An NYKCool vessel called the Ivory Dawn and loaded with Argentinean citrus will tomorrow become the first ship to be discharged by Rotterdam Fruit Wharf, a new company established by Belgian port stevedoring and logistics group SEA-invest to steer the remnants of reefer terminal handler Seabrex away from bankruptcy.
Following last week's announcement that the Port of Rotterdam's largest handling, freight forwarding and distribution company for perishable products had gone into liquidation, SEA-invest's Johan Claes confirmed that Seabrex's administrator had accepted a plan proposed by the Belgian group to take over the company's activities and establish a new reefer terminal operation in its place.
SEA-invest, whose subsidiary Belgian New Fruit Wharf (BNFW) acquired Seabrex last summer, has operations at the Port of Hamburg in Germany and the Belgian ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge.
As part of the new arrangements, SEA-invest has also earmarked €12.5m to purchase all of the warehouses and port-side equipment previously leased by Seabrex.
The company's Fruit Terminal Rotterdam centre is set to be closed and two-thirds of its staff laid off, although Mr Claes pointed out that the services of the current Seabrex board – including managing director Herman de Knijf and commercial manager Peter van der Laar – will be retained.
'We needed to get rid of the ballast,' Mr Claes told Eurofruit Magazine. 'We have tried to develop a connection with Belgian New Fruit Wharf and establish a small, dynamic and flexible team.'
Rotterdam Fruit Wharf will transfer its operations to a new building on nearby Marconistraat, managing 22,000 pallets of coldstorage capacity at the Korte Vaart Pier – one part of which was vacated by import-export firm Hillfresh in January of this year.
