*********** Port Of Rotterdam ***********

[Nemo]

News about Europe's largest port and world No.3



World Port Center, HQ of the Rotterdam Port Authority.
Architect: Sir Norman Foster.
Picture by Jan Klerks


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History - From 1320 until today.



Rotterdam in the year 1340


Dutch East India ships near the city of Rotterdam.


Admiral De Ruyter's flagship 'The Seven Provinces' with 80 canons was built in Rotterdam.


Rotterdam in the year 1652 - Golden Age of the Dutch Republic

1400 - 1800: Rotterdam a fishing village
Rotterdam was established in the second half of the 13th century as a fishing village. The Rotte tributary flowed into the bend in the river Meuze (Maas). It was here that the herring fishermen used to unload their catch. These fishermen were the first inhabitants of the town after a dyke was built to protect Schieland from the river. Rotterdam became a true town with municipal rights in 1328.

Rotterdam gradually developed into a prosperous merchant port. The first harbors were constructed between 1600 and 1620. The area began to fill up with warehouses, breweries, sugar refineries, gin distilleries, shipyards and ropeyards. Following the setting up of the United East India Company (VOC), trade and shipping rapidly increased. Industry also flourished. The 17th and 18th centuries were ‘golden’ centuries.

1800 - 1900: Construction of the New Waterway
During the French occupation from 1795 to 1813, trade declined and industry disappeared. Over the years, moreover, the entrance to the port silted up. In order to reach the city, ships sometimes had to sail the long way round via the south of the country. In 1858, Pieter Caland put forward his plan to cut through the ridge of dunes at the Hook of Holland so as to give the river Rhine an artificial estuary. On 9 March 1872, Richard Young sailed the first ship along the New Waterway.

The construction of this new link with the sea more or less coincided with the end of the Industrial Revolution. The introduction of the steam engine led to large-scale development of the steel industry, especially in the German Ruhr region. The iron ore for this purpose came via Rotterdam that up until the Second World War developed into the most important transit port for Germany. Eighty per cent of the cargo in the port concerned goods in transit to or from our German neighbors. The city and port grew considerably. While in 1795 Rotterdam had a mere 53,000 inhabitants, in 1850 it had a population of 85,000, in 1895 around 220,000 and in 1910 approximately 418,000.



Admirality-wharf 'De Maze'.

Sight on the river and the city.

Ship building.

The river 'Maas' 1841


1920 - 1940: Excavation Waalhaven and set up of the RMPM
At the beginning of the last century the port substantially expanded. A whole series of harbors was constructed by the municipal authority. One of the biggest achievements was the excavation of the Waalhaven (1922). With a water surface area of 219 hectares, it was then - and is still today - the biggest excavated harbor in the world.

The Rotterdam Municipal Port Management was set up in 1932. It was essential to tackle the development of the port more purposefully and systematically. This was largely dictated by the failure of negotiations concerning the establishment of the American Ford automobile factory and the construction of storage sites for fertilizer from the French potash mines.

The Rotterdam Municipal Port Management consisted of the Port Authority and Pilotage Service headed by the Harbour Master, an economic department led by an administrator and a department immediately under the director in which the Municipal Commercial Sections, the lease of sites and quays and the development of the port expansion plan together with maintenance of the requisite technical documentation were placed.




The 'Nieuw Amsterdam' of the Holland America Line





1945 - 1965: Europoort and the Maasvlakte
Ships were constantly increasing in size by the late 1950’s. One of the factors behind this change was the political instability in the Middle East. In 1956, Egypt closed the Suez Canal. The implication of this was that ships were forced to sail around the South African cape. This and other factors made it worthwhile to increase the capacity of ships like oil and petroleum product tankers. At the same time, in 1957 Rotterdam was benefiting from the formation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the current European Union. To maintain an advantageous position in the member states, companies from outside the EEC, including American companies, considered establishing operations in Europe. From the second half of the 1950’s, many large, mostly multinational, corporations were on the lookout for new business property in politically stable areas and on deep water. The search was intensified not only for lots for cargo handling but sufficient space for industrial activities, including the (petro)chemical sector as well.

The Port Management realized that after the completion of the Botlek project even more new industrial zones had to be created near the sea. In 1956, the Port Management submitted a plan to the city council for the construction of Europoort. The go-ahead came in November 1957. In contrast to the Botlek project, the acquisition of the necessary agricultural lands proceeded with less difficulty. Before long, in 1960, the first oil tanker moored in Europoort. The realization of the new district took place in three phases. The complex would contain large lots for (petro)chemical operations and what would become the 4th through 7th Petroleumhaven, Beneluxhaven and Dintelhaven as well. The Calandkanaal gave Europoort its own connection to the sea.


Picture by vandeneijk.com

The demand for land continued unabated into the early 1960’s, so much so that where necessary, building permits were issued in as little as 24 hours. The expansion placed heavy demands on the Port Management’s engineering department. Designs for new port facilities needed to be constantly adjusted to keep up with the requirements of the ever-growing tankers. In 1964, the Port Management received a congratulatory telegram from the Port Authority of New York. With a cargo handling volume of 96 million tons, Rotterdam superseded New York in 1962 as the world’s biggest port, and has managed to hold this position to this very day.

Although Europoort was not even completed yet, The Netherlands Department of Public Works conferred with Rotterdam regarding the construction of the dams needed for the Maasvlakte in 1965. The Maasvlakte is the port’s most recent completed expansion project, having increased the port and industrial area by 3,000 hectares to 10,000 hectares. In contrast to all previous expansions, the Maasvlakte is land reclaimed from water rather than land dug out to create water.


1966 - today: The arrival of the container
The portscape was gradually undergoing transformation when the container entered the scene in the mid-sixties. The first container ship arrived in Rotterdam on 5 May 1966: the m.s. Fairland with 226 containers on its deck. The container revolution led to the setting-up of ECT, the Europe Container Terminus, with its Home Terminal in Eemhaven. Container traffic developed rapidly. By 1968, the port of Rotterdam was handling around 65,000 containers (TEU), in 1969 121,000 and in 1971 around 250,000. The 1 million milestone was achieved in 1978 and by 1986 2 million containers has passed through the port of Rotterdam. By 2000, this figure had increased to 6.5 million TEU. Most of these are handled on the Maasvlakte at the ECT Delta Terminals.

The most important activities of the port currently take place close to the North Sea, 40 kilometers from the center of Rotterdam. More than half the port’s total transhipment takes place there on the Maasvlakte. Now, the port and industrial complex of Rotterdam is one of the most important petro-chemical centers in the world, along with Houston and Singapore. The port leads the way in the transhipment of oil, oil products, containers, fruit, coal, ore and scrap metal.

future >> Maasvlakte 2 expansion.

[Nemo]

Agreement on funding port expansion
The State, the municipality of Rotterdam and Port of Rotterdam have today concluded an agreement on financing for the construction of Maasvlakte 2,the plan to expand the port of Rotterdam. The construction of Maasvlakte 2 will cost € 2.575 billion. According to the agreement, the State will take a 33.3 percent interest in Port of Rotterdam as of 1-1-2006. Port of Rotterdam CEO Willem Scholten: “This a an extremely important agreement. The expansion will give businesses the opportunity to grow in Rotterdam. Maasvlakte 2 will be an excellent location. Right on the sea, and with good hinterland connections. Construction can start in 2006 and the first sites will be available for clients in 2010. That will be in time– in conjunction with the

current increase in capacity on Maasvlakte 1 –to accommodate the ongoing growth in Rotterdam.” Maasvlakte 2 will be constructed in the North Sea, immediately to the west of the current Rotterdam port area. It consists of 1000 ha of commercial sites, for container handling, chemicals and distribution. Maasvlakte 2 will be able to welcome the largest of ships, whatever the circumstances. With this expansion, the Rotterdam port area will be enlarged with 20 per cent.The Port of Rotterdam CEO is also enthusiastic about state participation in Port of Rotterdam: “This participation by the State is a sign of the port’s national importance”, according to Willem Scholten. The State will take a 33.3 percent share, by acquiring newly issued stocks to the value of € 500 million. The municipality of Rotterdam will retain the remaining 66.7 percent.

Maasvlakte 2 is part of Rotterdam Mainport Development Project. The aim of this project is to improve both the economy and the quality of life in the Rotterdam region. The two other components are the creation of a new 750 ha area around Rotterdam, devoted to nature and recreation, and a number of projects geared to making more intensive use of the existing space in Rotterdam’s port area. In the agreement, the State, the Municipality of Rotterdam, the Province of South-Holland, Rotterdam Metropolitan Area and Port of Rotterdam have reached an understanding on how all three projects will be financed. Investments in the new nature and recreation area, the projects in the existing port area and the compensation for damage to nature caused by the construction of Maasvlakte 2 total almost € 500 million.
Port of Rotterdam - 25-06-2004


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Euromax terminal
New Maasvlakte container terminal with approximately 1.7 million TEU-capacity.

The company Euromax, a joint venture between Europe Container Terminals (ECT) and P&O Nedlloyd, is developing a large new container terminal: Euromax Terminal. This new container terminal in Rotterdam will be situated almost directly on the North Sea at the Maasvlakte of Rotterdam. The development of the terminal takes place in phases and in close co-operation with the Rotterdam Port Authority. In phase 1 the terminal site will comprise approximately 77 hectare that will become operational in 2007. ECT and P&O Nedlloyd have reached agreement to develop a new container terminal in Rotterdam: EuroMax, a 50-50 joint venture, will become operational early 2004. The new terminal will be developed and operated on a site, adjacent to the crude oil terminal MOT, in the most north western part of the Maasvlakte. It will form an important part of the operations of P&O Nedlloyd in North West Europe.

In the initial phase the site will cover an area of 86 hectares. The quay length will comprise up to 950 metres of deep-sea quay wall and 275 metres of barge/feeder quay wall. Initially the deep- sea water depth will be 16.65 metres. The capacity will amount to approximately 1.7 million TEU moves per year. Total investment amounts approximately 500 million guilders. Eventually the size of the terminal will extend to 125 hectares, with a quay wall of at least 2.350 metres in length, a water depth of 19.65 metres and a capacity of at least 2.4 million TEU moves per year. The new terminal will have ultimately a work force of approximately 900 employees. EuroMax will provide on-dock rail facilities and will be directly connected to the international road- and rail-infrastructure. Although dedicated to P&O Nedlloyd, the terminal will also cater for business of its alliance partners and third parties. In future shipping lines will be able to choose between different providers of terminal operations at the Maasvlakte area. Capacity at the existing ECT's Delta Terminal at the Maasvlakte would be fully utilised by 2006. EuroMax will create enough room for further growth until Maasvlakte 2 becomes available.

Commenting on behalf of P&O Nedlloyd, Director Rutger van Slobbe said: We are delighted that P&O Nedlloyd will now have a dedicated terminal in the port of Rotterdam which is a major hub of our operations in North West Europe. It represents an important step towards our goal of securing greater direct control of our terminal services and costs. ECT's president Carel van den Driest said: This 50-50 joint venture with P&O Nedlloyd perfectly fits in ECT's policy to fully focus its resources the coming period on strengthening its position in Rotterdam. In addition EuroMax will ensure room for growth for current and new customers on the Delta Terminal for many years to come.

[Nemo]

EON power plant on the Maasvlakte

The core of the production park at E.ON Benelux is formed by the coal-fuelled
Maasvlakte power station and the combined heat and electricity generators
(WKC) Galileïstraat and RoCa3. The two-unit Maasvlakte power station is
notable for the very high level of availability realised for this type of unit.
Availability is the number of hours per year during which electricity can be
produced in relation to the total number of hours per year. Unit 1 is listed in
the Guinness Book of Records, with 13,000 hours non-stop production.
These results are realised thanks to the combined input of Energy
Engineering Services, Production and Maintenance.

The design of the power station also makes it ideal for additional fuelling with
a range of liquids and solids. At present biomass is already being used for this purpose.

From the environmental angle the design takes account of ending the
ancillary effects of using coal to generate electricity. Key measures to
protect the environment as much as possible include roofing over the
conveyor belts to avoid dust, removing fly ash from flue gases before these reach the
atmosphere removal of the SO2 from the flue gases, and limiting
the maximum temperature of cooling water permitted for taking these out to sea.

Generation
The coal-fired power station on the Rotterdam Maasvlakte is E.ON Benelux's
biggest power station in the Benelux area. Originally it ran on natural gas and
heavy fuel oil. After conversion in the 1980s Maasvlakte is now the only 'coal-
dust fired' power station in E.ON Benelux. Reasons for using the cheaper (pit)
coal include: reducing dependence on oil and gas. However, where necessary both units can still switch to gas.

The units operate with a conventional steam cycle with single reheating and condensation.

Steam conditions:
Fresh steam
180 bar
540 C
1600 ton per hour at full rate

Reheated steam:
47 bar
540 C

Each unit has five powder mills that grind coal (180 ton per hour at full rate)
into fine powder, which is burned in the boilers in combination with air.
The heat released turns the water into steam. In turn, this steam runs the
turbine, which is linked to the generator (dynamo). The electricity generated
here is supplied to the grid, via a transformer, at 380,000 volts.

The two chimneys are 171.5 meter high.

[Nemo]

FIGURES


Best half year ever - huge container increase
Accelerated gowth

In the first half of 2004, 177 million tonnes of cargo was transhipped in the port of Rotterdam, 8 percent more than the first half of 2003. Outgoing trade increased more noticeably than incoming trade (6.7% and 11.6% respectively) and general cargo grew almost twice as fast (12%) as bulk cargo.

Only the amount of coal handled was down (2%) on the first half of last year. The other categories of goods grew: agribulk (+10.6%), ores and scrap (+7.6%), other dry bulk (+6.6%), crude oil (+5.3%), mineral oil products (+13.2%), other liquid bulk (+5.6%), roro (+5.5%), containers (+13.3%) and other general cargo (+7.8%). In numbers, container throughput increased by 12% to 4 million TEU (20-foot units). The prospects for throughput in the second half of the year are good.

Willem Scholten, Port of Rotterdam CEO: “Eight percent more throughput is unique. Such across-the-board growth has seldom happened before, if ever. The rise of China, in itself and as a catalyst for developments elsewhere, is playing an important role. The broad distribution points to more than this, however. In the past couple of years, investment has been heavier in the port than anywhere else in the Netherlands. And now it’s payback time. Investment pays”.

Dry bulk
The total quantity of dry bulk increased by 5% to 45 million tonnes. The upward movement in agribulk (grains, seeds, raw materials for animal feed) throughput that started last year is continuing: +11% to 5.4 million tonnes. This is due to the incoming trade in derivatives and tapioca for the mixed feed industry. Soya bean imports and grain exports fell. In the second half of the year, imports of tapioca will decline, so that annual results will probably be a little below the 2003 level.

About 250,000 tonnes less coal was handled. A few ships had to divert to other ports due to capacity problems. In addition, it is a tight squeeze for the very large ships, “capesizers”, and the smaller “panamaxes” are more often used. These can also be accommodated in rival ports. Due to start-up problems, the new EECV terminal was unable to compensate adequately. Throughput was down 2% to 11 million tonnes. In the second half of the year things are expected to improve again as a result of the increase in German imports and the return to service of the Amercentrale’s coal unit and the coal unloader at EECV.

Throughput figures for ores and scrap were almost 8% up, to 23 million tonnes. In the EU25, steel production increased by 3.5%. Demand is primarily from China, where there is also a great hunger for scrap. A significant negative indicator for the rest of the year, however, is the decline in German production of pig iron by 1.4%. Yet we can reasonably expect a slight increase in ore throughput for the year as a whole. Other dry bulk grew by 7% in comparison with the already excellent first half of 2003 (+15%), to 5.5 million tonnes. With production in the steel and chemical industry picking up, imports of minerals are also increasing further. Huge quantities of minerals arrive by “parcel service” from China and South Africa.

Liquid bulk
The total rose by 7% to 82 million tonnes. Incoming trade in crude oil experienced one of the best six-month periods in years, with an increase of 5% to 53 million tonnes. As in 2003, the refinery sector is doing good business: demand is high and margins are considerable. As no stops for maintenance work have been planned this year, annual throughput is expected to be 5 million tonnes higher.

Imports of oil products remained stable at 10 million tonnes, but exports rose significantly by almost 40% to 7 million tonnes. This can be attributed mainly to the transit trade in Russian fuel oil. Last spring, six VLCCs, each with a deadweight capacity in the region of 250,000 tonnes, set off with fuel oil destined for the Far East. For the lighter products, particularly petrol, the United States is the main destination.

The transhipment of other liquid bulk, mostly basic chemicals, was 6% up to 13 million tonnes. This is slightly higher than in the top years (for chemicals) 2000 and 2001, but results have actually been extremely good for the past five years. The Dutch Chemical Industry Federation expects a 4% growth in volume this year. This being the case, it is feasible that 26 million tonnes of liquid bulk could be handled.

General cargo
This sector had an extremely good first six months, with an increase of 5 million tonnes (+12%) to 50 million tonnes. In containers, imports were up by 13%, from 35 to 40 million tonnes. Both incoming and outgoing trade rose by about 13%. In numbers, this was in the region of 12%, to 4 million TEU (+500,000). The Far East is the motor behind the increase in container throughput. This is already creating a shortage of capacity at virtually every large terminal in Western Europe. ECT showed 20% growth – three times the expected rate – prompting it to take on extra staff and move forward investments.

In the second half of the year, total growth could increase due to the more intensive use of a number of deepsea terminals. Roll-on/roll-off increased by 5.5% to 5.5 million tonnes. A little more than half of this is outgoing trade. The increase is the result of the growth in trade between the UK and the continent. Cobelfret Ferries responded to this by increasing capacity to Purfleet. DFDS Tor Line decided to incorporate two calls in Rotterdam a week into its service between England and Sweden. Also related to England is the increase in the transhipment of cars: at the beginning of this year, Mazda entered into a contract with RCC/RCT for transit trade to Great Britain.

Due to a small 8% leap to 4.5 million tonnes, other general cargo returned to its 2000 level. New in 2004 were the “all weather terminals” from Gevelco (steel from Sweden and paper from Portugal) and DFDS Tor Line (new in paper, from Norway). These terminals will have a greater impact on the results in the second half of the year. In the first six months, LASH shipping (a lot of steel going out, paper, rice) to/from the United States and incoming trade in fruit and vegetables (+20%) from South Africa and South America also did well.


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FAMAS (First All Modes All Sizes)
The port of Rotterdam has a name to uphold when it comes to innovations in container throughput. As long ago as the nineteen-eighties, ECT developed an automated throughput system that became an example for terminals in Singapore, Hamburg and Antwerp. Twenty years on, it is time to go a step further. The increase in scale in container shipping is putting so much pressure on landside and seaward handling that it is questionable if the current terminal concepts will be adequate in the future. In addition, we have the opportunity to create the most ideal layout for a large ‘greenfield’ area, the Second Maasvlakte.

Flexibility and structure
The Port of Rotterdam (Havenbedrijf Rotterdam N.V.) has therefore taken the initiative for the FAMAS project: First All Modes All Sizes. This involves co-operation between authorities, businesses and knowledge institutes (see participants downbelow). The aim is to develop a new generation of container terminals, service centres for hinterland transport and inter-terminal transport systems for Maasvlakte 2.

Three peninsulas
The starting point is that Maasvlakte 2 will process 5.4 million TEU in 2020 and have a final capacity of 8.6 million TEU. Maasvlakte 1 will have reached its maximum capacity of 8.7 million TEU in 2020. In addition, a number of performance indicators were devised. Simulation studies subsequently produced the desired layout for Maasvlakte 2. FAMAS aims at three peninsulas, instead of one long quay. This produces the best possible ratio between quay length and terminal site. The ships berth in inlets, on the long side of the terminals. For nautical reasons, the side along the main fairway remains free. The key question when designing the peninsulas is: central or decentralised handling of the different modes of transport to the hinterland? In the compact variant, all modes of transport are handled within the terminal gates, in the distributed variant, only trucks. For rail and inland shipping, there are service centres nearby. In between is the combi variant, in which trucks and barges are handled. All three variants deal with trucks in their own way. There are therefore no separate provisions for a service centre. Although the share of trucks is declining , to 37% on Maasvlakte 1 and 2 by 2002, separate handling still produces too many inter-terminal movements.

Compact organisation: all modes of transport on the terminal
As the compactly designed peninsulas handle all modes of transport, the number of inter-terminal movements is low (1.4 million containers). It is also possible to exchange containers rapidly between the modes of transport because they all come close to the central stack. The planning of specific facilities at the terminals does, however, produce a lower space-productivity ratio: about 20,000 TEU per hectare a year. The modes of transport to the hinterland must also call at several terminals and more infrastructure is needed to provide access to all sea terminals for road, rail and inland shipping. For the latter, there is a separate quay at the end of the inlet. The compact model is most suitable for shipping companies wishing to plan and check their own operations.

Distributed organisation: truck-handling only on the terminal
By making use of specialised rail and inland shipping service centres, the sea terminal achieves a higher site-productivity ratio (30,000 TEU per hectare a year). The quay and crane productivity ratio is also higher as the chance of disruption to loading and unloading operations is more limited. This means lower costs for the terminal operator, but also for the hinterland carriers because they do not need to call at as many terminals. On the other hand, the number of inter-terminal movements is large and containers are available later. This concept also relies heavily on the quality of the advance information on the destination.

Combi organisation: barge- and truckhandling on the terminal
As trains are not dealt with at the terminal, the hybrid form offers a fairly intensive use of space. The number of inter-terminal movements remains at a manageable level: if all peninsulas are designed according to the combi principle, 2.5 million containers.

Combi layout Maasvlakte 2
It is theoretically possible to apply the same organisation to the three peninsulas. If you only choose the distributed variant, you get over five million terminal movements a year. In other words: five hundred containers are permanently on the move on the internal tracks. This might well be done using automated vehicles, but does require two sets of triple tracks. There is not enough room for this. In the other two variants, two sets of double tracks are required, and that seems feasible. Choosing a compact layout for all peninsulas produces a lower space-productivity ratio and that translates into higher costs.

An evaluation was also held with market parties: a shipping company, a terminal operator and the three modes of transport to the hinterland. Depending on their position, there was a marked preference for or rejection of the two extreme variants. The combi variant received a positive assessment on all aspects. Based on this, together with the performance indicators, we are therefore assuming, in this phase, that all three peninsulas will be based on one variant. This provides optimum flexibility. In addition, there is a lot of freedom in terms of hinterland transport. Freight barges can be handled at the sea terminals or at a service centre. When handling trains, the choice is still open: at the terminal or at a separate rail centre. The picture presented here does not mean that the Second Maasvlakte will actually look like this. There is still a lot of freedom. It is the stevedores who ultimately decide what the terminals will be like. There are still enough uncertain factors too, for example regarding private access to the Second Maasvlakte from the sea, access for inland shipping and the location of a Distripark expansion.

Participants:
- Port of Rotterdam (Havenbedrijf Rotterdam N.V.)
- Europe Container Terminals (ECT)
- Ballast Nedam Engineering
- TNO
- Tebodin Consultants & Engineers
- Arcadis
- Connekt Kenniscentrum voor verkeer en vervoer
- Trail (The Netherlands Research School for Transport, Infrastructure and Logistics)


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EMO coal/ore terminal
The full service gateway for coal and iron ore

The deepwater EMO transhipment terminal, located at the Maasvlakte Rotterdam, is an outstanding feature in the dry bulk sector. With unrivalled flexibility this efficient, highly-geared facility accommodates the largest ore and coal carriers active in ocean trading. At the same time it provides sensitive handling for cargoes in smaller sea-going ships, including coasters.
It also emphasises enhanced, client specific services such as blending, processing and screening. Against competing ports in the Le Havre/Hamburg range Rotterdam has a dominant share of the dry bulk market. Annually it handles as much as 50 per cent of total iron ore traffic and 40 per cent of all coal traffic.Far most of the iron ore handled through EMO has its origin in Brazil. Most of the coal through the terminal originates in South Africa.
www.emo.nl

[Nemo]

The former unitcentre/hanno container terminal (now ECT)

Container Cranes Gantry Cranes Mobile Cranes
3 x Nelcon
2 x Liebherr
2 x Liebherr

Span 20,00 20,00 -
Back reach 16,00 15,25 45,00
Out reach 43,00 45,00 45,00
Spreader height ab. quay 30,00 33,00 40,00

SWL, under rope - - 100 tns
SWL, under twinlift - 48 tns -
SWL, under single lift 38,1 tns 40,0 tns 38 tns

Terminal Area 330.000 m2
Quay frontage 1.500 metre


[B]see[:B] www.containershipping.nl


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P&O North Sea Ferries / Stena Line (to Hull and Harwich)

PRIDE OF ROTTERDAM (P&O NSF) Europoort to Hull.


The Pride of Rotterdam (along with its sistership the Pride of Hull) is one of the world's largest ferries, working the route between the ports of Hull and Rotterdam. The construction of the ferries was carried out at Fincantieri's Marghera yard in Venice. The Pride of Rotterdam took less than 14 months to build. The Pride of Rotterdam has an overall length of 215.1m (203.7mbp) and a moulded beam of 31.5m. It has a design draught of 6.05m and a 9.4m depth to main deck. It also has a gross tonnage of 59,925t, making it the biggest ferry in the world in terms of gross tonnage. It has a design deadweight of 8,800t and a scantling deadweight of 10,350t.

PRIDE OF ROTTERDAM FACILITIES
The facilities are based over twelve decks. The main public rooms and services centre around atrium area on Decks 8 and 9. Deck 8 incorporates the bureau de change, continental café and cyber cafés, shops and a children's area, as well as the hotel facilities reception. Dining facilities are located aft.he entertainment facilities include a casino, Irish bar, two cinemas and a double-deck show lounge. Deck 9 boasts a fully equipped business centre, wine bar and a la carte restaurant. There as also a lounge bar and restaurant exclusive to freight drivers. Decks 8 and 9 are connected by processional staircases port and starboard, while all the connecting decks are accessed by a main stairtower. The Pride of Rotterdam has 546 cabins with a total of 1,376 beds. Passenger cabins are forward on Decks 8 and 9 and aft on Deck 7, as well as being located throughout Deck 10. The vessel is managed by a crew of just 141, whose accommodation is on Deck 11. At the base of the funnel on Deck 12 lies a multi-functional sky lounge - the only public space - designed for access to the teak-planked sun decks outside. This sky lounge also serves as a piano bar and breakfast area.

Vehicles
For speed of turnaround, the car deck is accessed through a side entrance in the ship and consequently separated from the main freight deck entrance. The 2.7m-high car deck is designed to accommodate 250 cars, caravans etc. The freight capacity of the Pride of Rotterdam is 3,345 lane metres. These freight decks are accessed via an 18m-wide by 12.5m-long stern door/ramp from Hamworthy KSE. The main deck is completely flat for the easy loading of trailers. On boarding, the vehicles travel up one side of the vessel, turn in the spacious bow area, and then proceed back towards the stern on the other side. On Deck 3, a total of 1,483 lane metres (3.1m wide, 7m high) can be employed, while on Deck 5, the upper trailer deck is accessed via two Ham worthy KSE hoistable ramps, giving a further 1,560 lane metres. Each ramp is 58m long and 3.4m wide. While the deck is 4.8m in height, it is open aft, permitting the carriage of hazardous cargo. At the aft end of Deck 7 there is an exclusive area for drivers, featuring 14 single and 39 double cabins.

FERRY PROPULSION
The ferry is powered by four Wärtsilä NSD 9L46C engines, delivering a total output of 37,800kW at 500rpm. The ferry also has two Wärtsilä 9L32 auxiliary engines, giving an output of 4,050kW at 720rpm. The engines are linked via Schelde reduction gear to two Lips highly skewed propellers measuring 4.9m in diameter. This gives the vessel a service speed of 22 knots. The ferry is manoeuvred by two Fincantieri 2,000kW bow thrusters.
http://www.ship-technology.com/projects/rotter/


STENA DISCOVERY (Hook of Holland - Harwich)



STENA HSS
*The world's largest fast ferry
*The fastest direct route to Holland
*99 minutes from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire
*105 minutes from Stranraer to Belfast
*3 hours 40 minutes from Harwich to the Hook of Holland

The Stena HSS (High-speed Sea Service) is the flagship of the Stena Line fleet and is available on three routes. Powered by jet engines and equipped with the latest cutting edge marine technology, it cuts conventional journey times in half and has a unique hull design which holds the vehicle and passenger decks eight metres above water, giving a smoother crossing than any other fast ferry. This, combined with the wide choice of leisure facilities including shops, bars, restaurants and lounges, means your experience on board will be second to none.

-Gross tonnage: 19 638 t
-LOA: 127 m
-Beam: 40 m
-Draught: 4.8 m
-Speed: 40 knots
-Ship type: High speed catamaran
-HSS 1500 (High-speed Sea Service)
-Passenger capacity: 1 500
-Car capacity: 375
-Freight capacity: 50 x 16 m trailers
-Built/last rebuilt: 1997
-Shipbuilder: Finnyards, Finland
-Port of registry: Hoek of Holland
-Flag: Netherlands
-Owner: Stena Line
-Engines: 2 x GE LM 2500 + 2 x GE LM 1600
-kW/horsepower: 73 529 kW/ 100 000 hp
-Propulsion: Waterjets

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kloosterboer

Kloosterboer Delta TerminalIn May 2004 this cold-store will start operating with a capacity of 62.000 pallets, supported by four automatic cranes. The greater part of the products handled are French fries and other potato related products. But other sorts of products (provided the pallets are piled correctly) can be handled as well. The in- and outtake of the products are fully automated.

[Nemo]

ROTTERDAM BREAKS THROUGH 350 MILLION BARRIER
30-12-2004

(After 40 years, Rotterdam is no more the Worlds No.1 - surpassed by Shanghai. It still is by far Europe's largest port.)

STATISTICS


Exceptional growth

In 2004, the port of Rotterdam succeeded in breaking through the 350 million ton barrier. Cargo throughput totalled 354 million tons, 8% more than in 2003.

This means that last year’s record was surpassed by 26 million tons. This increase is thanks to the transhipment of coal (+7%), ores and scrap (+5%), other dry bulk cargo (+10%), crude oil (+4%), oil products (+22%), roll on / roll off (+5%), other general cargo (+7%) and containers (+16%). Container throughput rose by 16% from 7.1 million TEU in 2003, to 8.2 million TEU. The throughput of other liquid bulk cargo remained stable while agribulk throughput fell (-2%). Both total bulk cargo (+6%) and total general cargo (+14%) increased. Total imports rose by 7%, over 17 million tons, to 273 million tons. Exports increased by 12% to 81 million tons. The total growth is four times higher than the annual average of the highest long-term growth model. Only once has annual growth been higher: 11% in 1979.

According to the newly appointed chief executive officer of the Port of Rotterdam, Hans Smits: "In 1979, more than two-thirds of the 29 million ton increase came from crude oil. The increase now is more widely distributed and it can be justifiably said that in the space of just one year we have achieved an increase in throughput that is more than the total throughput of a middle sized European port. We are now seeing a better balance in the levels of bulk cargo and general cargo. In one or two years’ time, containerised cargo is likely to overtake even crude oil as the largest cargo sector. This strengthening of our position in general cargo, containers, ro/ro and other general cargo also had a favourable impact on our market share in Western Europe". Mr. Smits has the following to say on the impact of the emergence of China: "This factor is sometimes said to be most important cause, but I see it more as a catalyst in a much more complex process. What is taking place there is highly relevant, but the decisive fact is the way in which we respond to it".

Dry bulk cargo
The decline (-2%) in coal throughput in the first half-year was transformed into an increase (+7%) for the year as a whole. The result, 26.4 million tons, is in fact a record. There were initially capacity and technical problems at the terminals. These were largely solved and the sector then enjoyed an exceptionally good second half-year with throughput of 15 million tons. The basis for this was the increase in German imports, the re-opening of the Amer power plant and better distribution of the ships.
Agribulk was unfortunately unable to continue the good level it achieved in 2003. The first half-year was still excellent (+13%) thanks to the import of raw materials (especially tapioca) for the mixed feed industry. In the months that followed, throughput rapidly declined: stocks had been replenished and there was a lack of outgoing cargo due to low EU grain stocks.

The increase in throughput of ores and scrap, up to a total of 42 million tons, rose more or less parallel with the increase in EU steel production (first 10 months): around 5%. The demand for steel in 2005 is expected to remain stable. Where Rotterdam is concerned, the approaching closure of a blast furnace in Liege may lead to a decrease in ore throughput.

Another 1 million tons (+10%, to a total of 11.6 million tons) of other dry bulk cargo were handled. As in 2003, important mineral processing sectors such as the building, paper and metal industries, chemicals (paint, rubber, plastics) continued to use more raw materials despite higher prices. The "parcel services" (for part cargoes) have been operating successfully and the 16% increase in exports indicates a strengthening of Rotterdam’s hub function for other ports.

Liquid bulk cargo
Crude oil imports (+3%, +3.3 million tons to a total of 103 million tons) were the highest since 1980. Despite high oil prices, refinery margins remained at a very good level and the refineries operated at full capacity without technical stops. The plants in Rotterdam have been radically modernised and can consequently also process cheaper (heavy) oil. An important source of this is Saudi Arabia which increased its production. In addition, there is a shortage of refinery capacity, particularly in the USA, while the demand for petrol is increasing. In Europe there is a growing demand for diesel. The result of this is disruption to regional balances that were compensated for by very active imports and exports, as much as 40%, of oil products. This led to a total of more than 33 million (+22%). The transhipment of Russian fuel oil to Asia was mainly concentrated in the first half of the year. Later on, the price difference with Asia was not sufficient, with high transport costs. Other liquid bulk cargo, chemicals (approx. 80%), oils and fats (approx. 18%), fruit juices (approx. 2%), has shown a rising trend since the early eighties. This sector has in fact experienced top years right from 1999 and since the record year in 2000 has repeatedly achieved 25 million tons. This was also the case in the past year, in which product throughput declined towards the end of the year.

General cargo
Containerised cargo handling rose in comparison with 2003, from 71 to 82 million tons. Growth in incoming containers is slightly higher (19% compared with 14% outgoing) and was higher in the second half-year than in the first. Expressed in TEUs (units of 20 feet), the increase was 15.5%, to a total of 8.2 million TEU (+1.1 million TEU). Rapidly growing countries and regions are Central and South America, particularly Brazil, (an increase of some 40%) and China. In 2004, this country supplanted the United States as the second container country for Rotterdam. The United Kingdom continues to be number one thanks to the stable development of short sea transport and the increase in feeder transport on the east coast of England. The Baltic region is thereby also becoming an increasingly important European destination. Many containers return empty from the Baltic and go back to Asia via Rotterdam. The increase in throughput of full and empty containers is consequently similar: around 15%. Container handling capacity in Rotterdam is being increased. In the second half of last year, a start was made on the extension (+ some 250.000 TEU) to the Rotterdam Shortsea Terminal in the Eemhaven area. Just recently, the EU gave the go-ahead for the construction of a completely new deep sea terminal, EuroMax on the Maasvlakte, with an annual capacity of 3 million TEU.

Roll on / roll off traffic is steadily growing, this year by 5% to a total of 11 million tons. The increase in imports from the United Kingdom and Scandinavia was slightly bigger, just over 5%, than that of exports to the UK (just over 4%). All the ferry companies active in Rotterdam - DFDS Torline, Cobelfret, Seawheel, P&O NSF, Stena Line – made a profit. The same applied to imports, in tons, of paper products on ro/ro ships (+7%) and cars (+23%), of makes including Mazda and Cadillac
Other general cargo continues to grow: + 7% to a total of 8.8 million tons. This is mainly attributable to exports (+14%, imports +3%). The most important growth areas were in goods carried in LASH ships (a great deal of iron, steel, paper and rice), imports of steel from Sweden via the Gevelco all weather terminal and imports of forest products from Norway via the DFDS Tor terminal. Throughput of metals is dull. As a result of the high demand for aluminium, copper, zink etc., there is less need for intermediate storage, one of the strong points of Rotterdam. Fruit and vegetable throughput fell by a few percent and fluctuated around a million tons. Due to the joint venture agreement between Seabrex (Rotterdam) and Kloosterboer (Vlissingen), the port lost around 80,000 pallets (=tons) of fruit. Throughput of project cargo (large machines, complete factories) is on the increase and is being extra stimulated by the Port of Rotterdam.

[Nemo]

COMMISSION CLEARS ECT AND P&O NEDLLOYD JOINT VENTURE TO CREATE NEW ROTTERDAM CONTAINER TERMINAL

23-12-2004 15:35:00


The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the creation of Euromax, a joint venture between Europe Container Terminals ("ECT"), the main operator of terminals in the port of Rotterdam, and the container liner shipping company P&O Nedlloyd ("PONL"). Euromax will develop and operate a new deep-sea container terminal in the Port of Rotterdam. The Commission has concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the EEA or any substantial part of it and has therefore approved the concentration.

The parent companies of Euromax operate in vertically related markets. ECT is part of the Hutchison group, which holds interest in various sectors including port terminals. The Hutchison group has a significant presence in the market for deep-sea container terminal services for hinterland and transhipment traffic in the Netherlands (Rotterdam) and the United Kingdom (Felixstowe and Thamesport). P&O Nedlloyd, as one of the leading containerised liner shipping companies, is an important customer of these services.

The new terminal operated by Euromax, expected to be operational by 2008, will increase the number of terminals controlled by ECT in the port of Rotterdam. By acquiring joint control over Euromax, PONL follows a general industry trend of carriers investing in container terminals. The Commission has therefore assessed the effects of the transaction in both the container terminal and the containerised liner shipping markets.

The Commission's investigation concluded that the creation of Euromax would not substantially alter the current position of ECT vis-à-vis its main competitors, who are also expanding their terminal capacity to meet the growing demand in Northern European ports.

The creation of Euromax will not lead to vertically-related markets being closed off. After the entry into service of the new Euromax terminal, which will represent less than 10% of the capacity in the Northern European market, containerised shipping liner companies will still have enough capacity from other terminals at their disposal. Likewise, the fact that PONL will use Euromax as its main terminal will not substantially eliminate the current customer base of other port terminals.

Port of Rotterdam
23-12-2004

[Nemo]

Interforest Terminal Rotterdam has a new container terminal

Interforest has arranged with the Port of Rotterdam to be the first to know when stevedore ECT disposes of the Noordland part of its Home Terminal, which it is expected to do early in 2010. This would give Interforest the opportunity to have a new nine hectare site and almost five hundred meters of additional quay in the Prins Willem Alexander harbour.

This long-term development still depends on several factors. ECT is expected to have less need for transhipment at the Home Terminal with the arrival of the Euromax terminal on the Maasvlakte. Interforest Terminal Rotterdam (ITR) Managing Director Bob de Lange emphasized that the arrival of the site would mean having to find additional cargo flows. "More is needed here than autonomous expansion alone." The site occupies approximately one third of the ECT Home Terminal. The stevedore has so far operated with four container cranes.

ITR has officially taken the new container terminal with ship-to-shore gantry into use in a ceremony on Friday 8th October 2004. The Rotterdam alderman with responsibility for the port, Wim Van Sluis, has officiated at the opening. The first vessel on the new service operated by shipping company Star Shipping from Bergen in Norway arrived Friday 1st October and departed again on Saturday 2nd. Mr De Lange says that everything went smoothly. "We are satisfied. We achieved 26 moves an hour, which is not bad for the first time. We also had the opportunity to test our computer system from Cosmos, which controls the terminal operation."

Star Shipping calls at the terminal with its Atlantic and Mexican Gulf container service, which docks twice every ten days. A five-year contract has been signed. The new container terminal has a capacity of 100,000 teu a year, of which approximately 90,000 teu is now used. The company is leasing a 6.5 hectare former ECT site from the Port of Rotterdam where it has five hundred meters of quay available. The depth along the quay is 13.60 meters. ITR guarantees 12.65 meters. The total investment in the terminal will be approximately 14 million euros. ITR sites now a total of 18 hectares. ITR has also reached agreement with the Port of Rotterdam on leasing a new site of one hundred by three hundred meters with one hundred meters of quay as of the 1st of January 2007. This area, which is adjacent to the terminal, is intended for building a warehouse for paper, for which the plans have already been drawn up. ITR can also use the additional space for expanding its container transhipment.


First a few facts about the new container terminal:

it has a capacity for 100,000 TEU
total size is 65,000 square meters
ITR guarantees a berthing depth for ships of 12.65 meters
a total of € 14 million has been invested
the terminal complies with the ISPS Code

At Wednesday 29th September 2004 ITR published a press release detailing information about the new terminal itself. It also explains the purposes of the new terminal and gives you finally the announcement about Friday 8th October 2004 when Chairman of the Board of the Port of Rotterdam and alderman of the city of Rotterdam Wim van Sluis officially opened the new container terminal.

We are proud to present to you a Bird's Eye view of our terminal.

[EuroMaster]

amazing!!!! what a harbour!!!!

[Bond James Bond]

Awesome thread!!!

Y'know, I almost think mega-industrial stuff like this is cooler than skyscrapers. This port is like the coolest thing in the world!

[Nemo]

Maeslantkering: Flood Barrier Nieuwe Waterweg
Final masterpiece of the gigantic Delta-works that protect Zeeland and Holland.

The Netherlands is situated in a low delta close to the sea in which rivers like the Rhine and IJssel end.The history of our country is determinated by the struggle against the water. A large project has been undertaken which is the new flood barrier in the Nieuwe Waterweg called the Maeslant kering. (The New Waterway is the main entrance canal for ships to reach the harbours more inland. In fact, its the where the rivers Rhine and Maas (Meuse) reach the sea).

The flood barrier is a striking beacon in the Nieuwe Waterweg. It has two closing doors that in case of stormtide can shut off the entire 360 meters wide Nieuwe Waterweg. If there is an emergency situation,which is expected once in every ten years,then the doors are turned towards the water and sunk on a threshold on the bottom of the sea. One door is almost as big as the Eiffel tower which is 300 meters and in weight it is even 4 times as heavy. Never before has a flood barrier been built with moving parts that big.With the building of this barrier and some extra safetyworks in this area,it will be the final piece of the great Dutch Deltaworks to protect Holland from the water. The flood barrier will be operationel in 1997.



The BMK Barrier consists of two hollow semi-circular gates attached by means of steel arms to a pivotal point on both banks. One of the advantages of the BMK design in relation to the other designs is that of ease of maintenance, as the doors are positioned dry in and at the abutements during normal conditions.



If a water level of 3.00 metres above NAP is anticipated for Rotterdam the Storm Surge Barrier in the New Waterway has to be closed. In these circumstances the Storm Surge Barrier computer - the Command and Support System (Dutch acronym BOS) instructs the Control System (BES) to shut the barrier. The BES implements the BOS's commands. In the event of a storm tide, the docks are filled with water, so that the hollow gates start to float and can be turned into the New Waterway. Once the gates meet, the cavities are filled with water and the gates sink to the bottom, thus sealing off the 360 metre-wide opening. After the high water has passed the gates are pumped out and the structure begins to float again. Once it is certain that the next high water will not be another abnormally high one, the two gates are returned to their docks. When the New Waterway is sealed off it is no longer possible for shipping to pass. The storm-surge barrier will only be closed in extremely bad weather – in probability once every ten years. A test closure will probably be conducted once a year in order to check the equipment. This will be done when there is little shipping. With the rise in sea levels the storm-surge barrier will need to close more frequently in 50 years time, namely once every five years.



The two ball-joints are designed to ensure that the gates can move in all directions, both horizontally (when the gates are floated out) and vertically (upon submersion). In addition the gates must be able to ride up and down with the waves upon opening and closing. The only type of hinge capable of accommodating all these movements is a ball-joint. The ball-joint, which may be compared to a hip or shoulder-joint, must also be capable of transmitting the enormous pressure of the water on the gates to the foundation.


One of the immense ball-joints.

The ball-joint is not a perfect sphere but consists of various segments of a sphere or "shell elements": a forward shell, rear shell and a two-part under- shell. The steel sphere rotates in ten cast-steel pedestals: a large rear- pedestal, a smaller front-pedestal and eight small under-pedestals. The shells are attached to the concrete basin in the foundation by means of steel anchors. When the gate is being driven in, the hinge rests with the bottom shell on the under-pedestals. The sphere is not pressed into the rear shell until submersion and the water-pressure differential is taken up. The design of the hinge is based on two requirements. In the first place the hinge must be exceptionally reliable and solid. The other requirement was ease of inspection and maintenance after positioning. The steel plates in the core are separated so to provide room to walk. The hollow pedestals and spheroidal shells are separated at rest, while the ball- joint can also be jacked up from the pedestals. This design means that the shells and pedestals are readily accessible for maintenance and inspection purposes when at rest.

With a diametre of ten metres the ball-joints are more than three times as big as the largest ball-joint ever used. The pedestals and shells were manufactured in the Skoda factories in the Czech Republic, which had the necessary skills and machinery to manufacture parts of this size. The cast-steel was poured into moulds, after which the parts were finished on enormous turntables. The forces on the ball-joint are due in the first place to the pressure of the water on the retaining wall. Force may be exerted by the water coming in from the sea or alternatively by the water flowing out to sea. Secondly force is exerted by the own weight of the hinge and the weight of part of the trusses.




Hartel-barrier to protect another inlet to the Rotterdam port and mainland.(Esso/Exxon refinery on the background)


Easter Scheldt Barrier, Main barrier of the gigantic Delta-works.


For more info, visist the site of the Dutch Ministry of Transport here

[Nemo]

Rotterdam Car Terminal expanding.



Last year the Dutch Minister of Transport opened the second multi storey car park of the Broekman group. This happening took place in the port of Rotterdam at the Broekman Group’s terminal: Rotterdam Car Center. The building provides a storage capacity of 5.000 cars adding up the total storage capacity to 30.000 cars. Moreover the past few years Rotterdam has made huge investments to get Rotterdam back on the map as automotive port. The promotional activities of the Port of Rotterdam and the intensive acquisition of Broekman have led to new automotive traffic to Rotterdam. Sister companies Rotterdam Car Terminal and Rotterdam Car Center, both belonging to the Broekman Group handle yearly around 240.000 cars. From these 240.000 cars, 200.000 additionally get a value added activity. Less than eight years ago only 90.000 cars were handled in Rotterdam. Mr. Raymond Riemen, President of the Broekman Group, gave his thanks to the constructor and architect for their effort during the construction of this second parking warehouse in Rotterdam. He also announced officially the construction of a third multi storey car park, which will soon start. This building will have capacity for 6.500 cars and will be finalized spring 2005, realizing an even further growth
of employability.

[Nemo]

ECT Container terminals Maasvlakte expansion and investments.

270 million euros for accelerated expansion at the Delta.
In order to capitalise on the explosive growth in container handling, ECT is making rapid and substantial investments to expand terminal capacity in all kinds of ways. The first results are already visible, but much more is to come. By mid-2006 the company will be able to handle 3.5 million containers at the Delta Terminal -half as many again as now.
ECT director Jan Gelderland: "Over the coming years we, and with us our costumers, were assuming an average growth in container handling of 8 percent. In the first half-year of 2004, however, we at ECT were up 23 percent. We had already drawn up plans for expansion, but now we've drastically shortened the time frame for implementation. In the next years we will be investing 270 million euros,s."

*Some 600 metres of new quay wall.
Directly linked to the present Delta Dedicated West Terminal (DDW) ECT will gain some 600 metres of new quay wall for handling large deep-sea vessels. The first 145 metres are already in intensive use. The remaining 427 metres will be realised in two phases of 200 and 227 metres respectively during the course of 2005.

*At leats twelve new quay cranes.
Six quai cranes of the DMU terminal are being upgraded and moved for handling the 8000+ ships. In addition ECT will order 6 entirely new quay cranes, with an option on a further two. By mid-2006, the south side of the Delta Terminal wil have a total of 28 quay cranes spread over 2.6 kilometers.

*Substantial increase in stacking capacity.
On the southern side of the Delta right next to the DDW new stacking lanes equipped with Automatic Stacking Cranes (ASCs) are being built at a rate of knots. Or, as Gelderland puts it: "Infra and steel are chasing each others heels. As soon as a stacking lane has been laid we put an ASC on it." The new ASCs can stack four high. The first two have been operational since this summer. Lane by lane more are being added. in total a further 33 stacking lanes are to come. Altogether there will be 54 new ASCs. Of these, 18 are destined for the DDN as replacements for the current ASCs, which can only stack two high.

*Other equipment.
Naturally ECT will also be investing in the expansion of its other equipment over the next two years. Among them; 83 new Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGVs), 17 straddle carriers, 24 Multi Trailer Systems and 5 Multi Trailer Tractors. Gelderland:"In addition, pending the introduction of new sofware we are already preparing our current systems on the Delta Terminal for dual cycling. With dual cycling, cranes can load and discharge containers simultaneously. The AGV which has moved the container to be loaded to the crane, stays under the crane in order to take the discharged container immediately back to the stack.

*More staff.
With a view to the fast growing container volumes, ECT recruited 100 new operational staff in the summer of 2004 and more will eb added in 2005.

www.ect.nl

[CborG]

Good work Nemo! very interresting thread!
i didn't know kijfhoek is that big

[Daccis]

Really nice! Everything is so god-damn huge .. Those flood-gates are especially impressive.

[EuroMaster]

yeah, that's huge!!!

[Nemo]

*** Interesting link: ship-world

[EuroMaster]

last time there where placed 6 big windmills for electricity on the entrance of the harbour. they where placed on the nordside of the maasvlakte. they are good lighted by flashing red lights. and either does the 160m high chimney of epn (?), chemical plant.

[EuroMaster]

last time there where placed 6 big windmills for electricity on the entrance of the harbour. they where placed on the nordside of the maasvlakte. they are good lighted by flashing red lights. and either does the 160m high chimney of epn (?), chemical plant.

[RafflesCity]

Rotterdam Port expansion plan to be revised

31 Jan 05



(AMSTERDAM) The port of Rotterdam will have to revise its expansion plans after the country's highest governmental advisory body said sand-extraction operations proposed in the plan may violate territorial law and have an undue environmental impact.


The Netherlands or the city of Rotterdam will probably need to submit a new proposal addressing these issues before the 2.6 billion-euro (S$5.5 billion) project can proceed, Pieter Beekman, a spokesman for the Council of State advisory panel, said in a telephone interview.

Rotterdam needs to expand to handle surging imports from China and prevent a loss of business to ports in Germany and Belgium.

The project will extend the 10,500-hectare port by 20 per cent into the North Sea. The port accounts for 2 per cent of the Dutch economy, or 8 billion euros a year.

'We may still have time to find solutions and make the necessary changes,' said Rotterdam Port spokesman Sjaak Poppe.

Work on the project isn't due to start until the second half of next year, he said.

The council questioned the legal basis of Dutch proposals to take sand from waters beyond the country's 12-mile territorial border, Mr Beekman said. The council also determined the proposals didn't properly examine the potential environmental impact of the planned sand-extraction on the protected Wadden Sea tidal flats on the country's northern coast.

The Dutch Ministry of Transport and Public Works declined to comment on the ruling, saying it was still 'working through' the decision, Lot van Hooijdonk, a ministry spokeswoman, said. - Bloomberg