Contargo Transbox and Webarge team up
Inland vessel operator Webarge and container logistician Contargo Transbox launched collaborative shuttle operations in the port of Antwerp earlier this year. Both firms offer container shuttle services in the Belgian port and are now seeking to optimise these loss-making options by bundling their volumes.
Congestion in the hub’s deep-sea terminals results in inland barges operating at only around 50% capacity, which is why the two shipping lines will now jointly deploy their total of ten containerships and ten lighters (4,000 teu overall capacity). The partners underlined the fact that the move is a purely operational cooperation agreement.
Contargo Transbox Belgium’s managing director Carsten Borchers said that “together we’ll be able to offer greater flexibility and reliability, and simultaneously improve the fleet’s impact on the environment.“
Webarge managing director Olivier De Smedt added that “this vessel-sharing agreement will allow us to optimise our capacities and thus keep the shuttle services going at all in the port.”