THE NETHERLANDS | Port of Rotterdam

[Nemo]

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[sonia_weng]

Expecting the Port's H1 throughput statistics to release!

[Nemo]

Aerial port pictures made by @Rotterdam Highrise

Maasvlakte


Maasvlakte


EECV


Europoort, Q8 refinery


part of Shell Pernis refinery


RST/Container terminal Eemhaven

[sonia_weng]

very impressive!

[sonia_weng]

CONTAINER DETAILS FIRST 6 MONTHS 2005(teu)

in out total
2,372,000 2,207,000 4,579,000

[Nemo]

@SONIA
Thanks


GROWTH CONTINUES IN PORT OF ROTTERDAM >>stats<<

Container throughput exceptional
In the first half of 2005, 185 million tonnes of cargo were handled in the port of Rotterdam, 5% more than in the same period of 2004.
Outgoing trade increased more sharply than incoming trade, by 8% and 4% respectively, and general cargo was up 5%, almost double the growth in bulk.

There was less incoming and outgoing trade in agribulk (-7%), ores and scrap (-6%), crude oil (-2%) roll on /roll off (-9%) and other general cargo (-7%).

Transshipment figures for coal (+12%), other dry bulk (+13%), other liquid bulk (+5%), mineral oil products (+26%) and containers (+15%), on the other hand, were very positive. Expressed in numbers, container throughput increased by over 15% to 4.6 million TEU (20-foot units). It is the first time in over a decade that Rotterdam’s growth in containers has exceeded that of its closest rivals.

Hans Smits, Havenbedrijf Rotterdam CEO: “Growth continues at an unprecedentedly high level, certainly if we take into account the moderate macro-economic situation. This is noticeable, in the declining throughput of iron ore for instance, but, on the other hand, the increase in containers is exceptional and that in other dry bulk is notable. Containers, namely, carry a lot of consumer goods, and other dry bulk is very much linked with industry. All in all, I will stick to my prediction for the year as a whole, which I made at the end of 2004; total throughput up by between two and three percent and containers at least ten”.

Dry bulk
The total quantity of dry bulk remained stable at over 44 million tonnes. Throughput of agribulk (grains, seeds, animal feed ingredients) has been fluctuating around the 5 million tonnes for a few years now, with the odd high and low. In the past six months, imports of tapioca and soya beans fell, but exports of European grains increased sharply. Thanks to the grain surplus and export subsidies, throughput figures for agribulk will probably manage to stay at a good 10 million tonnes this year.

About 1.5 million tonnes more coal were handled. The EECV (cokes) coal terminal is starting to operate at full tilt and the capacity of the EMO is being better utilised, thanks to a more even distribution of incoming trade. This is increasing, since freight charges were halved at the beginning of this year. Importers have abandoned their wait-and-see attitude and are taking the opportunity to replenish stocks. Prospects remain favourable and annual results of 26.5 million tonnes seem feasible. Throughput of ores and scrap fell by 5% to 19 million tonnes. The European steel plants have reduced their production, due to rising stocks and in order to shore up steel prices. Moreover, the extremely high price of iron ore does not encourage stockpiling. A specific factor is the closure of Cockerill Sambre in Liege, which meant the loss of around 0.5 million tonnes for Rotterdam this year. On an annual basis, stabilisation of throughput at 42 million tonnes seems the highest figure feasible. Other dry bulk performed well again, up 13% to 6 million tonnes. Although growth in the steel and chemical industry is slowing down, large quantities of ores, minerals and concentrates were imported. In particular, floating transshipment on the buoys increased, thanks to the higher frequency of 'parcel services' from China and South Africa.

Liquid bulk
The total was 3% up, to 85 million tonnes. Incoming trade in crude oil fell slightly (-2% to 51 million tonnes) in comparison with the same period last year, which was unusually good. There is great demand for oil products and refining margins are good. These fundamental factors are keeping incoming trade in crude oil at a high level of 100 million tonnes or more. Any fluctuations are due mainly to maintenance shutdowns. This spring, Total Antwerp was idle for a while and one of the 10 refineries supplied via Rotterdam is set to follow suit. Consequently, annual throughput will be around the 101 million tonne mark. Incoming trade in oil products increased by 31% to 13 million tonnes and outgoing trade by 19% to over 7 million. In total, 21 million tonnes (+26%) were handled. Incoming trade in (fuel) oil from Russia is up again, as are imports of lighter products from the Middle East, for example. More and more refinery capacity is being concentrated in this region. Rotterdam’s sales of bunker oil to ships were 5% up. Throughput of other liquid bulk, mainly basic chemicals, increased by 5% to 13 million tonnes (outgoing trade -6%, incoming +11%). For the sixth year running, results are good. In the past six months, however, production by the Dutch chemical industry has decreased. On the other hand, imports of palm oil rose dramatically. Palm oil is being used more and more as a hardener in the chemical industry and as (secondary) fuel for power stations ('green fuel').

General cargo
The general cargo sector had a good first half year, with an increase of 5 million tonnes (+10%) to 55 million tonnes. This was due to the significant rise in incoming (+15%) and outgoing (+12%) containers. In terms of weight, throughput was 6 million tonnes up, to over 45 million tonnes. Expressed in numbers, this was 15.6% to 4.6 million TEU (+600,000). This continues to be driven by the Far East, Brazil and the Baltic. Although ‘feeder traffic’ to Great Britain increased, intra-European transport remained constant. Thanks to substantial and accelerated investments in manpower and material, the terminals coped very well with, what for Rotterdam, was an unprecedentedly high growth. In the second half of the year, growth is expected to slow down slightly. It is quite likely that the worsening macro-economic situation will have an effect and, in addition, more throughput capacity is gradually becoming available in Northwest Europe. Roll-on / roll-off transport was 9% down, at 5 million tonnes. This fall can be attributed largely to the conversion of a Seawheel ro/ro service into a container service. The other ferry companies report results between slightly positive and slightly negative. The trend in the handling of cars at Rotterdam Car Terminal and paper (on cassettes) is extremely positive.

Other general cargo had to surrender all its gains of last year: -9% to just over 4 million tonnes. With the exception of steel and forest products, activity was more moderate, particularly among the smaller stevedores and in incoming trade in fruit, which was actually very high during the first half of last year.

[The Cebuano Exultor]

Guys can anyone educate me on the Port of Rotterdam. How does the entire seaport area look like from a topview satellite image or a map? I'm curious how it looks overall. Thanks.

[Nemo]

@The C E

Port of Rotterdam in facts.
The port offers direct employment to around 60,000 people in Rotterdam as well as to an additional 250,000 people in the rest of the country. The direct gross added value of the port and industrial area amounts to 6.2 billion euro (in the year 2000). This is 1,7 % of the Dutch Gross National Product.

The port and industrial area spans 40 kilometers and runs from the city center to the North Sea. The accessibility for ships with a very deep draught (24 meters) and the excellent hinterland connections by water, road, rail and pipeline make Rotterdam an outstanding logistic hub.

In 2004, the port of Rotterdam succeeded in breaking through the 350 million ton barrier. This is almost as much as the numbers two, three and four in Europe – Antwerp, Hamburg and Marseille – combined!!.Most of the transhipment entails bulk goods such as oil, chemicals, coal and ores. Rotterdam in addition is Europe’s largest container port.

Rotterdam plays a very important role in the European import and export market. A significant percentage of the cargo coming into the port is processed in the port. Some examples are the refining of oil, the production of synthetic materials, the striping and stuffing of containers, the putting together of cargo packets et cetera. Then, the (semi-finished) products are moved to large industrial centers elsewhere and to some 350 million Europeans. The port in addition plays an important role in the export of products to European countries overseas and intercontinental destinations such as the United States and the Far East.

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http://www.portofrotterdam.com/about...tory/index.asp
For Port History.
(See also page 2 of this thread)

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http://www.portofrotterdam.com/about...view/index.asp
For Satellite look.

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http://www.portofrotterdam.com/about...ical/index.asp
For clickable up-to-date map.

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[sonia_weng]

Detailed facts and figures.

[Nemo]

On the way to a new record
2-8-2005
For the first time in years, Rotterdam is once again growing faster than its competitors. This year, the port of Rotterdam will tranship more goods than it did last year. This was announced yesterday, by H. Smits (Chief Executive of the Rotterdam Port Authority) during the presentation of the half-yearly results. Rotterdam – Last year’s prediction that Rotterdam would handle two to three percent more cargo over the whole of 2005 has been borne out. Mr Smits is counting on a growth of at least ten percent in the container sector. In the past six months, the port of Rotterdam has handled 185 million tons of goods. That was five percent more than in the first half of 2004. The growth was mainly in mineral oil products (+26 percent), containers (+15 percent), and coal (+12 percent). Then again, there was less roll on/roll off traffic (-9 percent), agricultural bulk and other conventional cargo (-7 percent), and ores and scrap (-6 percent).

In total, 4.6 million containers passed through the port of Rotterdam during the past six months. That represented an increase of fifteen percent. This is the first time in well over ten years that the port’s growth has exceeded that of its closest competitors. The driving forces behind this increase remain the Far East, Brazil, and the Baltic region. The feeder traffic to Great Britain increased, while intra-European transport remained constant. Major investments in personnel and equipment were brought forward. Thanks to this, Rotterdam’s terminals were able to cope with the unprecedentedly high level of growth in container traffic. This rate of growth is expected to slacken off a little in the second half of the year. The Port Authority thinks that it will probably start to feel the effects of the worsening economic situation. Furthermore, additional transhipment capacity is gradually becoming available in north-west Europe.

Yesterday, port boss Hans Smits expressed satisfaction about the figures.
“Growth remains at unprecedentedly high levels, certainly in view of the lacklustre macro-economic situation.'' That situation is making itself felt, however, in terms of the falling transhipment of iron ore. On the other hand, the increase in containers carrying large amounts of consumer goods is quite exceptional. Growth in the remaining dry bulk goods, which are strongly linked to industry, is remarkably high.''
© Rotterdams Dagblad


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China is now almost the largest business partner
The People’s Republic of China is approaching the United Kingdom as Rotterdam’s most important destination and country of origin for container cargoes. The Rotterdam Port Authority has calculated that, in the first six months of the year, China accounted for more than one million TEUs of container cargo from and (mainly) to Rotterdam. That was 175,000 TEUs less than the volume of cargo originating in, or destined for, Britain. 'Chinese' cargo volume grew by 46 percent. This growth was exceeded by other countries such as France (139 percent) and Russia (106 percent), due to a marked increase in feeder traffic.
© Nieuwsblad Transport

[Nemo]

edit

[Nemo]

Petroplus to build LNG terminal in Rotterdam
17-8-2005

Petroplus wants to invest several hundred million euros in a terminal for liquid natural gas (LNG) at the port of Rotterdam. The energy concern has already reached agreements on guaranteed throughput, the most important condition for the project to proceed, with five companies.

Petroplus' announcement yesterday coincided with confirmation from Vopak and Gasunie that they have initiated a feasibility study into the construction of an LNG terminal in Rotterdam. The Petroplus terminal could be operational by the end of 2009, the Vopak-Gasunie one year later.

The location being scouted by Petroplus for its ‘Lion Gas Terminal’ is Kop van de Beer in the Europoort area. Vopak and Gasunie are looking to build theirs on the opposite side of the Beerkanaal, at the north-western tip of the Maasvlakte. Meanwhile, the Port of Rotterdam Authority has two alternative locations in mind: the Vierde Petroleumhaven dock and an offshore site. The final decisions in this respect will depend in part upon an environmental impact assessment and planning procedures, which will take between 18 months and two years to complete. Both facilities have an intended capacity of 6 billion cubic metres. At that volume, each would have to receive one or two full LNG tankers every week. More than 100 vessels of this kind are currently on order, representing the equivalent of about 40 per cent of existing capacity. European demand for imported natural gas is set to increase sharply over the next few years – which, as Port Authority Commercial Director Ger van Tongeren made clear yesterday, is why Rotterdam is so keen to attract the new terminals. ‘A varied energy portfolio reinforces the port's competitive position,’ he said.

Also yesterday, the Port Authority revised its forecast growth in throughput to 2010 upwards. This year Rotterdam will tranship nearly 400 million tonnes of cargo, 25 million more than had hitherto been predicted in even the most optimistic scenario.

© Nieuwsblad Transport

[Nemo]

Even deeper into China
24-8-2005

Alexander Bakker

Rotterdam: stronger links with logistics decision-makers thanks to Shanghai

The Port of Rotterdam Authority this morning agreed an alliance with the Port of Shanghai. The Chinese city needs know-how about hinterland transport links, inland waterways in particular. Rotterdam does want to help it with that, but will mainly be using the partnership to penetrate deeper into Chinese logistical chains.

Rotterdam – Rotterdam and Shanghai have been a happy couple for more than 25 years. They already cooperate in many areas, but a Chinese request that they become twin ports as well as twin cities has been politely refused here.

There will be "no subtreaty within a treaty," explains Harry van de Braak, adviser to the Rotterdam Port Authority's Executive Board. After repeated Chinese requests, though, there is now to be an official partnership between the two ports. "But not as twins," emphasizes Van de Braak. Rather, he says, the "World Port Agreement" is a special partnership between two unique ports.

As in so many areas, China is seeking port-related knowledge. The Port of Shanghai – since the beginning of this year the world's largest in terms of throughput volume – wants to know more about hinterland transport links, and inland shipping in particular, so as to further open up to immense Yangtze River.

Port of Rotterdam Chief Executive Hans Smits and his Shanghai counterpart Xu Peixing formally agreed this morning that the two ports will work together in a variety of fields. In particular, Rotterdam is to help Shanghai with the knowledge it needs. In the other direction, the Dutch port is keen to benefit from business development. "Put simply," explains Saskia van Pelt, China Project Manager in the Strategy Department at the Port of Rotterdam Authority, "for us it is all about cargoes."

Rotterdam knows that it has to stand out in the fierce competition between the ports of north-west Europe. The main weapon it has chosen to do that is logistical chains. Through Shanghai, the Port Authority wants to open up new networks in that vital port's hinterland.

"The good thing about the alliance with Shanghai," continues Van Pelt, "is that it gives us as Rotterdam a link with the Chinese government. And that is a great advantage in establishing contacts with companies there. An official partnership like this opens doors much more easily."

"The Yangtze," adds Van de Braak, "is to Shanghai what the Rhine is to us. But much bigger. We want to push our contacts further upstream. Almost at the end of the Yangtze is the city of Chongqing, the centre of a urban area in which 25 million people live."

It has become clear to the Port Authority that decisions about the transportation of goods to Europe and elsewhere are increasingly being made inside China. "So it is important that we are able to speak to those decision-makers," says Van Pelt. "We have to explain to them that Rotterdam is the best route for exports to Europe. In the past there were just a couple of state companies that did all that, but now there are many more small logistical businesses. The challenge is to reach deeper into China in order to dispel the traditional wisdom there that the best way to reach Europe is through Hamburg. In those conversations we have to prove that a container destined for Frankfurt arrives there faster, and so cheaper, via Rotterdam."

At the same time, the Port Authority is going to explain to Chinese firms that it would be a good thing for them to open offices in Rotterdam. In particular, it is looking to major companies that could set their European distribution centers here. "Fiscally," says Van Pelt, "the Netherlands has a number of great advantages over other European countries at the moment." Other factors working in the city's favor include the fact that Chinese shipping lines are already showing an interest in investing in container terminals in the Maasvlakte 2 port area.

Of course, Rotterdam is not the only European port seeking to profit from China's dizzying economic growth. "But we have the advantage of a long-established relationship with Shanghai," explains Harry van de Braak. "And we are looking beyond that. In southern China there is the Pearl River delta, and in the north-east there are some interesting economic growth regions. But we will have to expand our physical presence there."

© Rotterdams Dagblad


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Shanghai and Rotterdam team up
25-8-2005

The ports of Shanghai and Rotterdam are to work closely together. The directors of the two port companies, Xu Peixing and Hans Smits, confirmed this undertaking by signing a World Port Agreement. Port of Rotterdam expects the collaboration with the port authority of Shanghai to provide it with better access to Chinese business. Shanghai is, in the first instance, primarily interested in Rotterdam’s knowledge in the field of hinterland connections, mainly inland shipping.

Shanghai and Rotterdam are both the largest and most prominent ports in their region, China and Northwest Europe. The two city administrations have enjoyed a sister-city relationship since as far back as 1979. In their agreement, the port authorities have undertaken to extend the co-operation and exchange of knowledge to cover such areas as port management and development, commercial activities, security and the use of ICT.

Hans Smits, CEO of Port of Rotterdam: “Signing the World Port Agreement is in line with the strategy to increase our market share in transport between China and Europe. Rotterdam already handles a large proportion of Chinese cargo but, in my opinion, it should be capable of attracting a larger share.” Traditionally, a lot of Chinese cargo has always travelled via Hamburg. Despite this, container traffic between China (People's Republic and Hong Kong) and Rotterdam was 46% up last year, to 1.4 million TEU and almost equals the Hamburg volume again.

On mainland China, Shanghai is the most prominent port of destination/arrival for containers to/from Rotterdam in 2004: 386,000 TEU. Chefoo (part of Yantai in the Shandong province in the north, near the port of Qingdao) ranks two with 246,000 TEU. From/to Hong Kong the 2004 volume is 421,000 TEU.
Port of Rotterdam

[Nemo]

Monitoring the Port of Rotterdam With GIS

The central control space of the Municipal Port Authority of Rotterdam (GHR) bears a resemblance to the space control centers of ESA or NASA.

When you enter the central control space of the Municipal Port Authority of Rotterdam (GHR) in the Netherlands, you might imagine yourself in one of the space control centers of the European Space Agency (ESA) or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The port area is visible on two large video screens--one displaying a contour map of an area approximately 40 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide and the other presenting an offshore zone stretching almost 60 kilometers into the North Sea. This Dynamic Port Map system shows the real-time shipping flow to help the port staff do its job. A large number of dots and crosses in various colors can be seen on the map, each of them with an arrow. The color coding provides information on the kinds of ships, the arrows indicate the direction of navigation of each ship, and each dot has a name.

The video walls are installed in the GHR's new office in the World Port Center at the Kop van Zuid situated in the center of the city of Rotterdam. The objective of this traffic control modernization is to further strengthen the competitive position of the port.

"Services provided in the port must be fast, safe, cost-effective, reliable, and environmentally friendly," says Rob Slegterhorst, acting as project leader of the Dynamic Port Map project. "We put GIS into action to achieve a free flow of the ships in the port." The GIS application is based on MapObjects software from ESRI.

Besides the colorful maps, various kinds of data are visible on the screen--depending on the needs of the traffic controllers--varying from a small outline of the nautical basic particulars to administrative particulars or, if necessary, even live television broadcasts of national or regional television channels. When a traffic controller clicks on an object, a large number of administrative details of that particular ship can be fetched from the underlying Oracle database and presented on the screen. This basic information is used both by the GIS and an expert monitoring system based on the Cleverpath Aion technology of Computer Associates (Islandia, New York). This system proposes scenarios and possible actions based on a number of decision rules (e.g., which ships, based on their freight, need a closer inspection such as for consignment notes, freight, and whether they meet the transportation regulations or not).

The central control space of the Municipal Port Authority of Rotterdam (GHR) bears a resemblance to the space control centers of ESA or NASA. (photos courtesy of the Port Authority of Rotterdam)

Getting the Overall Picture
All shipping traffic information in the GHR area is displayed on the screen via links with a number of radar posts. An arriving ship must announce itself from its position at sea, after which a cross bearing will be performed from three points. This is to determine the starting position of the ship as well as its identity.

"In the old situation, the traffic controllers of the Port Control Center (HCC) worked with what I call synthetic radar images," Slegterhorst says. "For example, in order to follow a ship, they looked at an adjusted radar image from which the rotating radar beam had been removed and under which a contour map had been placed. However, this only provided a limited view of the situation. The only information available was the location, speed, and size of the ship. If a traffic controller wanted more details of the ship, then he or she had to look for these relevant details in the administrative system."


The video wall in the Port Control Center (photos courtesy of the Port Authority of Rotterdam).
Shipping traffic guidance was divided into three sectors, each with its own traffic controller. "They passed the information of a ship on to each other," continues Slegterhorst. "But there was no place where all the information was brought together, so there was no complete overall picture of all the shipping traffic in the port."

An overall picture is not only relevant for improving ship movement in the port and enabling better planning for and utilization of the port's capacity, but it is also extremely important in case incidents occur. In case of harbor contingencies, GHR works with the fire and police departments, for example, in extinguishing a fire. Proper visualization of the port is an important way to improve the speed and quality of response. "In these situations, for example, it can be useful to present details on an aerial photograph," says Slegterhorst. "Previously, however, only the contour map was used as standard procedure."

The GHR now integrates two source systems through the Dynamic Port Map--the synthetic radar images and the administrative data in Oracle, which contains a large amount of data.

"What is different now is that we are able to present details on a map that are actually relevant to a normal situation. This results in a more complete view of the port, with only the mooring and sailing ships including their names and direction of navigation. This will be the same picture as the one we are showing on the video wall," Slegterhorst adds.

The video wall in the Port Control Center (photos courtesy of the Port Authority of Rotterdam

In Emergencies
In addition, this same application is also installed at the individual workstations of HCC staff members. They can zoom in on any area of the port to draw up a contingency plan. Also, in case of an incident, they can immediately zoom in on the area of the incident. An important advantage of the new approach is that both the police and fire departments have a central operations room in the same place where HCC is situated, so that everyone can look at the same data and presentation. This will prevent a lot of communication problems.

If HCC staff members want additional information--which is the main objective of the Dynamic Port Map--then there are two ways they can obtain it. First, some data from the system can be presented geographically on the basic map, although not all data at this time. It is also possible to access the map's administrative Oracle data in an attribute or information table that can then be presented together with the map.

According to Slegterhorst, "An important advantage of this environment, which was developed using MapObjects, is its capability to add extra functionality based on Visual Basic. GHR makes use of MapObjects software's standard library. A set of scripts enables users to fetch administrative data by simulating manual actions that the user would otherwise perform to obtain the data."

Free-flowing traffic is important for the port, but safety and environmental friendliness are perhaps even more important. Those ships having dangerous cargo on board especially can be sure they will receive the necessary attention.

Slegterhorst explains, "We use more than one system to find out what we have to inspect. The first is the administrative system, in which the data of the cargo, among other information, is recorded: where to find what? This will be recorded on the map using color coding. This, of course, is a very intuitive way of working. Where a concentration of light blue dots is indicated on the map, we know there are a large number of tankers. We then can fetch the data on the exact freight from the administrative system." The port also uses the Computer Associates' expert monitoring system, which proposes courses of action for the inspections based on a set of decision rules. Staff can check whether or not a ship must get a pilot on board and whether there are restrictions placed on the location where the ship is allowed to moor. Both the GIS and the monitoring system make use of the same underlying database.

In the near future when all ships have a GPS on board, almost all data concerning the ship and freight, as well as its direction and speed, will be available automatically. The input, both administrative as well as that for the video wall, will occur only once. Then binoculars, which are now still used in the control center, could well be stored away forever.

A version of this article appeared in Vi Matrix, the Dutch GIS magazine, Volume 10, June 2002. For more information, contact Jan Willem van Eck, ESRI Nederland B.V. (tel.: 31-10-217-0745, e-mail: info@esrinl.com, Web: www.esrinl.com).
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[Nemo]

FIRST TANKER ARRIVES AT LODERS CROKLAAN’S NEW PALM OIL REFINERY
First systems commissioned at Europe’s largest refinery

Last Sunday the first crude palm oil tanker arrived at Europe’s largest refinery on the Maasvlakte in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The tanker, from Malaysia, delivered the first 10,000 tonnes of crude palm oil to Loders Croklaan’s new refinery. The delivery marked the commissioning of the first section of the refinery, the tank park and the associated sub-systems. In achieving this milestone the construction of Europe’s largest refinery is proceeding in full accordance with the schedule. Loders Croklaan intends to make the first commercial delivery in October of this year. The tanker unloaded its cargo of 10,000 tonnes of crude palm oil at the refinery’s deep-sea jetty. The delivery filled 20% of the refinery’s total storage capacity of 50,000 tonnes. Further deliveries of palm oil scheduled until the beginning of November will bring the stocks to 100%. The arrival of the first palm oil marked the commissioning of the tank park and the start-up of part of the refinery, as a result of which all associated systems such as the heating, nitrogen and power-supply systems are now operational. In addition, the necessary process and quality assurance procedures have been commissioned.

Michael van Sallandt, the refinery’s Director, explained: “I am extremely satisfied with the progress we have made in receiving the first delivery of crude palm oil and commissioning part of the refinery. We are now on the eve of commissioning an enormous production capacity unparalleled in Europe. Work is currently in full swing on the completion of the refinery ready for the first commercial delivery in October.” The refinery will deliver three palm oil products, namely refined palm oil, palm oleine, and palm stearine. Loders Croklaan, in combination with its parent company, IOI Corporation Berhad, now has full control over the entire production chain. This control ensures for crude palm oil and refined finished products of a consistent high quality, complete supervision of the entire production chain, and the ability to trace all product – all of which places the concern in an extremely strong position.

About Loders Croklaan
Loders Croklaan is active internationally as a producer of oils and fats for the food industry, particularly the chocolate industry. In addition to its head office in Wormerveer, the company has three smaller production plants in the United States, Malaysia and Egypt, plus another eight sales offices worldwide. Since December 2002 the company is fully owned by palm oil conglomerate IOI Corporation Berhad, which is listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange.
Press release Loders Croklaan - 12-09-2005


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Bananas return to Rotterdam

Harry de Wilt
After decades of heading elsewhere, banana boats are returning to Rotterdam. From 9 September, Dutch reefer line Seatrade will be unloading one ship a week at the Seabrex terminal. The vessels will be carrying bananas and pineapples that previously would have been sent through Zeebrugge. The volume involved could exceed 100,000 tonnes a year. "The first boat alone," says Robert-Jan van der Voort of agent Seatrade Rotterdam, "the Cape Palmas, has 1200 tonnes of bananas and pineapples aboard. And that despite the fact that this is the low season. The loser in the shift to Rotterdam is the Zeebrugge operation of Belgian New Fruit Wharf (BNFW); ironically, since it was BNFW Antwerp which finally seized the last of the banana trade from the Dutch port back in the 1980s.

The bananas and pineapples now being shipped to Rotterdam by Seatrade come from Kingston and Port Antonio in Jamaica and Puerto Limon in Costa Rica. The line has had no trouble in persuading the importers to make the move with it. According to Van der Voort, "Most of the bananas are destined for Italy, Switzerland and Poland, the pineapples for the Benelux."

Seatrade operates five of its own fruit ships between Europe and the Caribbean and, says Van der Voort, itself instigated the move from Zeebrugge to Rotterdam. "This is a combined service," he explains, "with Seatrade shipping the fruit to Europe jointly with Jamaica Producers of Kingston. After unloading at Portsmouth in England and Zeebrugge, the vessels sailed on to Rotterdam for EWL [Europe West Indies Lines or Rotterdam – ed.]. It books the cargoes for the southbound voyage to Curaçao, Aruba, Jamaica and Costa Rica, after which Seatrade and Jamaica Producers load them again for the return journey."

According to Van der Voort, the main reason for the change is the time and money it saves. "The ships were only coming up to Rotterdam to be handed over to EWL," he says. "By unloading them here as well, we save ourselves the call at Zeebrugge and gain a lot of time in the process, helping both ourselves and EWL to stay on schedule. In Rotterdam, we only have to move the vessels from the Lekhaven to Gevelco in the Waalhaven." The shipments are to be unloaded and stored at the Ebrex Bulk Terminal, as Seabrex has renamed the Kloosterboer terminal it took over last year. "What is handy about that," continues Van der Voort, "is that the warehouses are divided into lots of small compartments, making it easy to store the fruit separately. Bananas have to be kept at 13.3 degrees Celsius and pineapples at 7 degrees." Speaking from his home in Verbiers, Switzerland, Seabrex owner Jan Ebus expressed delight with the return of regular banana shipments to Rotterdam. Seabrex director Herman de Knijf is traveling abroad and was unavailable for comment.
© Nieuwsblad Transport

[Nemo]

edit

[EuroMaster]

what's the current situation of the Euromax terminal and Maasvlakte 2

[Nemo]

@EURIM

As for the Euromax >> Construction started months ago. Now they are dredging the new canal/harbour for the Euromax. Then the sand has to pressed so all the water is out and the ground does not incline anymore. After that they will start the first phase of the quai-terminal construction.

As for the Maasvlakte 2 >> They are still working on improvements that are later to be presented to the Raad van State again. In the press theres a lot of doubt expressed whether the project will pass this xamination, but I think this has a lot to do with political games that are played and that are typical for these kind of lage projects.
At least the interest for the project is rather high. There is already a list of large container company's who want their place secured on the Maasvlakte2.



Maasvlakte II tendering begins
2-9-2005


The Port of Rotterdam Authority is to initiate the tendering procedure for the design and construction of Maasvlakte II, the 2000-hectare port development on reclaimed land adjacent to the existing Maasvlakte, on 5 September. By including a wide range of work within a single contract, the Port Authority hopes to optimize the construction logistics. This should also make the contract attractive to a wider range of bidders.

Two years have been allocated for the procedure to award the contract. Who will build Maasvlakte II is due to be announced in the summer of 2007. The name of the development's first user should become known at about the same time. Once the Fundamental Spatial Planning Decision (Planologische Kernbeslissing, PKB) is eventually completed, it is hoped at the beginning of 2008, construction can begin almost immediately. Award of the contract is subject to the PKB remaining on schedule and other licensing procedures being completed successfully. This means that the Port Authority is taking no irreversible steps for the time being.

Scope of the contract
The tendering procedure we are about to launch is for a comprehensive design-and-construct contract. This means that the successful candidate will be responsible for both the design and the construction of elements such as the sea defenses. It covers at least 3 kilometers of ‘hard’ sea defenses, the removal of 800 meters of existing defenses where ships will sail from Maasvlakte I to Maasvlakte II via the extended Yangtzéhaven dock, the construction of 8 kilometers of ‘soft’ sea defenses in the form of artificial dunes, the deposit of 275 million cubic meters of sand to create approximately 700 hectares of land and the dredging of the port basin and the access channel to the Yangtzéhaven.

Maintenance of the sea defenses may also be included in the contract. So too might the building of some 10 kilometers of roads and railways, plus about 1000 meters of quay. The Port of Rotterdam Authority expects that including all this work in a single contract will bring forward the earliest possible date for the first use of Maasvlakte II, as it will give the successful contractor the best opportunity to coordinate the activities involved.

Because of the scope and nature of the work, the Port Authority believes that general contractors – mainly large international firms active in a wide range of activities – as well as dredging businesses will be interested in bidding for the contract.

Phases
Maasvlakte II is to be built in phases. Rather than constructing the entire area at once, the pace of its construction will be linked to the rate at which clients come forward to use it. At present, the Port Authority is assuming that the first phase will cover approximately 700 hectares. Further development will then depend upon actual market demand. The final total area will be some 2000 hectares, including docks, roads, railways, pipeline corridors and sea defenses, as well as commercial sites.

Depending upon the final scope of the contract, it will be worth €1-1.5 billion. The whole Maasvlakte II project will cost an estimated €2.9 billion, the bulk of which is needed to pay for the sea defenses, land reclamation and the excavation of docks.

Schedule
The schedule for the tendering procedure is as follows. Prospective bidders have until the end of October to register. Selection criteria include an annual minimum turnover of at least €500 million over the past three years, as well as extensive experience of fulfilling design-and-construct contracts, of project management and of hydraulic engineering works. The registered candidates will be assessed on these points in December. After that comes a consultation phase, lasting until July 2006, during which the candidates can investigate possibilities and problems related to the project's design and construction jointly with the Port Authority. Once consultation is complete, the tenders can be finalized and submitted. They will then be assessed by the Port of Rotterdam Authority, after which it will enter into negotiations with shortlisted bidders. Finally, in the summer of 2007, the actual contract will be awarded.

Parallel procedures
One notable characteristic of the Maasvlakte II project is that a number of procedures will be running in parallel over the next two years: acquisition of the first client, tendering of the design-and-construct contract, necessary modifications to the PKB and completion of the Environmental Impact Report. All of these will to some extent influence one another. For example, how the successful contractor wishes to carry out the work could affect the licenses which need to be obtained, and vice versa. But allowing these procedures to run in parallel will save time and benefit the final result.

Another important feature of the project is that it is ‘business case driven’. Commercial demand for port facilities, readiness to pay reasonably high rents for them and expected income from port dues need to offset the costs incurred in building Maasvlakte II. The Port of Rotterdam Authority is carrying out this expansion on its own account and at its own risk, and so has a vested interest in minimizing costs and maximizing revenues.

For more information, please contact Sjaak Poppe, Press Officer, Port of Rotterdam Authority, +31 10 252 1427.
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[Igor Maresti]

Hi everybody! Good night!
I am a Brazilian student and I have just joined the group. I am completely stunned with all this...It is amazing the beauty and the complexity of the port.
I am studying the Port of Rotterdam and doing some comparisons with our Port of Santos, mainly some efficiency indicators. I would like to ask for your help to get the historical series of the waiting time of the ships in the port and the measures taken to improve the situation.
All the material offered here is helping me a lot, please, if do you have any other relevant information, post it.

Thanks a lot!!

[Nemo]

@IGOR

They only way (and easy) is to contact the Rotterdam Port Authority and ask them for the figures. If you explain exacty why you need the statistics, there surely will be someone who will send you the information.

Port of Rotterdam site FAQ link:
http://www.portofrotterdam.com/UK/faq/Index.asp

Port statistics site;
http://www.portofrotterdam.com/about...dex.asp?lng=UK

Or just via the site;
http://www.portofrotterdam.com/UK/index.asp

Succes!