Breakbulk in the port: greening on a sizeable scale

Dunnage ensures stability and safety when loading, unloading and placing freight on board a ship. After some time, placing heavy breakbulk goods on board damages the dunnage, which is made of wood. In addition, ship worms and other creatures also like to hitch a ride. Although dunnage undergoes mandatory heat treatment, certain insects continue to survive inside the wood. 

To solve this, the Antwerp freight forwarding company Belgo-Iberian Maritime NV came up with a sustainable alternative: ‘Greenbar’ This artificial variant meets the strict quality standards imposed by Europe and the United States for dunnage. ‘Greenbar’ is made of synthetic rubber and therefore prevents unwanted visitors nestling inside the wood. Not only does this material protect local flora, but ‘Greenbar’ is also fully circular and reusable.

The crane industry is also constantly investing in innovative solutions in order to reduce emissions and noise pollution. The heavy lifting crane specialist Sarens in Antwerp first developed the SGC-90 (Sarens Giant Crane), followed by the HLTC (Heavy Luffing Tower Cranes) and most recently the E-Pack for telescopic cranes.

The motor control system of these telescopic ring cranes not only runs on electricity, but it also puts electricity back into the grid while the cranes are in operation. The cranes are becoming more popular at ports that need to lift cargo for offshore wind projects. The operations reduce emissions and operating costs in comparison to diesel-operated cranes.