What Wijnne Barends does

Wijnne Barends is a privately held Dutch short-sea shipping operator, founded in 1855 and headquartered in Delfzijl. It is the short-sea specialist subsidiary of Spliethoff Group, the largest Dutch shipping company, and operates a fleet of approximately 50 vessels across four deadweight classes (2,200–5,800 tdw) covering Scandinavia, the Baltic States, Western Europe, and the Mediterranean from the White Sea to the Black Sea. The fleet includes sea-river vessels capable of navigating inland to Duisburg, Paris, and Lake Vänern; ice-class vessels for northern routes; open-top vessels for project cargo; and dual-fuel LNG M-series newbuilds meeting Tier III emissions standards. Shipmanagement, technical management, and crewing are delivered in-house, supplemented by a unique 'sailing participant' program under which experienced seafarers own shares in individual vessels while receiving full commercial, operational, and financial support from Wijnne Barends.

The group generates revenue from four streams: voyage-based shipping and chartering contracts (transport of sawn timber, peat moss, steel, fertilisers, grains, wood pulp, biomass, and woodchips); shipmanagement and crewing services for third-party and sailing-participant vessels; logistics services delivered through subsidiary Wijnne Barends Logistics B.V. (stevedoring, warehousing, forwarding) at three owned terminals — Delfzijl (200m quay, 20,000 m² storage), Eemshaven (700m quay, 110,000 m² surface, 154 MT Liebherr cranes, offshore wind O&M support), and Farmsum (80m quay, 40,000 m² storage); and shipping agency services through Wijnne Barends Agency, covering port-call handling and customs. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; go-to-market is direct sales via the chartering department to cargo owners and providers.

Wijnne Barends employs 51–100 people on-shore (crewing is largely seafarer-based), with logistics and agency operations retaining a Delfzijl presence while corporate functions are relocating in late 2025 to a shared office with sister company ForestWave in Groningen. Strategic priorities evident from 2015–2025 include fleet renewal (scrubber-equipped sea-river newbuilds 2015–2016, Tier III Lady H-type 2017–2021, dual-fuel LNG M-series through 2022), emission-compliance positioning (Trident Alliance membership from 2014), innovation piloting (eConowind wind-propulsion on Lady Christina, 2018), and infrastructure-led expansion into offshore wind logistics at Eemshaven.

Name

Wijnne Barends

Legal name

Wijnne & Barends' cargadoors- en agentuurkantoren B.V.

Website

https://wijnnebarends.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1855

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Founded in 1855 in Delfzijl, Netherlands, Wijnne Barends is the short-sea shipping specialist of Spliethoff Group. It operates ~50 multi-class dry-cargo vessels and three terminals serving cargo owners across European waters from the White Sea to the Black Sea.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Short Sea Shipping

NAICS

Marine Cargo Handling (488320), Other Warehousing and Storage (493190)

SIC

Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412)

akta.pro primary industry

Bulk Dry Cargo Carriers (Capesize/Panamax/Supramax/Handysize) (TLADABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dry Bulk Commodity Terminals (Grain, Coal, Ore, Fertilizer) (TLAHABAA), Bulk Terminal Services & Operations (Stevedoring, Sampling, Weighing, Blending) (TLAHABAO)

Keywords

• Short sea shipping
• Dry cargo transport
• Ship management
• Port logistics
• Maritime chartering

Headquarters

HQ city

Delfzijl

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Shipping and Chartering Services: Core shipping services providing transport of dry cargo including timber, peat moss, steel products, fertilisers, grains, wood pulp, biomass products and woodchips. Services include chartering, technical management and crewing. Trade routes cover Scandinavia, Baltic States, Western Europe and Mediterranean from White Sea to Black Sea.
2. Logistics Services (Stevedoring, Warehousing, Forwarding): Wijnne Barends Logistics provides stevedoring, warehousing and forwarding services in the ports of Delfzijl, Farmsum and Eemshaven. Services include container handling, project cargo, bulk cargo operations, and supply chain management.
3. Ship Management Services: Full commercial, operational and financial support for vessel owners including unique sailing participant program where seafarers can own and operate their own vessels under Wijnne Barends management.
4. Terminal Operations: Container terminals in Delfzijl and Eemshaven with value added services including reefer connections, trucking, stevedoring activities and various storage options. Operations include regular sailings to Rotterdam connecting with global destinations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Wijnne Barends operates a fleet of approximately 50+ short sea dry cargo vessels organized in four deadweight classes (2,200–5,800 tons) providing chartering, shipmanagement, technical management, and crewing services across Scandinavia, the Baltic States, Western Europe, and the Mediterranean. Through its Wijnne Barends Logistics and Wijnne Barends Agency subsidiaries, the company also delivers stevedoring, warehousing, forwarding, container terminal operations, and port agency services in the Dutch ports of Delfzijl, Eemshaven, and Farmsum.

Product overview

Wijnne Barends is a shipping company operating as a short sea specialist within the Spliethoff Group. The company offers a comprehensive suite of maritime and logistics services centered around its vessel fleet organized into four deadweight categories: 2200-3200 tn (versatile vessels), 3200-3600 tn (sea-river vessels), 3600-4200 tn (ice-classed vessels), and 4200-5800 tn (transatlantic-capable vessels). Supporting the core shipping operations are two subsidiaries: Wijnne Barends Logistics (providing stevedoring, warehousing, forwarding, and terminal operations at Delfzijl, Eemshaven, and Farmsum) and Wijnne Barends Agency (providing port agency and customs services). The company transports diverse cargo types including timber products, steel, fertilisers, grains, biomass, and containers, with terminals also serving the offshore wind industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Shipping and Chartering Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Loading time reduced to 6-8 hours for coaster bulk cargo using mobile crane
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ForestWavecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Sister company within Spliethoff Group with whom Wijnne Barends is moving to share a modern office building in Groningen.
• Trident AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Coalition of shipping owners and operators sharing common interest in robust enforcement of maritime sulphur regulations. Wijnne Barends joined to urge states bordering SECA to uphold and improve enforcement of sulphur limits.
• Spliethoff GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent company and largest Dutch shipping company. Wijnne Barends is the short sea specialist within the Spliethoff Group. The group includes sister company ForestWave. Wijnne Barends shares code of conduct, suppliers code of conduct and cyber security statements with the group.
• Chowgule & CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShipyard partner for construction of new vessels. Built 6 Lady H-type vessels (2017-2020) with deadweight above 4,200 tons and 98m length, meeting Tier III environmental standards.
• Groningen ShipyardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShipyard in Waterhuizen that built 8 identical vessels (ordered 2014) with length of 88m and deadweight of 3,700 tons for European waters deployment.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• DFDS: Denmark-based large European ferry and logistics operator with significant short-sea cargo and roll-on/roll-off services in the North Sea, Baltic, and Channel. Wider in scope than Wijnne Barends, but competes for cargo volumes on overlapping North Sea and Baltic trade lanes.
• Spliethoff Group: Wijnne Barends' parent company and the largest Dutch shipping company. Operates a much broader fleet across multipurpose, heavy-lift, and short-sea segments, but overlaps directly in European short-sea general and project cargo. Direct comparable for fleet operations, terminal infrastructure, and chartering approach.

Regional players

• Finnlines: Finnish short-sea operator under the Grimaldi Group, serving the Baltic Sea and North Sea with ro-ro and general cargo services. Comparable fleet profile for short-sea Baltic trades where Wijnne Barends deploys its ice-class tonnage.
• Dansen Shipping / De Boer Remmelt: Family-owned Dutch short-sea and inland shipping operator with small coasters and inland vessels similar to Wijnne Barends' sea-river fleet. Trades in similar North Sea and Rhine-internal cargo flows with comparable tonnage to Delfzijl/Farmsum.

Direct peers

• Wilson ASA: Norwegian short-sea bulk operator with a fleet of small to mid-sized bulk carriers operating in European waters. Similar trade-route focus and cargo mix (forest products, fertilizers, aggregates), making it a direct competitor for the same European shipper base.
• Unifeeder: Denmark-based (part of DP World) feeder and short-sea container operator connecting European hub ports with regional terminals. Strong overlap with Wijnne Barends' container terminal operations at Delfzijl and the short-sea feeder segment that supports Rotterdam/Anwerp-bound flows.
• Samskip: Iceland-based multimodal logistics provider with extensive short-sea container, reefer, and project cargo operations across North Sea, Baltic, and wider European waters. Direct competition for container and project cargo customers and operates similar short-sea hubs to Wijnne Barends' terminals.
• ForestWave: Sister company within Spliethoff Group, focused on sustainable maritime services including offshore wind support. Shares the Groningen office with Wijnne Barends as of 2025 and overlaps in short-sea / European waters services, particularly around offshore wind project logistics at Eemshaven.
• Hagland Shipping AS: Norwegian short-sea operator with small coasters (similar 2000-5000 DWT range) trading in the North Sea and Baltic on biomass, fertilizer, and bulk trades. Closest direct peer in terms of vessel size, cargo mix, and geographic footprint on Scandinavian routes.

Emerging players

• UPM-Kymmene Shipping: Finnish forest-products company with its own short-sea bulk fleet used historically to move forest products and liquid bulk across the Baltic and North Sea. Operates a captive fleet with similar vessel sizes and trade routes (e.g., Gulf of Finland ports), making it a structural comparable for short-sea dry cargo operations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/wijnne-barends-178278352216839

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wijnne Barends