18 BULKDISTRIBUTOR Ports & Storage May / June 2018
18 BULKDISTRIBUTOR Ports & Storage May / June 2018
Macquarie , Goldman to buy HES
Dutch terminals group HES International is set for new ownership .
Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5 , which is managed by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets ( MIRA ), and West Street Infrastructure Partners III ( WSIP ), which is managed by the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs , have reached an agreement in principle to buy HES from the current owners , Riverstone Holdings LLC and The Carlyle Group . Capital for the original investment by Riverstone and Carlyle came from two funds : Riverstone / Carlyle Global Energy & Power Fund IV , and Carlyle International Energy Partners ( CIEP ). HES owns a number of liquid and dry bulk terminals , mostly in Rotterdam and elsewhere in the Netherlands , but also in Germany , France , Belgium , Poland and the UK . Among the company ’ s assets is Botlek Tank Terminal in Rotterdam . The company will now initiate consultations with the relevant works councils . The financial terms of the
transaction were not disclosed and completion will remain subject to legal and antitrust approvals . Under Riverstone ’ s and Carlyle ’ s ownership , the HES management team has been implementing a € 700 million transformation and growth strategy , including the recent financial investment decision on the Hartelstrip expansion project . In tank storage , investments include increasing capacity of the Botlek terminal from 200,000 cbm to over 620,000 cbm by 2019 and the construction of the Hartel Tank terminal . In Wilhelmshaven , Germany , HES repurposed a former refinery into a commercial tank terminal and is currently preparing to restart part of the primary distillation processing capacity under a tolling agreement . These investments are all based on long term contracts and together they are expected to triple operational liquid bulk capacity to 3.2 million cbm . HES CEO Jan Vogel said : “ With the support of Riverstone and Carlyle we have become one of Europe ’ s most successful independent bulk handling companies providing products and services to our customers at 18 sites across eight countries . Over the past 3.5 years , we have implemented a focused strategy that makes optimal use of our prime real estate in Europe ’ s key ports and allows us to adjust flexibly to future changes and opportunities that energy transition will bring to our sector . We have also built a strong pipeline of additional growth projects for both our liquid bulk and dry bulk businesses to support our strong position in each of our core businesses . We are confident MIRA and WSIP will be strong , long term partners for our continued future growth and continued international expansion .”
HES owns a number of liquid and dry bulk terminals in Europe
Best ever quarter for Antwerp
Belgium ’ s port of Antwerp experienced an excellent first quarter with a freight volume of 58,328,678 tonnes , an increase of 7.1 percent on the same period last year . The total volume rise came from all freight categories with the exception of conventional breakbulk . The main driver , however , was container freight which enjoyed very strong growth of 9.5 percent compared with the first three months of 2017 . Container volumes rose by 9.5 percent to 32.5 million tonnes , or 2.7 million TEU ( up 10.7 percent ). In fact , the month of March alone set a new record for container volumes with 980,000 TEU . There was growth on all sailing routes , both for imports and for exports . Progress made by European container freight was the most notable , expanding by 14.5 percent . This was thanks partly to the recovery in transhipment consignments which dipped temporarily last year because of a shortage of dock labour . Container trade with North America for its part was up by 14.7 percent compared with the same period last year , although the first quarter of 2017 in this sector was rather weak . On Asian routes there was growth of 7 percent . “ In the current social debate on the necessary additional container handling capacity to assure the future of port of Antwerp and its place in the worldwide supply chain , the underlying assumption is a growth rate of 3.5 percent a year ,” stated port authority CEO Jacques Vandermeiren . “ The current growth figures of 9.5 percent in containers not only confirms the need for additional capacity but also makes it clear that the operational capacity limit will soon be exceeded and that an expansion in container handling capacity will become necessary much sooner than originally planned .” Liquid bulk experienced an increase of 4.6 percent , to 18.5 million tonnes . The strongest growth was experienced by chemicals ( up 6.8 percent ), but oil derivatives as the largest segment also performed well once more ( up 4.6 percent ). These growth figures once again emphasise Antwerp ’ s location for European distribution , with the phenomenal growth in tank storage and the general confidence in its chemical & petrochemical cluster . Looking at the global political and economic context , the port noted that exports to the US experienced strong growth in all sectors during the first quarter of this year . Developments in the steel trade were partly due to the threat of import tariffs being imposed on European products . But apart from steel this growth was driven above all by a sharp rise in chemical exports . The impact of Brexit on UK volumes so far remains limited , as the first quarter closed with growth of 4 percent , probably due to the weaker pound . Be that as it may , the UK remains the third largest trading partner for the port . The Port Authority is therefore watching the situation very closely , and during the recent visit by the British Secretary of State Robin Walker it announced that it seeks to appoint a full time representative in the UK .
Container freight in Antwerp enjoyed strong growth