HGK converts for Covestro

ACID TEST

COASTAL SHIPPING • HGK TOOK ITS EXPERTISE IN HAND TO DELIVER A NEWLY CONVERTED SHORTSEA CHEMICAL TANKER TO COVESTRO, A LONG-TERM CUSTOMER FOR ITS SERVICES

HGK SHIPPING GROUP has expanded its shortsea tanker fleet with the launch of Amadeus Titanium, a newly converted vessel that will work exclusively under timecharter to Covestro. The ship, which can carry some 2,000 tonnes of chemical products, was converted from a dry bulk coaster at the De Gerlien van Tiem shipyard in Druten, the Netherlands over the course of six months.

“HGK Shipping is a strong partner for the chemical industry,” says Wolfgang Nowak, vice-president, commercial at HGK Shipping. “We’re developing solutions to meet the challenges of the future together with our customers and on their behalf. Joint projects like the Amadeus Titanium prove that we have the suitable technical, logistical and operational expertise for this.” The ship is now equipped with four cargo tanks, designed to allow Covestro to distribute hydrochloric acid and caustic soda to customers across Europe, helping it meet increasing demand and offer those customers supply reliability.

HGK Shipping says it won the project because of its ability to offer a customised approach, adapting a suitable vessel that was already in service and providing it with the correct technical parameters for the charterer, including its fuel consumption and operating speed. In addition, compared to the 18 to 24 months it would have taken for build a new ship, the conversion project was both time-efficient and economic.

GATHERING EXPERTISE HGK was also able to make use of its technical and operational expertise in shipping liquid chemicals in shortsea operations. HGK and its subsidiaries have been operating vessels for Covestro and its predecessor companies for more than 80 years; several of its inland waterway vessels are used in a feeder service to move hydrochloric acid from Covestro plants in Germany to Moerdijk, from where Amadeus Titanium made its maiden voyage this past October.

The conversion of the former coaster Bornholm also took collaboration and expertise, under the watchful eye of classification society Bureau Veritas. Stability calculations were performed by SARC, engineering and design by Ankerbeer, technical management by De Bock Maritiem and tank construction by Van der Zalm Metaalindustrie. The tanks were rubbercoated by Steuler-KCH, piping was supplied by Willems Piping & Equipment, and electrical systems came from Van Tiem Elektro.

HGK Shipping is part of Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln AG, the logistics arm of the Stadtwerke Köln Group. HGK began as a port operator and, through subsidiaries and holdings, operates the largest network of inland ports in Germany, one of the country’s largest private freight railways, and a number of workshops and specialised logistics companies.

One of those is HGK Shipping GmbH, which was founded only in July this year to consolidate the group’s inland and shortsea shipping activities; a month later it acquired the inland shipping activities of Imperial Shipping Holding GmbH, making it one of the largest inland shipping companies in Europe. www.hgk.de