Antwerp-based agency Belgo-Iberian Maritime (BIM) is breaking out with Greenbar. Since the launch of the sustainable barging material for transporting steel coils in 2020, carriers have been eagerly using that plastic variant. You can also read this contribution in the November 2023 Flows magazine.
Wood or other demolition material is often used for ‘dunnage’, the padding material used to secure ship cargoes. Belgo-Iberian Maritime (BIM) created Greenbar as an alternative to dunnage wood for skidded (‘eye to sky’) and no skidded (‘eye to side’) coils of steel. With that wood, harmful organisms such as borer worms can travel unnoticed. All dunnage imported from outside the United States must therefore always be treated according to the ISPM 15 standard (guidelines in international trade for the regulation of packaging materials made of wood). “Despite mandatory heat treatment, there is still a chance that insects will remain in the wood,” says Jeroen De Smedt, operations manager at BIM.
Costly claims
“It regularly happened that bugs were still discovered in the dunnage on board ‘Clipper ships’ – these are the bulk carriers sailing in the steel service of the Danish shipping company Clipper – in the US Houston and the cargo was sent back to Antwerp. That led to expensive claims for our customers,” he continues. “The CEO of Clipper Steel, Peter Svensson, therefore asked me in 2018 to look for an alternative to dunnage.”
Triggered by that challenge, De Smedt – who graduated as an industrial engineer – scoured the market for different types of plastics that meet specific requirements. “You have to find a light but sturdy plastic that can be used several times and has a higher friction resistance than wood. In addition, the specific gravity must be acceptable, the plastic must be highly compressible, the plastic must not absorb water or moisture and must be UV-resistant. We also found it very important to deliver a circular product and thus work exclusively with reusable materials.”
Three years of searching
After three years of searching, BIM found the suitable material: a thermoplastic elastomer (synthetic rubber) named ‘Greenbar’. “We were lucky to meet the right people. I got in touch with a civil engineer in chemistry who knows all the properties of plastics,” says De Smedt. “We first conducted a static test by placing the prototype under a 25-tonne roll of steel in a warehouse. After a month, the texture and structure were unchanged. In February 2020, we started dynamic testing with loads of steel on board the Clipper ship ‘Sunrise’, which was sailing to Camden in the United States.”
In late 2020, the first major order came in and Clipper ordered 3,500 metres of Greenbars. “Less than six months later, Clipper placed an order for as much as 100,000 metres,” De Smedt continues. “In recent months, the requests have been pouring in. Among others, Grimaldi, Haeger & Schmidt Logistics and Tata Steel Europe are now fully testing Greenbar.”
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Parquet floor
Greenbar looks somewhat like a parquet floor: the strips are 165 cm long, 1 cm thick and they are adjustable in width. It takes three strips to prop up a roll of steel. Greenbar is coloured green – as a nod to its sustainable nature – but the material is also available in other colours. “Each customer can choose a personalised colour. Canadian shipping company Fednav, for example, chose blue to easily distinguish itself from other carriers that apply Greenbar.”
DNV-GL verified
The results are promising. “Greenbar lasts a very long time, does not deform and is cleaner to work with than wood,” De Smedt continues. “Stevedores are the most critical, but also the most honest people on board a seagoing vessel. I hear from them that they love working with it and that not a single batten has yet cracked or broken in two. The pliability is also seen as an advantage.”
BIM holds the patent for using the material on board seagoing vessels, but Greenbars can also serve perfectly for transport in railway carriages and even as anti-slip mats in trucks. Recently, Greenbar has been DNV-GL-verified (DNV is a classification society for ships and offshore installations and one of the largest certification bodies worldwide). This means the product meets international quality requirements. “We are very proud of that,” he says. “In the next phase, we are looking at whether we can also replace the wooden chocks, which are used to clamp rolls of steel and long iron, with a sustainable plastic variant.”
When asked exactly how the Greenbars are put together, BIM keeps its lips tightly sealed. “That remains a well-kept secret,” De Smedt concludes.
All-round
BIM is a classic all-round agency. The company acts as booking agent, ship agency, supervises ship operations with its own supercargoes and supports maritime projects. The company trades mainly in general cargo and has many steel and dredging companies as customers. Among others, BIM represents the Danish shipping company Clipper. Clipper’s steel service offers monthly sailings between Antwerp and the east coast of the United States, the Gulf of Mexico and Mexico itself. The bulk carriers or ‘Clipper ships’ depart from PSA Breakbulk on the Churchill dock.