Summary

Preface

In 2025, we allocated 21.7 hectares of land, divided over several transactions in sublease, sale, and long-term lease. These allocations and a robust growth in shipping revenue enabled us to post a turnover of € 52.1 million, with a net profit after taxation of € 2.6 million. This represents a significantly improved financial performance compared to 2024, when we closed the year with a loss of € 1.9 million. Goods transshipment in our ports hit a record of 15.7 million tonnes in 2025, a 16 percent rise compared to 2024. This growth is largely due to the transshipment of LNG, which represents approximately one third of the total transshipment in our ports.

Despite these positive results, the year 2025 was not without its challenges. High energy costs, grid congestion, difficult permit procedures, and geopolitical uncertainties put more pressure on the business and investment climate. Businesses are postponing their final investment decisions and sometimes abandon their plans altogether. We will continue to track these developments closely and will actively respond to them.

The year 2025 was also the year of board changes. After 7.5 years, CEO Cas König left Groningen Seaports as of 1 June to take the helm at North Sea Port. CFO Harold Sanders left for Royal NNZ Group as of 1 August. Harmen Peters was appointed as interim director to safeguard continuity. On 1 October, Bart Jan Hoevers took up post as the new CEO. The recruitment of a new CFO has been started.

We are proud of the steps we have taken in the area of integrated safety, environment management, and sustainability in 2025. Eemshaven has strengthened its position as offshore wind port even further: one in five wind farms in the North Sea has been constructed from Eemshaven. By opening our City Hub in the city centre of Groningen early 2026, we are bringing our ports closer to the city.

Bart Jan Hoevers, CEO
Harmen Peters, interim director

Key figures

2025 in events

1^st Quarter

1 March – Groningen Seaports leases premises at Brugstraat 2 in the city centre of Groningen for a new City Hub. This is where we show students, young professionals, businesses, and organisations the opportunities for a green future provided by our ports.

5 March – Buss Terminal Eemshaven expands with approximately 15 hectares of storage space for heavy-duty cargo and a quay connection of 200 metres at Beatrixhaven. This strengthens Eemshaven's position as a logistics hub for the offshore wind sector.

18 March – CEO Cas König announces that he will leave as 1 June to take the helm at North Sea Port.

2^nd Quarter

14 July – Data-centre company QTS announces an investment of € 1.4 billion for a new hyperscale data centre in Eemshaven. Google’s data-centre activities in Eemshaven are expanding significantly, partly by TenneT laying an underground 220,000 Volt connection.

14 July – Groningen Seaports announces several changes to its board: Bart Jan Hoevers will become the new CEO as of 1 October, CFO Harold Sanders leaves as of 1 August, and Harmen Peters is appointed as interim director.

3^rd Quarter

28 August – Vattenfall selects Eemshaven as its base for constructing and maintaining the offshore wind farms Nordlicht 1 and 2. With 980 MW, Nordlicht 1 will be the largest offshore wind project in Germany.

2 September – Under the name Sandy Coast, the Royal Dutch Navy, together with the naval forces of Belgium and Estonia, holds exercises in the ports of Delfzijl and Eemshaven. The purpose of the exercise is to safeguard essential infrastructure and ensure the security of underwater cables that carry data and energy.

12 September – Groningen Seaports starts a feasibility study of a new ferry connection between Eemshaven and Arendal in Norway. Together with the Groningen provincial executive, Het Hogeland Council, and shipping company Njordic Ferry Lines, we sign a declaration of intent.

20 September – More than 150 volunteers tidy up the port of Delfzijl on World Cleanup Day 2025.

4^th Quarter

3 October – The BaseLoad Power Hub, renamed Phynix, arrives in Eemshaven. This innovative platform for offshore production and storage of hydrogen is transferred to DOT (Delft Offshore Turbine) for further knowledge development.

1 December – Circtec completes the construction of its factory at Chemical Park Delfzijl. In time, approximately 4 million car tyres will be processed into new fuels and raw materials each year.

End 2025 – Equinor and Linde scrap their plans for a blue hydrogen factory in Eemshaven due to a combination of commercial, policy, and financial factors.

22 December – Q3 Noord B.V. locates in Eemshaven to supply heavy-duty transport equipment and to provide storage and transshipment services for offshore wind farms. Cable manufacturer TKF expands its presence in Eemshaven with an adjacent plot of more than two hectares.

Investments in our port areas

By investing in available sites and port and infrastructure facilities in advance, we want to enable companies to run their business in the most successful and sustainable way possible.

Heveskes

The Heveskes site of 45 hectares is located between the existing chemical park of Delfzijl and the former Aldel site and is intended for the biobased chemical cluster. Groningen Seaports invested more than € 1.7 million in the development of this site in 2025. The total investment now amounts to € 21 million of a planned total investment of approximately € 38 million. In 2025, preparations were started for the construction of temporary facilities for Avantium, the second access road over the former Aldel site was continued, and sites have been raised.

Circulands (formerly Oosterhorn-Zuid)

In € 2025, Groningen Seaports invested 4.2 million in the development of the construction and industrial sites at Oosterhorn. The total investment now amounts to € 26.5 million of a planned total investment of approximately € 43 million. The work in 2025 consisted of studying steam and hydrogen connections, installing a compressed-air network, and completing bundle drilling under the Oosterhorn canal that connects that northern and the southern side. SFP and Circtec have pretty much completed the construction of their factories.

The former Aldel site

On part of the former Aldel site, GIGA Storage started the construction of the Leopard battery park in 2025. With a capacity of 1,200 MWh and a charging and discharging capacity of 300 MW, this battery park contributes to the energy transition. The remaining part of the site was cleared above ground, and soil contamination was surveyed. In 2025, Groningen Seaports became the de facto owner of the site.

Developments in Eemshaven

Eemshaven has become an energy hub of national and international importance. The amount of electricity that is generated or lands here, equals a third of the electricity consumption in the Netherlands.

Offshore wind

In 2025, 116 foundations for wind turbines at sea were transshipped via Eemshaven for the wind farms Thor (Denmark) and Nordsee cluster A (Germany). After RWE and TotalEnergies selected Eemshaven as the construction port for OranjeWind, the formal start of the construction phase took place in January 2025. Vattenfall selected Eemshaven as its base for Nordlicht 1 and 2. The Minister of Climate Policy and Green Growth, officially adopted the Eemshaven Offshore Wind Energy Connection Programme (PAWOZ), which made the Schiermonnikoog Wantij route the preferred route for wind farm Doordewind (4 GW). Eemshaven has now been involved in the construction of 24 offshore wind farms and serves as the maintenance base for five farms.

Data centres and energy

QTS and Google’s data-centre activities in Eemshaven are expanding significantly in 2025. TenneT undertook the expansion of the two existing high-voltage substations located in Eemshaven. TenneT is also taking the lease of a site to land energy from wind farms at sea with a capacity of 4.7 GW.

Hydrogen

The prospects for large-scale hydrogen production took a hit in 2025. Equinor scrapped its plans for a blue hydrogen factory. Decisions about investments in electrolysers were postponed. Phynix did arrive in Eemshaven: this is an innovative platform that will use DOT to study and develop knowledge of green hydrogen at sea. The Kickstart pipe – an innovative hydrogen pipe between Eemshaven and Delfzijl – has been prepared in part: in September 2025, 400 metres of SoluForce pipe was laid.

Access and infrastructure

Strong infrastructure is the backbone of our ports. Widening the N33 motorway towards Eemshaven continues to be important for a better flow, traffic safety, and strengthening cargo traffic. In 2025, the MIRT (Long-Term Infrastructure, Spatial Planning, and Transport Programme) study for N33 North was completed. For N33 Central, the national government and the region are preparing a start, partly due to the Nij Begun programme.

In the area of shore power, in December 2024 an investment decision of € 9.8 million was approved for the construction of a shore-power system at the heavy-duty quay and the south side of Beatrixhaven in Eemshaven. Grid congestion meant that the construction could not be started in 2025. The system will lead to a reduction of 85,000 tonne CO₂ equivalent when it has been built.

Community environmental meeting Eemshaven

The community environmental meeting Eemshaven, set up in the context of Strategic Community Management, was embedded even more in 2025. The new CEO visited surrounding villages to start a direct dialogue with the residents. With an eye to the future, the cooperation agreement 'Growing Coast' was signed, focused on minimising dredging and strengthening the ecology in the Eems-Dollart estuary.

Developments in the port of Delfzijl

Businesses

In 2025, two new businesses located at the Chemport Innovation Center (CIC): Butter Bridge (extraction of critical raw materials from residual flows) and Graphenix Development (production of silicon anodes for batteries). Both received a subsidy of € 50,000 from the Groningen provincial executive. HyEnergy TransStore developed a site for refuelling with green hydrogen on De Delta. Merema Transport, Marinus, and MK Spaces located at Fivelpoort.

Energy infrastructure

In order to deal with the growing demand for electricity, Groningen Seaports held intensive discussions with TenneT and Enexis about constructing new high-voltage and medium-voltage stations near Chemical Park Delfzijl. This is expected to lead to the sale of a 30-hectare site in Farmsum to TenneT.

Ferry link Eemshaven–Arendal

Together with the Groningen provincial executive, Het Hogeland council, and shipping company Njordic Ferry Lines, Groningen Seaports studied the feasibility of a new ferry route to Arendal in Norway. A final decision on the construction of a permanent mooring is expected to be taken in the first half of 2026.

Sustainability

Groningen Seaports operates in a unique environment: a large part of the management area borders the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site and the Eems-Dollart estuary. This involves special responsibilities. In 2025, climate transition plans were produced for four segments (Technology, Facilities/Marketing/IT, Shipping, and Industry), which make our climate ambitions more specific.

CO₂ emissions management area

In 2024, the most recent year for which figures are available, the CO₂ emissions in the management areas fell by 0.7 Mtonnes compared to 2023, to 7.0 Mtonnes.

Sustainable energy

The installed sustainable capacity in our management areas rose slightly to 2,527 MW, including by installing a new Eneco wind turbine at the industrial site Farmsum (4.5 MW).

Water and biodiversity

In 2025, Groningen Seaports signed the cooperation agreement 'Growing Coast', focused on minimising dredging and improving the ecology in the Eems-Dollart estuary. A new ecological agenda was prepared, and the Flora and Fauna Code of Conduct was updated as of 1 January 2025.

Due to the joint initiative with other ports, national regulations have been created that prohibit scrubbers. Scrubbers are washing systems on vessels that discharge dirty wastewater. This regulation is expected to come into force in the last six months of 2026.

Circular economy

Groningen Seaports is dedicated to achieving a fully circular cluster in 2050. With the CCU Fieldlab, Chemport Europe, and the Chemport Innovation Center (CIC) circular chain projects are supported and new innovations facilitated.

Port facilities

Vessel visits and goods transshipment

In 2025, the number of port calls rose by more than 7% to 9,389. The number of maritime port calls rose by 14% to 5,708. Goods transshipment went up by 16% to a record 15.7 million tonnes. The main factor behind the growth was a rise in LNG transshipments.

Incident reports

In 2025, there were 73 shipping incidents in the management area (2024: 62). The number of environmental incidents rose considerably: they mainly concerned spills of oil and fuel, a trend that is also noticeable in other ports. On 24 January 2025, there was a serious fire incident on board the crane vessel Les Alizés that required a rapid scaling up of the emergency services. Around 100 crew were evacuated.

Safety and resilience

Integrated safety became a strategic theme in 2025. Together with Vlissingen and Rotterdam, Eemshaven is one of the three corridor ports of the Ministry of Defence. In August, the Royal Dutch Navy held exercises together with the naval forces of Belgium, Germany, and Estonia in the ports of Delfzijl and Eemshaven (Sandy Coast 25). In 2025, Groningen Seaports was part of founding the foundation FERM Zeehavens, a national cybersecurity cooperation platform for the five seaports of national importance.

New radar system

At the end of November 2025, a new shore radar system of Wärtsilä was commissioned, which is used for real-time monitoring of all ship movements in both ports.

Dredging

In 2025, the quantities of dredge spoil amounted to 1.1 million m³ in Delfzijl and 1.5 million m³ in Eemshaven. A new Environment and Planning Act permit was required for dredging work in the port of Delfzijl.

Organisation

At the end of 2025, Groningen Seaports had 108 employees (104.5 FTE), which is 4 more than in 2024. The average age is 46 years and the share of women in the workforce is 31%. The share of women in senior roles rose to 20% (2024: 15%). Sickness absence was 5.2% (2024: 3.6%).

In 2025, at the initiative of young colleagues, Groningen Seaports set up the youth organisation Young Ports. Two pulse surveys were carried out to gain a better understanding of employees' experiences at work and their level of commitment. On the basis of the outcomes, themes, such as communication, workload, and leadership will be picked up.

On taking up their post, the new directors had an organisation scan carried out internally and with an external advisor. The aim was to create a shared view of what Groningen Seaports does well and where adjustments or improvements are required. This will be detailed further in 2026. At the same time, a rapidly changing environment requires recalibration of the strategy, translated into specific objectives where Groningen Seaports can actually make a difference and play a leading role. The process for this updated strategy was started early 2026.

Corporate Governance

Groningen Seaports N.V. is an unlisted public limited company with one shareholder: Gemeenschappelijke Regeling Havenschap Groningen Seaports (‘Joint arrangement port authority Groningen Seaports') (the GR), consisting of the Groningen provincial executive, Het Hogeland council, and Eemsdelta council. In July 2025, the new shareholder strategy was adopted, which clarified the interests, aims, and priorities of the GR as shareholder. From now on, there will be an annual physical general meeting of shareholders, starting in 2026.

Executive Board

• Mr B.J. (Bart Jan) Hoevers (CEO, in office as of 1 October 2025)

• Mr H.J. (Harmen) Peters (interim director, in office as of 16 June 2025)

Supervisory board

• Mr F.A.M. (Frans) Keurentjes (chairperson)

• Ms D. (Dertje) Meijer

• Mr J. (Joop) Atsma

• Ms J. (Jantje) Schiphorst (member of the audit committee)

• Mr U. (Ulco) Vermeulen (member of the audit committee)

Looking ahead

One of the major themes for the coming years will be the development of Oostpolder. The Provincial Spatial Integration Plan has been adopted for this region, which slowly produces insight into its future development and operation. Agreements about the role and responsibilities of Groningen Seaports are still to be reached. It is self-evident that Groningen Seaports will play a role comparable to the one in Eemshaven in order to achieve a strong and integrated area development. This role is expected to be clarified in 2026.

In general, the challenges faced by our ports and industry are too great and complex for individual players. In times of uncertainty there is a need for clarity and stability. Groningen Seaports argues for a steadfast and predictable political policy that leads to stable and reliable regulations. This provides clients with the confidence to develop sustainable and profitable earning models and to retain those over time.

Balance Sheet

Income statement