New contract boosts the status of Zeeland Seaports

Kloosterboer, a family-owned company in the Port of Vlissingen, specialises in warehousing, stevedoring, forwarding and IT logistics and has a storage capacity of 200.000 tons of which at least 35.000 pallets are available for the handling and storage of fresh produce. Kloosterboer not only discharges and stores the reefer cargoes, it also handles all customs documentation and onward transport to supermarkets and importers.

A number of shipping lines including Star and Seatrade are regular customers in Vlissingen for import cargoes, and with the export of locally grown potatoes and onions to West Africa and Russia, the total number of conventional shipped pallets is forecast to reach around 450,000 (0.5m tons) in 2012.

With significant on-going investments being made in terminals, quays, cranes, manpower and infrastructure, Zeeland Seaports and Kloosterboer have adopted a combined strategy of centralising the handling of reefer vessels in the port, with Kloosterboer additionally aiming to attract containerised fruit cargoes on short-sea services.