Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 4 June 2007
On the 30th of May some 500 guests witnessed Vopak launching the countdown towards the commissioning of the new Vopak Terminal Linkeroever at a “one year to go” party. This new terminal with state of the art technology will start operations on 30 May 2008.
The first phase of Vopak Terminal Linkeroever consists of 60 tanks with a total capacity of 100,000 cbm (73,500 cbm mild steel and 26,500 cbm stainless steel), eight loading stations for trucks and railway wagons and three mooring places (one jetty for seagoing vessels and two jetties for coasters or inland tank barges).
This chemical distribution terminal can grow to 400,000 cbm within the next years. It will service the chemical manufacturing plants in the region and accommodate the growing importance of the Benelux storage market on a European scale. The new downstream manufacturing facilities in the Middle East will increasingly supply the Rotterdam and Antwerp harbours as gateways into Europe.
Kees van Seventer, president of Vopak Chemicals Europe, Middle East & Africa: “The highest standard of dedication was the basis of the design of this terminal. This will support the high service levels and improve economics for our customers in combination with very high environmental and safety care. For communication with our customers and their transport companies we will use the latest standard of automation. The same applies for the operational systems, the investments in high technical automation make it possible to operate the terminal with only 14 operators, while providing a “24-hour-7day-a-week” service to a large number of international customers.”
As part of its strategy for upgrading and expanding in world scale ports Vopak has sold the Hemiksem terminal in Antwerp to Transcor International, a subsidiary of Transcor Astra Group, in joint-venture with the Antwerp based bunker company Verbeke Bunkering. The transfer will take effect after the completion of the first phase of the Vopak Terminal Linkeroever and after the transfer of most of the business to the other Vopak locations in Antwerp, ultimately by the end of 2008.
Part of the employees will transfer to the buyer of the terminal and part of the personnel will be transferred to other Vopak locations in Antwerp.
Profile Vopak
Royal Vopak (head-quartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands) is the world’s largest independent tank terminal operator specialising in the storage and handling of liquid and gaseous chemical and oil products. On request, Vopak can provide complementary logistics services for customers at its terminals. Vopak operates 75 terminals with a storage capacity of more than 21 million cbm in 30 countries, of which 4.1 million cbm in 19 terminals by the division Chemicals Europe, Middle East & Africa. The terminals are strategically located for users and the major shipping routes. The majority of its customers are companies operating in the chemical and oil industries, for which Vopak stores a large variety of products destined for a wide range of industries.