inland waterway services leading to and from seaports on 20 April 2023, according to the company's release.
As part of the cooperation arrangement, Europe's largest inland waterway shipping company and Europe’s largest seaport will maintain close ties to share information and jointly examine the possibilities that open up for both partners. For example, a reliable supply chain for hydrogen and hydrogen derivates as well as alternative renewable fuels is due to be established to promote the energy revolution. Among other things, the partners will analyse how the need for services to transport, store and tranship alternative energy sources will probably develop. Another important factor in this connection is how to make the inland waterway fleet more ecologically-friendly and draw up implementation concepts for renewable engine fuels.
HGK Shipping and the Port of Rotterdam Authority also intend to enhance transparency along supply chains in order to be able to organise procedures in a more efficient, flexible and sustainable manner. The goal here is to involve other stakeholders, in addition to exchanging information about the quantities and types of goods that are transported and transhipped, for example. This is set to take place through cooperation on digital platform initiatives, which support communications and the exchange of information for all the partners involved in the supply chain and which are working to achieve standardisation further inland.