By utilizing Antwerp as a strategic transshipment hub, they successfully reduced transportation costs by 25%
Antwerp Shipping and Forwarding Company NV, a member of The Cooperative Logistics Network in Antwerp, Belgium, has successfully transported 2,475 pipes for a power plant project in Iceland. The strategic logistics planning resulted in a 25% reduction in overall transport costs by utilizing Antwerp as a transshipment hub.
The shipment consisted of pipes of varying diameters, each measuring 12 meters long. The total weight of the cargo reached 2,474 tons, with a total volume of 3,169 m³. Initially, the pipes were loaded as breakbulk cargo at the port of Caofeidian, China, on the COSCOL liner vessel, MV Chang Shun 2, which was booked for delivery to Antwerp.
“We chose Antwerp as a transshipment hub due to significant cost savings,” said Kenny De Wit. “Chartering a vessel directly from Caofeidian, China, to Iceland would have been prohibitively expensive. By utilizing a liner service to Antwerp and then chartering a vessel to Iceland, we managed to lower overall transport costs by 25%.”
Upon arrival in Antwerp, they temporarily stored the cargo at the Zuidnatie terminal, quay 118, where the pipes were sorted by diameter. Antwerp Shipping and Forwarding Company then chartered the MV NM Copenhagen for the next leg of the journey, ensuring smooth transport from Antwerp to Thorlakshofn, Iceland.
The company’s scope of work included receiving the pipes at the appointed terminal, overseeing the sorting process, conducting surveys during discharge and loading, handling customs clearance as bonded cargo, and ensuring the pipes were securely lashed and fastened before the final voyage.
Congratulations to Antwerp Shipping and Forwarding Company for pulling off this complex project and all the best for their upcoming endeavours!