Port of Grenaa Benefits from Boxes in Bulk Ships
SIDEBAR TO "EUROPE'S CALL ON CAPACITY"
In Denmark, the Port of Grenaa is extremely busy – not only with breakbulk cargoes that would previously have been moved in containers, but also with requests for containerized cargo to be moved on bulk vessels.
Theis Gisselbaek, chief commercial officer at Grenaa, said: “The situation has pushed forward the breakbulk segment because it has simply been too expensive for the cargo owner to use container vessels. Meanwhile, I don’t think the departments for breakbulk at the container lines have space for project cargo, so it is being down-prioritized after a decade of them chasing it. I know from my sources that this situation is really boosting the breakbulk segment.”
Gisselbaek said that in some cases breakbulk and heavy-lift vessels are finding it is more favorable to fill up with containers at US$10,000 a piece compared with breakbulk cargo with its associated dunnage and welding and risk of damage. “Of course, it is still a minor thing in their business to move containers, but it is easier and well paid.”
A key point, he said, is that the wind power industry is expanding – and snapping up vessel capacity. “What we see is that wind turbine manufacturers have prebooked good available breakbulk vessels one to two years ahead.”
The situation has fed into Grenaa’s ambitions to develop as a hub for wind-related components brought from Asia to Northern Europe. “The wind cargo shippers want to fill up huge vessels with as many towers, blades or other components as possible to get a better rate. Also, they are perhaps looking not only on a project-by-project basis, but at volumes and a full supply chain. They want to fill up a vessel, use a hub function in Grenaa or northern Europe, then use small coasters to transport the components to the final destination. For this, they need a decent size port with a lot of storage and the equipment to handle it and load it efficiently to smaller vessels going to the Baltic Sea and North Sea area.”
Grenaa handled a project similar to this in 2021 when three breakbulk vessels from the Far East discharged tower sections in the port, and these were reloaded on to coasters for transport to the construction site.
Last year was one of the port’s best project cargo years, and Gisselbaek is predicting further increase in 2022. Decisions are being made fast, he added, and Grenaa has invested in storage and handling areas and equipment that are ready to cope.
“We see an increase in enquiries for all kinds of projects – everything from pre-made modules for housing to cables for infrastructure. An advantage we see is that with increased container volumes, many other terminals are really at the limit. That is good for us.”
Photo: Port of Grenaa Vindmoelleprojekt
