North Sea Port and Port of Gothenburg start intense cooperation

North Sea Port, the fusion between the ports of Ghent and Zeeland, and the Swedish Port of Gothenburg are starting an intensive cooperation, including in the field of energy. They will exchange knowledge and staff members, to see if they can apply for European funding together. This way, the ports want to realise their ambitions in the field of renewable energy sources, environmental management and sustainable port management. There is also room for improvement in the area of digitalisation.

The two ports already share a lot of traffic, among others through Volvo Car. The Swedish-Chinese car manufacturer has factories in both ports. DFDS vessels also sail between Gothenburg and Ghent every day; last year they transported almost 82,000 cars. But trailers and steel of ArcelorMittal are also part of the transshipment. Sweden has been one of North Sea Port's most important trade partners for years, ranking fifth last year.

The two ports both fall under the category of 'medium-sized European ports'. North Sea Port is the tenth most important port in Europe regarding the transshipment of goods by sea. Port of Gothenburg is the largest port in Scandinavia.

From that perspective, the two ports share some challenges. A joint approach can pay off, CEOs Daan Schalck and Elvir Dzanic believe, who signed an agreement on Wednesday. The current cooperation will start for a period of five years but could become the kick-off for a broader network of medium-sized European ports, according to them.

(TOM)

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