Under the agreement, from 1st February, 2017, GAC UK will manage and support the discharge of clean petroleum products each from up to 180 tankers per year at the ports of Cardiff and Plymouth.
On 1st April, GAC’s portfolio of jetty operation services for the energy giant will be extended to include Avonmouth.
The company will provide a range of terminal services, including secure and safe manning of berths, ship/shore safety checks and connecting shore cargo lines to vessels’ manifolds.
It will also conduct cargo sampling at three stages: from the vessels’ tanks before discharge; from shore lines during the operation; and from the trucks. The results, including gauge readings before and after discharge, will be fed back to Valero, as an added facet to the company’s quality control procedures.
This latest signing comes soon after the recent announcement of GAC UK’s contract to support Shell UK’s operations at Braefoot Bay.
“This latest deal represents the continuing expansion of our terminal and marine services portfolio in UK ports,” said managing director, Herman Jorgensen. “We already have the local experience at these terminals and the expertise to handle the additional tasks assigned to us. Most importantly, we fully understand the service demands from both the shore and the ship side.
“As with all our operations, we shall strive to achieve optimum cost efficiencies for our customers while working with local communities and raising the bar both in terms of service delivery and health and safety,” he said.
In addition, parent GAC has opened a new office in Kaohsiung, Taiwan to cater to the growing demand for ship agency services in the country.
Since entering the Taiwanese market in 1999, GAC’s prime focus has been on its mainstay logistics business, and it has worked with local partners to provide ship agency services.
Growing demand in recent years, however, prompted the establishment of another GAC office close to Kaohsiung, the country’s largest port. The new office complements the main office in Taipei and serves as a base for the company’s ship agency services in Taiwan.
GAC’s Group vice president for Asia Pacific and Indian Subcontinent, Lars Bergström, said the opening of the office is timely, reflecting the symbiotic relationship between freight and shipping business: “GAC has a strong track record in the local freight market and several Taiwanese bulk shipping vessels are our existing ship spares customers. Our competitive advantage lies in our ability to provide integrated logistics and shipping services to customers who prefer a single point of contact. Establishing our own shipping operation to complement our logistics offering is a logical and strategic move.”