25 June 2018
About one year after the night opening of Antwerp Gateway, DP World Antwerp is now also opening its empty depot at night. As from 2nd of July, the first empty containers can be loaded and unloaded at night at "Empty Depot Services".
Night opening empty depot
AS from July 2nd, Empty Depot Services, the empty container depot operated by DP World Antwerp, will follow the opening hours of the Antwerp Gateway terminal, from Monday 5.00 to Saturday 05.30 hrs. Until now, the depot was only open on weekdays from 5.00 am to 9.30 pm. A limited number of empty containers could be picked up during the night at the "block stack" on the terminal, so that carriers could combine the drop-off of a full container with the pick-up of an empty one. As from 2 July, truckers will be able to go directly to the empty depot for both pick-up and drop-off of empty containers. Through this investment, the terminal hopes that both full and empty operations can be successfully linked to each other.
"As the initiator of the night opening at the Deurganckdock, DP World Antwerp wants to create a further breakthrough by also opening its empty depot. Given the record volumes in the port of Antwerp, the time has come for the other logistics players in the chain to follow the example, "says Rob Harrison, CEO of DP World Antwerp.
Previous initiatives
Antwerp Gateway has been open at night since 22 March 2017. The initiative was set up to deal with the congestion in the Waaslandhaven during the daytime hours, and also to optimize the workflow at the terminal.
Last summer, DP World Antwerp invested heavily in the optimization of its empty depot, to achieve more efficiency and a better truck flow (with a separate gate in / gate out and automation of the administration process). This optimization was necessary to face the doubling of the volume in the empty depot.