The project, which is expected to cost up to EUR400 million (USD464 million), is to be carried out in joint venture with Belgian operator SEA-Tank Terminal Antwerp, part of the SEA-Invest port terminals group.

SEA-Tank Terminal is to be the majority partner in the joint venture company, SEA-MOL, with a 51% stake, with MOL Chemical Tankers holding the remaining 49%.

The partners say that they have decided to build the new terminal in response to growing demand for chemical storage and associated added value activities in the Anterp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam port range and in Antwerp in particular.

The first phase of the new terminal is due into operation in mid-2021. It is being built on a 45-hectare site in the Delwaidedok, which the port of Antwerp is currently trying to redevelop.

“This investment is further confirmation of our port’s ability to attract major investors,” said port authority chief executive Jacques Vandermeiren. “It will also boost our position as one of the largest chemical clusters in the world. This is very good news for the port and for our economy.”

The terminal will be accessible to sea-going vessels, barges, trucks and trains and will offer up to 500,000 cubic metres of tank space for liquid chemicals, including organic, inorganic and base oils.

“The main added value creation from the SEA-MOL NV project will be delivered through the integration of activities and the offering of value-added logistics on site,” the two partners said.

“The terminal will offer services such as blending, drum filling, filtration, ISO-tank storage, enabling customers to concentrate their activities on one site and to avoid intermediate trucking between sites, yielding cost savings and reducing congestion.”

MOL Chemical Tankers, is a leading global operator of product tankers, with around 65 vessels, most of them with stainless steel cargo tanks, representing a total capacity of 1.6 million dwt. It transports mainly bulk liquid chemicals, vegetable oils and animal fats and is wholly owned by multi-branch Japanese shipping group Mitusi OSK Lines.

Sea-Tank Terminal currently operates tanks representing a combined capacity of 3.3 million cubic metres, which are used for mineral oils, biofuels, vegetable oils, fertilisers and a variety of chemicals. Its parent company, Ghent-based SEA-Invest is active in ports in a number of European countries, as well as in Africa.

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