100 years
of shipping history
Every day, we build on decades of expertise. Our in-depth knowledge and experience in shipping provides answers to all your questions about bulk, breakbulk, cargo and other waterborne transport. No inland water is too deep for us to tackle your transport question. We are happy to tell you how our story originated and evolved.
Establishment of the Northern Shipping Service
In 1926, the Northern Shipping Service (NSS) was established with an inland shipping department. Northern Shipping Service was the logistics partner of the French state holding company that owned the salt mines in France. The term ‘logistics partner’ is very broad as it includes transhipment, storage and many services related to the transportation of goods, including inland shipping.
Establishment of Cooperative of Inland Navigation Enterprises
CBO c.v.b.a. stands for Coöperatieve van Binnenvaart Ondernemers. It was founded in 1994 and is based in Antwerp. Its members are independent skippers with their own barge. As a result, it has a baggage of practical experience that it can pass on. CBO c.v.b.a. helps the skipper wherever necessary with his business operations. In recent years, it has had a strong focus on helping young skippers, skippers who want to become self-employed or skippers who have no chance at the bank to get their own barge. Through its shareholding in Barging Solutions, it can offer an important cargo package to its member skippers. For Barging Solutions, it is a structure that has barge space available.
Merger NSS and CBO
On 14 December 1999, the inland shipping offices of NSS and CBO merged, retaining the name CBO c.v.b.a. In 1999, the inland shipping market became a free market. Since NSS’s inland waterway chartering office and the bargees’ cooperative CBO worked together a lot and were located in the same building, it was logical for them to merge into one structure. The charter office of NSS needed the bargees with their freighters and the bargees with their freighters needed work from the charter office. So there was a perfect match.
Barging Solutions was born
Barging Solutions saw the light of day on 2 June 2016. Through several acquisitions by the Euroports group inland shipping activities were also acquired. The need to bring these together within one company gave Barging Solutions the right to exist. Since then, we have held a strong market position as a charterer for bulk and breakbulk.
CBO as shareholder
On 1 March 2017, CBO became a shareholder of Barging Solutions. With the creation of Barging Solutions, Euroports was left with 2 inland waterway offices. This was not a good basis. CBO’s members were asked to transfer the client portfolio to Barging Solutions. This was agreed in November 2016 and came into effect on 1 March 2017. This brought the inland shipping activities into one structure. CBO became a shareholder in Barging Solutions. CBO became a purebred inland shipping cooperative, assisting inland shipping members in various areas. The new requirements around fossil emissions (Fit For 55) made the intertwining of CBO and Euroports Holding necessary for the renewal of the inland navigation members.
More about Barging Solutions?
Barging Solutions gives you fluid logistics along the inland waterways. Our strong in-house knowledge and experience with transport along waterways in Europe make us the right partner for your inland shipping.
Are you ready to move forward?
Ready to take your freight or bulk transportation to a higher, safer and faster level from now on? We're excited to meet you. We will gladly go over the possibilities together, without any obligation. The coffee is ready.