World Grain - February 2015 - 44

FEATURE: EUROPE'S LARGEST PORT KEEPS GROWING

Total agribulk throughput in the Hamburg - Le Havre range, 2013
Hamburg

Bremerhaven

Wilhelmshaven

Amsterdam

Rotterdam

8.0

0.7

0.0

8.4

U.K., Scandinavia and the Baltic.
"Secondly, three major unique selling
tinued. "Optionality: the wide choice of
competing stevedoring companies and logistic service providers in the port guarantees a high service level against attractive

10.3

Zeeland Seaport

Antwerp

Ghent

Zeebrugge

Dunkirk

Le Havre

0.9

0.8

1.2

0.1

1.6

0.0

Unit: Gross weight x million tonnes
Source: Port Authorities

Authority). Together with this new jetty,
EBS will be able to accommodate two
deep sea vessels with a draught of up to
16 meters.
DEPTH, LOCATION

estuary of the rivers Rhine and Maas.
Barges are utilized for reliable and costeffective movement of larger volumes to
and from, among other places, Belgium,
Germany, France, Central Europe and,
of course, the Netherlands itself.
The port is the start and end of the
Betuweroute, a160-kilometer dedicated

are possible for different clients, like shipto-ship transfer, open or covered storage
in sheds or silos. We also offer intermodal services for transport by barge, truck
or rail or a combination of them. And last
but not least, the unrivalled economies of
scale in both handling and storage of (agricultural) commodities."

lishment as the largest port in Europe is
its location at the gateway to Northwest
Europe. Additionally, the port is a deep
water port without nautical limitations.
"First of all, the location of the

Incoming and outgoing dry bulk goods, grouped by origin and destination, 2012

We have a central position versus the
large industrial and population areas
in Northwest Europe, something that
neighboring ports could also claim, but
on top of that Rotterdam is a deep water
any nautical constraints,"du Mez said.
"And as the port is based at the estuary
of the river Rhine, it makes Rotterdam

Agribulk

Incoming
2,100

2,100

Argentina

1,400

United States of America

700

Romania

700

Ukraine

500

Other countries

1,606

1,044

2,650

Total

7,006

1,044

8,050

Unit: Gross weight x 1,000 tonnes
Source: Port of Rotterdam based on CBS figures

freight railway between Rotterdam and
Germany, with a direct connection to the

situated for ship-to-ship transhipment.
The open connection with the North
Sea forms the basis for short turnaround

Deep history
The Port of Rotterdam traces its history back to the 14th century when docks were
built along the Nieuwe Maas River. Over time, the ports' leaders dug, dredged and built
connections between the Port of Rotterdam and the North Sea. Today, the Port of Rotterdam consists of five distinct port areas and three distribution parks.
The Port of Rotterdam is the largest port by throughput in Europe and among the
largest ports in the world. Total throughput for 2013 (most recent year full data is available) was 440,464,000 tonnes and total Agribulk throughput - feedstuffs, oilseeds
and grains - for 2013 was 10,318,000 tonnes, an increase of 28.2% from 8,050,000
tonnes in 2012.
The Port Authority of the Port of Rotterdam has 1,100 employees, and its annual
turnover is approximately €600 million.

Total

Brazil

economy - Germany."

rail transport has been key to its success. The port is ideally situated on the

Outgoing

AGRIBULK OFFERINGS
many options for handling grains, soy
and feed. Archer Daniels Midland Co.
(ADM) has a crushing plant with a dedicated terminal, and independent stevedoring companies like EBS, ZHD and
Marcor are present and have modern
facilities. Transfers can be either shipto-shore or ship-to-ship.
The port offers 300,000 meters cubed
age capacity whenever necessary.
Agribulk imports account for a high-

the nearly10.3 million tonnes of agribulk throughput, 8.8 million tonnes

February 2015 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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World Grain - February 2015

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