Major shipowners CMB.Tech and MSC Belgium have raised more than €250,000 ($269,000) after hosting the maritime dance festival of the year.
The A La Marine Nation took place at the weekend in Antwerp, featuring five acts, in aid of young people’s charity Talent Atelier for Youngsters (TAJO).
The organisers said: “A big shout out to the 1,500 party people and all our incredible sponsors, who raised over €250,000 for TAJO, our charity dedicated to empowering vulnerable youth,”
“Huge thanks to everyone who showed up, volunteered, danced hard and donated even harder,” they added. “Because of you, we didn’t just make waves — we made a tsunami for a good cause.”
Sponsors included BRS Shipbrokers, Damen Shipyards, Multraship, DNV, Exmar, Clarksons and Wista Belgium.
Before the event, CMB.Tech chief executive Alexander Saverys jokingly told TradeWinds: “We are going to do something very risky. A lot riskier than shipping. We will organise the maritime dance festival of the year.”
The line-up featured Omdat Het Kan and Average Rob, Dimitri Wouters, the Dirty Daddies, DJ Wout and DJ Hans.
The two groups plan to hold the event every other year: A La Marine Nation by CMB.Tech in even-numbered years and a festival called Overstag run by MSC in odd-numbered years.
Battle cry
Saverys explained A La Marine is the traditional battle cry of Belgian shipping companies, “something you might have heard if you ever attended one of our parties”.
“Last year, we decided to create the A La Marine Nation to bring maritime companies together that are active in Antwerp,” Saverys said.
A “nation” is the 15th-century corporate structure that used to handle cargo from ships.
These nations still exist — a famous example being Katoen Natie.
The most recent one is A La Marine Nation.
Once a month, several shipping companies come together for after-work drinks and snacks in the A La Marine bar and restaurant, conveniently next to the CMB.Tech office, Saverys added.
