Rotterdam Reigns

Land reclamation is going full steam in the North Sea to provide space for the container sector and the chemical industry and thereby the creation of a new world-class port and industrial area in Rotterdam.

by Radhika Rani G.

Maasvlakte 2, as the new landmark is called, is a big draw among tourists visiting Rotterdam. A 2,000-hectare area of land being reclaimed since 2008, the new piece of earth coming up from nowhere will launch at least three container terminals by 2013 and berth the largest ships in the world. The new mass will eventually accommodate distribution networks and a chemical industry to support the growing trade. But for now, it is work in process and progress.

A sprawling harbour spread along a stretch of 40 km from the city centre right up the sea, the Port of Rotterdam serves as the gateway to Northwest Europe. And the second phase of land reclamation following the earlier one in the early 1970s is timed to cater to the growing and future demands. 

The Rotterdam Port, though ranked four in the world in cargo throughput and ten in container volumes, is by far the largest port in Europe, handling 420 million tonnes of cargo a year. Located on the Rhine estuary and opening up into the North Sea, the Dutch maritime hub serves as the transit port for nearly 460 million Europeans by transporting essential commodities and raw materials via five competing modalities: road, rail, inland shipping, coastal shipping and pipeline.

Rotterdam, according to Minco van Heezen, is the logistics hub and industrial complex to several other goods. “In order for the port to develop, it is crucial to attract good flows and industrial activity,” says the press officer of the port as he shows around various facilities dotting the coastline. “The port is investing continually to extend and improve its service,” Minco notes.

Specialised handling

The port is the leader in Europe for every type of breakbulk cargo such as steel, project cargo, non- ferrous metals, paper & other forest products, the automotive sector and fruit. Its transshipment facilities allow plenty of room for handling and storage, including several terminals for handling non-ferrous metals such as aluminum, copper, zinc, lead, tin and nickel. Currently, 27 breakbulk and Ro-Ro terminals are operational, together handling a total of 25.6 million tonnes. Also, 7,000 reefer points with about 2,5 million cubic metres of cold storage cater to transshipment of fresh fruit, vegetables and fruit juices in containers.

Dry bulk handling forms a major chunk of the port throughput and is catered to by transshipment, storage, processing and distribution facilities. The total throughput of dry bulk averages 90 million tonnes a year with iron ore and coal counting for 75 per cent of the total volume. The remaining cargo comprises agribulk, minerals and construction materials. While the port handles 83 million tonnes of bulk cargo each year, dry agribulk accounts for roughly 10 million tonnes.

With an average of about 9.7 million TEU passing through the port each year, Rotterdam by far outstrips all the other ports in Europe as the main port for container transport. It also serves as the hub for the UK, the Baltic and the Iberian Peninsula. The new land scheme that entails roughly 1,000 hectares of new company sites and container-related activities is likely to triple the port’s container-handling capacity.

The uniqueness of the port, however, lies in the fact that it is one of the world’s major centers for oil and chemicals, owing to its strategic location and access to markets all over Europe. More than 40 chemical and petrochemical companies and four world-class oil refineries are spread along the port besides three industrial gas producers and 13 major tank storage and distribution companies. All of these operations are interconnected via a network of pipelines totalling more than 1,500 km in length.  

Three reasons for opting Rotterdam, as the cluster of oil firms point out, are: first-class logistics and transport options, availability of a full range of chemical feedstocks and a high degree of operational integration between the various chemical plants and tank storage terminals.

With work on Maasvlakte 2 all set to increase the surface area of the current port and industrial complex by 20 percent, the port will accommodate ships up to 24 m draft in some of its deepest basins, informs Minco.

Meanwhile, the European Combined Terminals (ECT), bulk stevedore EMO and the Port of Rotterdam Authority have agreed to widen the Amazonehaven from 255 to 305 m to allow for larger vessels at a cost of US$ 208.5 million beginning 2011. At the same time, EMO will relocate some of its operations to the Hartelstrook on the southern side of the Mississippihaven. “These two projects,” says Port Authority CEO Hans Smits, “are very much in line with our policy to make optimum use of the space in the existing port area.”

At the moment, the port is competing with other ports in the Hamburg-Le Havre (HLH) range in attracting trade flows for the hinterland of Northwestern Europe. While these ports are also major transshipment ports for good-flows to and from the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as the Scandinavian and Baltic ports, Rotterdam occupies an increasingly important position in this area.

Strong recovery

Throughput in the port has recorded a considerable increase. In the first quarter of 2010, 107 million tonnes of goods were handled, 14 per cent more than in the same period of 2009. They comprise: iron ore and scrap (+77 per cent), other dry bulk (+32 per cent), mineral oil products (+30 per cent), containers (+21 per cent), other liquid bulk (+7 per cent), roll on/roll off (+8 per cent). Throughput figures for agribulk (-32 per cent) and coal were down (-17 per cent) and those for other general cargo and crude oil remained virtually unchanged.

The share of container transshipment rose from 28 to 30 per cent. However, with the total throughput declining with 10 per cent to 9.7 million TEU, the transshipment volume dropped 2 per cent to 2.9 million TEU.  

Inland shipping too strengthened its position in the hinterland transport of containers with its share in the modal split of the port of Rotterdam rising from 30 to 33 per cent. The previous time such a large gain was recorded, was in the previous century, the port informs. Rail transport declined from 13 to 11 per cent and is back on the 2006 level. Road transport moved back from 57 to 56 per cent.  But the scenario is poised to look up with a recovering global economy.

As Maasvlakte 2 takes shape, the port authority is gearing up to offer first-rate facilities for the handling of shipping traffic, safety levels and hinterland connections with a wide choice of lines and service providers. Rotterdam Rules! Truly. 

At a Glance:

•  In a year, nearly 34,000 vessels call at the port and 133,000 inland vessels
• The most important port in Europe for coal imports that are crucial for Dutch and German power generation
• 100 million tonnes of crude oil passes through the port
• 10 million TEU containers are handled annually
• The deepest draft of up to 24 metres equals an 8-storey block of flats. The biggest ship Berge Stahl that carries iron ore between Brazil and Rotterdam is 360-metres long and 65-metre wide 
• Every day, 200 trucks leave the port city laden with fresh fruit and vegetables that arrive by sea and head to various destinations in Europe 
• The port city is the transit hub for nearly 270,000 cars from America, Japan and Korea that find their way to dealers across Europe

 Facts ‘n Figures

• Port Authority: The Port of Rotterdam Authority employs 1,200 people
• Turnover: € 450 million
• Port area: Approx. 10,500 hectares, length 40 km
• Direct employment: Over 70,000 jobs
• Goods throughput: Over 400 million tonnes of goods per year

Article published in Maritime Gateway, July 2010.