b'8American Journal of Transportation ajot.comSpliethoff: A centenarianBREAKBULK QUARTERLYprepares for its next centuryMulti-purpose carrier has diversified its vessels, cargoes, and services over 100 yearsBy Peter Buxbaum, AJOTSpliethoffmarkedits100 th Morocco,and,bytheearly birthdayearlierthisyear.1970s, the fleet had grown to The company has witnessed29 vessels.remarkablechangesoveraInthemid-1970s,the century of operations and thelegal tonnage maximums for carriercontinuestoevolvetheEuropeancoastaltrades to meet the challenges of itswere replaced by a maximum next century. length of 75 meters. With an Johan Fredrik Spliethoffin-housedesignforacom-startedSpliethoffsBev- pletelynewvessel,said rachtingskantoorN.V.asaDahmen-Verkade, Spliethoff charteringagencyonJanu- startedsearchingforasuit-ary11,1921,intheKeiz- able shipyard.ersgrachtinAmsterdam.Until that point, the com-Ashipowningbranchwaspanyfaithfullypatronized addedin1946whentheDutch yards, but that changed coastersm.v.KeizersgrachtwhenSpliethoffordereda and m.v. Heerengracht were(CENTENARIANcontin-put into service. Nowadays,ued on page 14)Spliethoffisthefounding companyoftheversatile SpliethoffGroup,operating a fleet of over 120 vessels of 2,100 to 23,000 metric tons worldwide, 50 of which bear thenamesofAmsterdam canals (-gracht), or Amster-damstreetnameswiththe suffix -gracht.Intheearlydaysthe companywasspecializedin charteringtimbercargoes and acting as agent for deal-ers in timber and wood pulp,ITS BACK LIVE & IN-PERSONbutovertimemorecargo typeswereadded,said HansjeDahmen-Verkade, acompanyspokesperson. Today, Spliethoff transports practically every type of dry cargo, including breakbulk, projectcargo,heavylifts, containers,ro/rocargo,and yachts, on shortsea transports and transoceanic moves.AsSpliethoffsanniversary cameduringtheCOVID-19 era,thecompanyscelebra- Sept. 28-30, 2021 tions were limited to the vir-tual.ItwasonlypossibleDiscover New Project Businessto kick start our anniversary digitally,saidDahmen-Verkade.OnJanuary11th therewasaspecialzoomGeorge R. Brown Convention CentermeetingwithallcolleaguesHouston, Texas, USAon shore worldwide.Personnel on board ves- americas.breakbulk.comselsaroundtheglobealso markedtheoccasion.The zoom meeting was recorded and shown to all crew mem-bers, said Dahmen-Verkade.Withinaspanoffour years of its founding, Spliethoff hadgrownintooneoftheRegister Now at Early Bird Rateslargestwoodcharterers inWesternEurope.After Spliethofffloateditsown vessels, the company sought todiversifyitsoperations, startingfeederservices toFinlandfromAmster-dam,Rotterdam,and,later, London and Portugal. Within 10years,thefleethad grown to 10 vessels. In the 1960s,Spliethoffsnetwork included ports in the United Kingdom,France,Spain, theMediterranean,and'