Amer Shipping and Van de Graaf & Meeusen Launch TriBarge Chartering Office
Cubierto por 3 fuentesPublicado
- Hellenics Shipping newsFamily businesses Amer Shipping and Van de Graaf & Meeusen establish Belgian chartering office TriBarge
- splash 247Dutch inland shipping duo expands into Belgium with new chartering venture
- ports news rusiaDutch inland shippers Amer Shipping and Van de Graaf & Meeusen launch Belgian charterer and order 85-metre newbuild
The family-owned inland shipping companies Amer Shipping BV and Van de Graaf & Meeusen BV have established TriBarge, an independent Belgian chartering office based in Antwerp. The new company combines the expertise, network and market knowledge of both partners for the chartering of inland waterway vessels in the ARA region, the German canals, the Moselle and as far as Basel.
New vessel for the joint fleet
As a first step in this joint venture, the partners have already ordered an 85-metre dry cargo vessel from Concordia Damen, to be named Porta Sud. The vessel will enter service in the second half of 2027 and has been designed to navigate both major rivers and smaller ports, tributaries and canals.
Reach as far as the Black Sea
Through the partnership with Stream Shipping, the joint venture between Amer Shipping and the German cooperative MSG eG, TriBarge will be able to extend its service network as far as the Black Sea. TriBarge will focus on dry cargo, general cargo and breakbulk transport, targeting Belgian and French shippers in particular, according to Splash 247 and Ports News Russia.
The companies behind the project
Amer Shipping, headquartered in Raamsdonksveer, is a Dutch family-owned inland shipping and chartering company with more than 25 years of experience; according to Splash 247, it operates a network of close to 60 vessels and transports around 9 million tonnes of cargo per year, while Ports News Russia states that it has more than 35 vessels in its own fleet. Van de Graaf & Meeusen, based in Ridderkerk and founded in 1994, is a Dutch specialist in inland shipping and chartering, with a fleet of pusher tugs and barges focused on the dry bulk cargo market.
Team and growth
Devin van Dam will join TriBarge as a chartering broker from 1 November 2026, and in the second quarter of 2027 an experienced Belgian broker will join to strengthen local market knowledge. According to Kai Winkelman, supply chain manager at Amer Shipping, 60% of the European dry cargo fleet dates from the 1960s or earlier, which is driving the partners to jointly invest in new vessels and to seek partnerships with independent skippers. The announcement came weeks after Amer Shipping ordered two more 110-metre CDS Dry Cargo vessels from Concordia Damen, bringing the total of its low-draught vessel programme to six, with deliveries scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2027 and the second quarter of 2028.
