Strengths of Rotterdam

The port of Rotterdam owes its position as European container main port to a great number of facilities, such as:

• excellent accessibility and nautical safety: no locks, bridges or tidal restrictions
• dedicated terminal facilities
• fast turnaround times and continuous operations: 24 hours per day, all year round
• immediate start of operations upon ship’s arrival
• round the clock delivery and intake of containers
• European transport hub functions
• excellent hinterland functions, especially via short sea/feeder, inland barges and rail
• attractive port for bunkering as a result of competitive tariffs
• additional logistic services/distribution centres
• many empty depots for containers
• cold stores and auction facilities
  
• EDI services for custom house services, among others

The port of Rotterdam has no draft limitations and can accommodate all types of container vessels, 24 hours per day and seven days per week. Many deep sea shipping lines select Rotterdam as their first and/or last port of call in Europe. They also use it as their feeding hub for the United Kingdom, the Baltic and the Iberian peninsula. Efficient interfaces with all the important modalities ensure effective hinterland transport.

Rotterdam is more than simply a link in the logistics chain. The intercontinental services of almost all major mega-carriers include Rotterdam. For many container shipping lines, the port of Rotterdam is both the first and last port of call in Europe. Additionally, Rotterdam offers a tailor-made approach for all containerized cargo. Whether it’s pre-transport or post-transport, the handling of custom house formalities or the processing of cargo in the distribution centres …. a comprehensive range of specialised government organisations and service providers facilitates handling of your containers.

The port of Rotterdam is the European hub for container traffic. Rotterdam’s strengths lie in its strategic location in relation to the European hinterland, the open link with the North Sea, deep access waterways and good hinterland connections. When combined with the many quality services available, these form the basis for Rotterdam’s unique position as the most important port in Europe.

All destinations in Europe are within quick and easy reach of Rotterdam. Containers can be transported by truck, train, barge and short sea/feeder vessel. Rotterdam is the intermodal transport centre for Europe. Transport solutions are offered for every type of cargo, every volume, every speed and every tariff.

More than 500 scheduled liner services connect the port of Rotterdam with over 1,000 ports worldwide. Many of the global container liner services only call at a limited number of European ports. Rotterdam is one of these, often as first and/or last port of call in Europe.

Short sea and feeder ships carry containers by sea between the Port of Rotterdam and smaller ports. Rotterdam has a huge number of regular short sea and feeder services to and from more than 200 European ports, and the number of destinations continues to grow. This results in a huge number of departures to various destinations, many of which, including the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, the Baltic, the Iberian peninsula and countries around the Mediterranean, are even served on a daily basis. Transit times are short, just 24 hours, and even shorter to the UK. Of course, the transit time is a little longer for destinations further away, such as Egypt, Turkey and Greece.

There is excellent access to the industrial centres of Europe via Rotterdam. The port of Rotterdam offers services to a hinterland of more than 150 million consumers living within a radius of 500 km of Rotterdam, and 500 million consumers all over Europe. This gigantic market is accessible from Rotterdam via 4 competing modalities: road, rail, inland shipping and short sea/feeder shipping. All major industrial and economic centres in Western Europe can be reached in less than 24 hours. Rotterdam is situated on the estuary of the Rhine and Meuse rivers. As a result, efficient and economical transport by inland barge is possible to destinations in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria. A number of inland barge companies offer regular sailings to more than 40 inland ports. Around 30% of all containers in Rotterdam are shipped by inland barges. The Betuwe Route railway is the new, 160-kilometre long goods railway that links Rotterdam directly with Germany. Railway transport of containers is expected to grow from 10% to 20% in the coming years.