The Weekly Roar

New Service: Antwerp to New York

Reliability where it matters.

Introducing a weekly LCL ocean freight service from Antwerp, Belgium to New York by Jaguar Freight.

We’re more comfortable with global freight movement than anyone in the industry.

Sit back and rest assured knowing you will get:

  • Full tracking and visibility of freight while in transit.
  • First class customer service support team to answer any questions.
  • Reliable weekly consolidation service from Antwerp to New York.
  • Fixed weekly sailing with short transit times and quick container stripping upon arrival so your freight is available within 48 hours of the container being discharged in New York.

Shipping History of Antwerp, Belgium

The port of Antwerp has a particularly rich history. Ever since the Middle Ages ships laden with cargo and passengers have found their way up the river Scheldt to Antwerp. After the “Golden Century” in which Antwerp grew into a prosperous international port, the closure of the Scheldt in 1585 represented a new low in the history of the port. It would be nearly 300 years until the toll on the Scheldt could be finally redeemed in 1863 and the river became fully open to commercial traffic once more. The “port on the river” began to flourish in the decades that followed. After the Second World War, the Marshall Plan and the Belgian government’s Ten Year Plan brought hitherto unseen growth: the volume of the docks doubled and the port expanded along the Right bank of the Scheldt right up to the Dutch border.

Late 18th century – 19th century

Napoleon Bonaparte brings sweeping changes and the Scheldt is once more opened to shipping. He sees Antwerp as “a pistol pointed at the heart of England” and decides to build new docks and shipyards. The first dock, “Le petit bassin,” is built in 1811 and “Le grand bassin” follows in 1813. These are later renamed the Bonaparte dock and the Willem dock respectively. Between 1816 and 1829 the port experiences average annual growth of 4.5%. Thanks to the industrial revolution and new technologies the port forges trading links with Africa, America and Asia. At that time Antwerp is larger than the ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam together.

Arrival of the giants

With the arrival of the MSC Beatrice, the largest container ship in the world at the time with a capacity of 14,000 TEU (14,000 twenty-foot containers) a whole series of records are smashed. The arrival ceremony symbolises important progress for the port of Antwerp. Container carriers are rapidly increasing in size, and Antwerp is doing everything necessary to accommodate these leviathans.

Currently

According to the current forecasts, Antwerp will need to have new container handling capacity by 2020-2021. And so the Port Authority is already making preparations for a large new tidal dock with accompanying terminal capacity on the Left bank of the Scheldt. The Saeftinghe Development Area covering more than 1,000 hectares has been earmarked for this dock along with surrounding sites for logistics, transhipment and industry. Construction of the Saeftinghe Development Area will be carried out in phases.

Our newest expansion to Antwerp is an example of how we are growing as the industry grows and changes. At Jaguar Freight, we pride ourselves in being able to provide you and your team with exceptional freight forwarding services.

Source: Port of Antwerp