Longship Chartering Office
The team at Waarborg Vastgoed is proud of the companies it houses. They are companies in various sectors, all successful in their own way in what they do. One of the companies that Waarborg Vastgoed is allowed to house is Longship BV, a company that is active in the shipping industry. This Norwegian-Dutch company, formerly known as NedNor, has been located in the Peizerstate since 2009. What exactly does Longship do? And why does a maritime organization have an office in the Peizerstate? We visited Longship and found out!
A freight forwarding office
Longship is the commercial manager of a fleet of 23 vessels. These vessels vary in size; the smallest Longship vessels can transport around 3,000 tonnes, the largest between 15,000 and 20,000 tonnes. Sven Berenschot, chartering and operations officer, says: “Longship’s vessels are equipped to transport various types of cargo. From regular bulk goods and project cargo to dangerous goods and substances. For example, we do a lot in the steel and metal industry, but we also transport forestry, agricultural and energy products. We also have five container vessels, some of which are intended for long-term contracts with customers and some of which are suitable for the general cargo market. This allows us to deploy these vessels more efficiently.”
Internationally active
Longship's ships sail all over the world. Sven explains: "This international focus is of course very normal in shipping. This is also the reason why we work with an international team at our office in Groningen. Our team consists of employees from Poland, France, Norway, Belgium and of course Dutch. The main language is English and among each other Dutch. In addition, a number of colleagues also speak fluent Polish, French, Russian and German. But why did they choose Groningen? "Many shipping companies and/or captain owners are originally based in the Northern Netherlands, in terms of accessibility Groningen is an excellent city to be located. The choice for the Peizerstate was quickly made; with sufficient parking facilities for customers and good accessibility from the A28 and A7, the ideal location for Longship," says Sven. "In addition, Groningen is a student city, which is nice for recruiting new staff."
Planning, arranging and above all: lots of calling
What exactly does commercial management entail? Sven explains: “At our office in Groningen, we ensure that ships all over the world are chartered for the best possible results. The Longship team is actually calling, emailing and planning all day long. It is our job to find the right ship for the right cargo. For example, we ensure that the captain knows where to sail, where to pick up which cargo and in which port he should then unload it. That is a matter of a lot of calling, planning and coordination. The team in Groningen finds out what the most efficient transport solution is for our customer and ensures that the entire process, from loading to unloading, is arranged.”
When you have to plan and arrange so much, it is very important that you have a good relationship with terminal owners, skippers and other parties involved in the shipping process. By continuously seeking dialogue with these parties from all over the world and involving everyone as much as possible in the entire shipping chain, we try to achieve the most efficient and pleasant cooperation possible every day.”
Organized chaos
That calling, organizing and arranging results in an organized chaos, which we were able to experience a little bit during our visit to Longship. We are proud that we can accommodate an internationally operating company like Longship in the Peizerstate.
In this video about the Peizerstate, Sven tells you more about Longship.