Rotterdam is the main port of European container transport. With the handling of 10 million TEU (containers converted into units of 20 foot), this Dutch port outstrips largely all other ports in Europe. Rotterdam is one of the world’s most important hubs for cargo. Annual cargo throughput is over 370 million tons of goods. Located on the North Sea — the busiest sea route in the world — this Dutch port serves its European hinterland of about 380 million consumers. The huge goods flow results in largescale advantages for both carriers and shippers.
The port of Rotterdam extends over an area of 40 kilometers, from the center of the city to the North Sea. The port and industrial area covers 10,000 hectares (26,000 acres). Some 30,000 seagoing vessels and 130,000 inland vessels arrive in the port every year. Rotterdam is also the home port and port of call for around 500 shipping lines, running regular services to 1,000 ports. Rotterdam is Europe’s most important port for oil and chemicals, containers, iron ore, coal, food and metals.
74 Foot
Via the Euro-channel in the North Sea, ships with a draught of up to 74 foot can enter the port fully loaded. This means that they can carry between 300,000 and 350,000 tons of crude oil, iron ore or coal in one go. The largest container ships, of 10,000 TEU or more, are completely unrestricted in Rotterdam. This means that it only takes the ships 1 to 2 hours from the pilot station before the harbor entrance to their berths along the quay by the terminals in the western port area.
Hinterland Connections
Goods destined for the hinterland can leave the port by river, rail, road, pipeline or sea. For large quantities of bulk goods, transport via the Rhine, which discharges into the sea at Rotterdam, is ideal. With the use of shuttle trains, rail’s modest share in container transport is growing.
Many chemicals are also carried by rail. Bulk chemicals leave Rotterdam by pipeline, as does part of the crude oil traded into the port by sea. A total of one third of all liquid bulk leaves the port by pipeline. Chemical products and semi-manufactured products, containers and foodstuffs, for instance, are transported by road. The storage capacity of chemicals exceeds 31 million m3.
Specialized Harbors
Rotterdam port is at the hub for all kinds of different goods flows. These various types of goods — such as oil, ores and coal, or fruit and forms such as dry bulk, roll-on/roll-off and containers — are usually handled by specialized companies. These are established in specific parts of the port, so that Rotterdam is characterized by a collection of specialized harbors.
Liquid Bulk Port
Crude oil, oil products and liquid chemicals account for almost half of the total throughput in Rotterdam. Important receivers and consignors of this liquid bulk are the five refineries and the chemical industry in the port area. The cost effective supply of crude oil in VLCCs (very large crude carriers) forms the basis of Rotterdam’s petrochemical industry.
Over 20 multinationals have branches in the industrial area. Most chemical semi-manufactured products are carried to the hinterland by pipeline.
Crude oil is unloaded on the Maasvlakte and is then transported further by pipeline to 5 oil refineries. For the transshipment of crude oil, oil products and chemicals, Rotterdam has a number of specialized tank terminals.
Container Port
Rotterdam is the largest container port in Europe. An increasing proportion of container handling takes place on the Maasvlakte, at the APM Terminal Rotterdam and the ECT terminals: Delta Dedicated North, East and West Terminals.
Two new ‘dedicated’ terminals were built in the context of the ‘2000-08’ plan in which ECT and the government are investing a total of one billion euro. Its proximity to the sea and its accessibility for very large container ships makes the Maasvlakte an ideal location for the sea-sea distribution of containers and the establishment of centers for largescale distribution.
Dry Bulk Port
The German steel industry transports its iron ore almost completely via Rotterdam. This is relatively cheap due to the largescale trade into the port by means of huge bulk ships and the largescale trade out over the Rhine via six-strong tug-pushed lighters. German steel company Thyssen-Krupp has its own EECV terminal in Rotterdam Europoort, where the majority of the ore shipped is handled. The rest goes through the EMO terminal on the Maasvlakte. Coal is shipped in via EECV, EBS and the EMO terminal from where ± 20 percent is distributed to Dutch power stations and ± 80 percent to mainly Germany, but also England, Belgium and France.
In addition to ores and coal, Rotterdam handles considerable amounts of agribulk such as grain and crude animal feed as well as other dry bulk such as phosphates for the fertilizer industry. These are the specialities of European Bulk Services (EBS), with terminals in the Botlek area and in Europoort.
Billions Invested
Over the past few years, the oil companies have put billions of euros into modernizing their installations, both to meet the demand for ‘lighter’ products and to satisfy the increasingly stringent environmental requirements. Shell completed a hydrocracker and oil-gasification installation (Project PER+) in Rotterdam Pernis, at a cost of 1.3 billion euros. Nerefco (BP/Texaco) modernized its Europoort refinery thoroughly as well and Koch Industry converted its condensate splitter into a refinery and expanded its capacity. The excellent facilities, which the port offers for incoming chemical raw materials and the distribution of end products within Europe, play an important role here. Rotterdam also owes its position as European chemical main port to the extensive presence of suppliers, buyers and service industries.
Rotterdam is clearly ahead when it comes to container-related technology. ECT, in particular, has made a name for itself with the development and application of extremely advanced terminal transport systems. At the Delta Dedicated Terminals, containers are transported from the quayside cranes to the stack and positioned in the stack fully automatically. The terminals have the facilities to handle the very largest (post panamax) ships.
