Danish owner and operator Norden has entered into a new business sector of port logistics by penning a deal with manganese mining company Comilog, a subsidiary of French metallurgical group Eramet.
Under the 10-year deal, Norden will be responsible for establishing and running a transshipment solution in Gabon, Central Africa, with an investment of around $40m.
“Port logistics is an exciting new growth opportunity for us as we look to take our business beyond a standard freight service to an innovative supply chain partner,” said Norden CEO Jan Rindbo of the first logistics offering, where the first operation took place earlier this year.
Development of the port logistics business is managed by the newly established logistics & climate solutions team, headed by Adam Nielsen: “This type of logistics solution is a natural extension of our customer service offering, and we see a large potential to grow our business globally by engaging in such infrastructure development in partnership with customers.”
The Gabon project has seen Norden establish a floating transfer station 40 km away from the existing port to allow for the use of capesize vessels. Cargo is transported on barges from the port to the floating transfer station, where it is loaded onto the vessels and shipped to Asia, the company said.
