THE NETHERLANDS | Port of Rotterdam

[Godius]

The Netherlands: Opening of Maasvlakte 2 New Beach Set for May 26

On Saturday 26 May, the first section of the new beach of Maasvlakte 2 will be opened.
The first part to be ready is the bathing beach in the south. The sport beach in the north will be open in November.
The first part of the new beach along Maasvlakte 2 will be ready for walking, swimming and sunbathing at the end of May 2012.
Temporary starting points are available here for sportspeople such as kite surfers until the entire beach is opened.

[brick84]

Great news, especially given the crisis.

[Suburbanist]

This weekend I drove through the new area just reclaimed there...



Looking inland

[Suburbanist]

This weekend I drove through the new area just reclaimed there...



Looking inland


The man-made sand dunes. They don't have grass yet because they are less than one year old
[IMG][/IMG]

[Zimcompany]

its the largest ever!!!

[Suburbanist]

The Berge Stahl docked on Rotterdam last week

[Suburbanist]

Massive silos

[HD9]

Ships spotting video's Rotterdam (HD)

http://www.youtube.com/user/fredvloo/videos

[Nemo]

World's largest grab unloader arrives at EMO

New 85-tonnes grab unloader further improves flexibility and service at Europe’s largest dry bulk terminal EMO.

The first components of the new 85-tonnes grab unloader, the largest of its kind in the world, have safely arrived at EMO. This new unloader is to be assembled in the Missisippi harbour, alongside EMO’s existing unloaders. As a result, EMO, Europe's largest dry bulk terminal for coal and iron ore, has access to three 85-tonnes grab unloaders, two 50-tonnes grab unloaders and a 36-tonnes floating crane.

The unloader, fabricated entirely in Europe, will be transported to the EMO terminal by water from Stettin in Poland, in a series of barge transports. The unloading capacity will be strengthened with 10 million tonnes on an annual basis, leading to further improvement in efficiency and service levels. The new 85-tonnes grab unloader and accompanying transport conveyor belt system are expected to be put into service in the second half of 2012.

The decision was also recently taken to renovate one other 85-tonnes unloader, extending the useful life of this system by a further 15 to 20 years.

[Nemo]

Here a picture of the existing four - largest in hthe world - grab unloaders at EMO.


Link: www.maxmueller.files.wordpress.com

[OK8]

[NET.]

[nigel20]

Very nice port.

[keokiracer]

The Maasvlakte II has been closed, as in no water from the ocean can get in there. First the road going over the old Maasvlakte had to be replaced by one over the Maasvlakte II. And that opened recently.
Here's a map (don't pay too much attention to my Paint skills )

(Openstreetmap link)
The red route is already being demolished

Here's a video of the new route (not mine)

(be sure to watch in 720p, helps A LOT with the quality)

[Nemo]

Date: 11/22/2012
Source: Port of Rotterdam Authority ©


Construction of Maasvlakte 2 terminals on schedule


The construction of Maasvlakte 2 is still on schedule and the first phase is close to completion. After the ‘back door’ was closed on 11 July 2012, contractor PUMA (Boskalis and Van Oord) will open the ‘front door’ next weekend. That is when the Yangtzehaven cut-through will start. The temporary inland lake that was created on Maasvlakte 2 will disappear so that the new port will soon be accessible to the ships which need to moor at the APM Terminals Maasvlakte II (AMPT MVII) and the Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG) terminal in 2014. Both container terminals are hard at work with the construction on their freshly reclaimed land.



As a future operator on Maasvlakte 2, APM Terminals Maasvlakte II (AMPT MVII) is making good progress on its new container terminal. The construction of the terminal is proceeding on schedule with the opening planned for November 2014. The terminal design signifies a step forward in productivity and sustainability. The cut-through of the Yangtzehaven next weekend is important for APMT MVII so that it can receive its first ship with crane parts in the spring of 2013.

With a quay wall depth of 20 metres and the highest deep sea cranes in the world, this terminal will soon be open for the arrival of the latest generation of 18,000-TEU container ships. The first phase of the terminal covers 86 hectares and has a capacity of 2.7 million TEU per year. The terminal can expand to 167 hectares and a capacity of 4.5 million TEU per year.

The construction of Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG), Rotterdam’s new container terminal on Maasvlakte 2, is on schedule. The site on the Amaliahaven is gaining more and more shape now that RWG started on the asphalting in the summer. It is anticipated that the terminal will be opened in the autumn of 2014. The placement of the quay cranes one year before that is an important milestone. Terminal testing will also start around that time, so that by the spring of 2014 the first ship can moor.

The terminal is shooting up on a 108-hectare site and has a deep sea quay of 1150 metres long and 20 metres deep. A 550-metre inland shipping quay has also been constructed. Eleven deep sea cranes and three cranes for inland vessels will be placed on these quays. Together with around 50 stacking cranes and 60 AGVs (automatically guided vehicles that will move the containers around the site), this will ultimately deliver a capacity of 2.35 million TEU.

Both terminals are expected to be the most modern in the world. This will make it possible to handle the next generation of ultra-large container ships in Rotterdam. The new container terminals will each have rail connections which must meet the latest requirements in rail safety. The connections for both terminals are planned to be ready by the end of 2013. This will enable the terminals to be fully set up for the intermodal handling of the cargo – the basis of the modal shift objective of the Port of Rotterdam Authority. This means that as many containers as possible are transported to the hinterland by inland shipping and rail.

The Yangtzehaven will be connected to the ports on Maasvlakte 2 next weekend and that is due to the opening of the road and rail along the new seawall. The road and rail were opened on 19 and 28 October respectively, opening up access via Maasvlakte 2 to the businesses of Euromax, MOT and GATE. This made it possible to remove the existing infrastructure on the Yangtzehaven shortly afterwards. In the short time between 11 July (closing of the seawall by Queen Beatrix) and the end of October, the last section of the seawall was raised to the required height and the road and rail were built. The sport beach has also been open since October.

Construction work at the entrance to the ECT and APMT terminals on Maasvlakte 1 has also commenced. Traffic from and to Euromax has not come past here since October. Traffic to the new APMT terminal on Maasvlakte 2 will travel from this junction when it is opened in 2014. The traffic will then be able to be properly integrated with the existing infrastructure, although a flyover intersection will be required in the future to allow the smooth flow of all the truck traffic. The coming two years is a period of less traffic than before (Euromax traffic) and after (more traffic again to the new APM terminal). That is why the junction is being redeveloped between now and the summer of 2014. The current level junction with traffic lights will turn into a flyover junction. Contractor MNO Vervat is constructing this Viaduct Junction E.

The Prinses Margriethaven opposite FutureLand will be set up as a service port in 2013. Waiting berths for inland shipping and nautical service providers such as tugs and boatmen will come here.

Numerous agreements with authorities and NGOs about the way Maasvlakte 2 would be constructed, the effects it would be permitted to have on the environment, compensatory measures in the existing port area and suchlike were made before the construction of Maasvlakte 2 started. These agreements were laid down in agreements and licences. Thus various authorities, social interest groups from the business sector and nature and environmental organisations, and the Port Authority concluded the Vision and Trust agreement in May 2008. It was agreed that DCMR would monitor compliance with the agreements for the coming 25 years. The obligations have been met thus far and only the accessibility of the beach by public transport has turned out to be a difficult point to achieve.

A report on the effects on life in the North Sea will be published in 2013. Even before construction commenced, a start was made to measure life at a large number of locations in the North Sea (among other things) several times a year and at different times of the year. Due to the large number of factors affecting this, it is not possible for a long time to say whether the construction of Maasvlakte 2 has any effect. Currently the measurements give no reason to think that this is the case.


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Date: 12/3/2012
Source: Port of Rotterdam Authority ©


Two-way traffic for container giants

From 1 December 2012, large container ships will be able to pass each other when entering and leaving the port of Rotterdam. The Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management widened the Maasgeul for this purpose by a good 250 metres. Sea-going ships with a draught of more than 14.4 metres can only enter or leave the port of Rotterdam via this navigation channel.

The widening of the Maasgeul was designed especially for container ships. These ships are becoming increasingly larger so that more containers can be transported at the same time. The Port of Rotterdam Authority also expects container throughput to grow in the future. But not only container ships will benefit from the widening, the waiting times for other large sea-going ships, such as tankers and bulk carriers, will also be cut.

The widening of the Maasgeul was achieved in six months’ time: around 350,000 cubic metres of clay, sand and peat were dredged from the sea floor to a depth of 21 metres. This would fill 140 Olympic-size swimming pools. To make the new section of the navigation channel ready for use, rules of use were amended and shipping informed in the past month. The new section of the Maasgeul was also added to nautical charts and a buoy marking the navigation channel was shifted. The Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management will maintain the new section of the navigation channel. If the channel becomes too shallow because it silts up, dredgers will bring it back to the right depth.

[Nemo]

Date: 12/28/2012
Source: Port of Rotterdam Authority ©

Modest growth produces new throughput record

Port of Rotterdam throughput grows 1.7%
Despite the ailing economy, freight throughput in the port of Rotterdam grew by 1.7% in 2012. A total of 442 million tonnes of cargo went through the port.

Hans Smits, President and CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority: “Although the growth is limited, it is another record for Rotterdam. Container throughput increased slightly in 2012, thanks especially to exports. In the dry bulk market segment, the declining steel production in Europe was responsible for reduced throughput, especially of ore. This shift was more than compensated by the growth in liquid bulk: more crude oil and oil products particularly were handled. The latter category has actually tripled in size over the past ten years. That shows that the port of Rotterdam is increasingly becoming a hub for global trade. This helps the port to continue to grow, as global trade generally develops faster than the Dutch and the European economies. The positive throughput figures for this year do not alter the fact that the profit margins for many companies are under pressure, some businesses are in the red and some are dismissing staff.” The Port of Rotterdam Authority expects growth of around 2% next year.

Dry bulk
In dry bulk, less cargo was handled across the board. Bad harvests in major grain and oil seed exporting countries and the ensuing high prices caused agribulk throughput to drop by 18%. Iron ore and scrap dropped 12% due to the low steel production in Europe. Several blast furnaces have closed. Throughput of cokes coal (used in blast furnaces) did not keep pace with the drop in iron ore handling, because cargo flows were bundled and now go via the port of Rotterdam. Cokes coal throughput dropped nevertheless by 4%. The causes are the reduced demand for coal for electricity generation due to the availability of plenty of sustainable energy in the summer and stocks being used up. Throughput of other dry bulk dropped by 9%, due especially to the slump in building and disappointing industrial production. A total of 79 million tonnes of dry bulk was handled.

Liquid bulk
The throughput of crude oil increased this year by 6%, putting it back at the ‘normal’ level. On the one hand the refinery sector experienced fewer significant maintenance breaks than last year and on the other hand production capacity ceased elsewhere in Europe, a reason why production here was driven up.
Similar to previous years, the throughput of mineral oil products increased, this time by 12%. The most important cause is the increased oil product trade, due chiefly to the differences in the price of fuel oil in Europe and Asia. It is worthwhile, for instance, to ship Russian fuel oil via the port of Rotterdam to the Far East. The throughput of naphtha, gas oil, diesel, kerosene and petrol also increased.
LNG imports remained at a low level, because the prices in Asia are much higher, resulting in the product being transported to the Far East rather than to Europe.
Other liquid bulk experienced growth of 4%, partly through the start-up of Neste (palm oil import) and the increased import of bio diesel. A total of 214 million tonnes of liquid bulk was handled. This cargo segment thus represents half of the cargo throughput in the port of Rotterdam.

Containers and breakbulk
The continuing economic slump means less cargo is imported and more is exported. The balance of those two is a growth of 2% in tonnage. Because export containers are heavier on average and furthermore, fewer containers were going back empty, the throughput in numbers of containers (TEU) stayed the same. The port of Rotterdam lost cargo in the feeder market, but gained short sea containers. The 11.9 million TEU in containers came to 126 million tonnes.
Roll on/roll off increased by 3%, despite the ailing British economy. Other general cargo dropped by 23%, due especially to the greatly reduced import of steel. This brings breakbulk to a total of -5% with 24 million tonnes.

Market share
The market share of the port of Rotterdam in the Hamburg-Le Havre range increased over the past five years by an average of 0.5 percentage points per year to 37.7% in the third quarter of 2012. The difference with Hamburg and Antwerp in the container segment which arose in 2009 was preserved.

Expectations for 2013
In view of the prospects of the development of the Dutch and European, and especially the German economies, modest growth of around 2% is expected again for 2013. This means that the throughput for next year will probably approach 450 million tonnes.
The throughput is expected to increase slightly faster in the subsequent years, on the one hand, because the economic prospects for 2014 are better and on the other hand, because the current investments in tank storage, container terminals and coal-fired power plants will result in more throughput over time.

[Nemo]

Date 4/7/2013 - Source: Port of Rotterdam Authority ©

Land transfer agreement for Shtandart Terminal

On April 5 2013 Shtandart and Port of Rotterdam Authority signed the land transfer agreement.



It is an important milestone that allows Shtandart to start execution of this project, including completion of the permitting and contracting of the work on the site. All discussions around issues related to UXO’s (unexploded ordnances) left from WWII, have been successfully concluded. Construction will begin next year and the terminal will become operational in 2016.

[Nemo]

http://footo.nl/userphotos

Door @kick op footo.nl

[keokiracer]

Join a truck driver as he drops off a container in the ETC Terminal in the Waalharbour and then continues to the ECT Delta Terminal on the Maasvlakte. It's worth the long sit!